EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers will wrap up Phase 2 of their offseason program this week, and organized team actives will begin next week on May 26.Phase 1 started April 20 and lasted two weeks. Only strength and conditioning coaches were allowed on the field. On-field work was limited to 90 minutes. Phase 2 began May 4 and will last three weeks. On-field work expanded to more football-focused activities, including individual drills. OTAs signify the start of Phase 3. The Chargers will have 10 practices over three weeks. The offseason program will conclude with mandatory minicamp, which is scheduled for June 16-18.Over the past month, we have gotten the chance to watch some on-field work. We have talked with coaches and players, both new and returning. And we have gathered some intel on these 2026 Chargers.Here are some notes and observations from the offseason program, as the Chargers prepare for OTAs next week:1. Media members have been allowed to watch four sessions over the past month. The first was April 20, the opening day of the offseason program. The second was April 27, also during Phase 1. The third was on May 11, the start of the second week of Phase 2. And the fourth was Tuesday.Quarterback Justin Herbert was present for that April 20 session, which was a workout with executive director of player performance Ben Herbert and his staff. For the April 27 workout, only defensive players were on the field during the period open to media. Herbert was not present for the May 11 practice, and he was not present for the Tuesday practice.Media members did not get to watch a Phase 2 session during the week of May 4. That week, Herbert was present and participating, according to offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. On May 8, McDaniel said “getting on the field this last week” with Herbert left him “very impressed, very motivated.”“We’re at the very beginning stages of the race,” McDaniel said then of his budding connection with Herbert. “But at this stage, I couldn’t be happier with that working relationship and the prospects moving forward with him.”The Chargers signed tight end David Njoku on May 11. Njoku was then on the practice field May 12, according to a social media post from the team. Njoku said Tuesday, a week later, that he had not yet met or communicated with Herbert in the building.When asked if he’s looking forward to meeting Herbert, Njoku said, “Of course, yeah. That’s one reason why I signed.”Herbert missing spring practice is uncharacteristic. At the same time, all practices are voluntary until minicamp begins June 16. Herbert and McDaniel had productive meetings during Phase 1. They were on the field together for the first week of Phase 2.McDaniel was not present Tuesday, either, as he was attending the NFL’s Accelerator Program during the league meeting in Orlando, Fla.The permitted on-field work expands even further when OTAs begin. For instance, teams are allowed to hold seven-on-seven, nine-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills, as long as there is no live contact. Missing Phase 2 practices is one thing. Missing OTAs is another.It’s also worth mentioning that Herbert is learning his fifth NFL offense. Shane Steichen. Joe Lombardi. Kellen Moore. Greg Roman. And now McDaniel. Herbert has proven capable of mastering new offenses with relative ease. He’s already had plenty of time with McDaniel. A couple of weeks of Phase 2 should not drastically impact Herbert’s learning curve with this new system.Next week, No. 10 could be back on the field and render this entire situation moot. Let’s reassess then. The Chargers’ first OTA open to media is May 27.2. Over the past two on-field sessions, I have spent quite a bit of time watching the offensive line. This time of year is about installing the basics and fundamentals at all positions, and that is especially true of the offensive line. It has been fascinating to see the drills the Chargers are repeating over and over with new offensive line coach Butch Barry.The best way I can put it: I have never seen offensive linemen run so much in practice. We have discussed the schematic shift from Roman to McDaniel quite often this offseason. Roman featured more gap-scheme runs, which required more powerful, downhill blockers. McDaniel features more outside zone runs, which require more range and athleticism.In practice, I have seen that range and athleticism translate to the field. During run-game drills, offensive linemen have to surge off the ball into teammates who are holding pads. They have to eat up ground laterally and sprint to the outside. They are moving with impressive speed, especially the tackles who are asked to get into space toward the sideline. Pad work is commonplace. This amount of movement in fundamental drills is something I had not seen before.All the while, Barry is demanding his players come off the ball at the snap. You can hear him shouting encouragement from across the field. It is a staple of how the Chargers are going to play offensively in the run game. As McDaniel said earlier this month, “quickness” is essential from his linemen so the Chargers can play “a certain style of ball that is convicted, that dictates the terms.”Of the Chargers’ 17 rostered offensive linemen, 11 are new. As Barry installs the fundamentals of outsize zone, it’s becoming clear why the Chargers had to overhaul this room so dramatically. Even the most basic drills require immense movement, from the explosion off the ball to the lateral speed later in the rep.The offensive linemen who remained have looked very capable in these drills, including tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt. Both are coming off season-ending injuries. Both are moving very well. General manager Joe Hortiz said last month that Slater and Alt are “ahead of schedule.” How they have looked in Phase 2 aligns with that timeline. Alt and Slater are going to get their opportunities to play in space in this offense.3. While McDaniel has received most of the attention, the Chargers have two new coordinators on staff. Defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary is a familiar face, and he will be running the same scheme as his mentor Jesse Minter. Nonetheless, he will be a major factor in this 2026 season for the Chargers.Over the past month, we have gotten a firsthand look at O’Leary on the practice field, and he brings the juice. O’Leary was the same way as a safeties coach with the Chargers in 2024. But now he is running the show, and he can have a hand in all facets of the unit.We heard one word over and over from different players and coaches so far this offseason when they were asked about O’Leary: energy.Defensive line coach Mike Elston: “I just love his energy.”Safety Tony Jefferson: “Same energy every day. You know what you’re going to get. Hypes us up.”Linebacker Denzel Perryman: “His energy that he brings in the room and in general, it’s just been great.”New linebackers coach Sean Spence: “He’s the same dude every day. He has the same energy.”That energy emanates from the practice field with how O’Leary commands the group.Chargers players and coaches have been impressed with new defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary’s energy. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)O’Leary left the Chargers in 2025 to call plays for Western Michigan. That was his only coordinating experience before taking the Chargers DC job this offseason. He will have to learn and grow into this new role in the NFL. At the same time, O’Leary is in a great situation. He is reuniting with a number of coaches from Elston, to defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale to edge rushers coach Dylan Roney. The staff is mostly intact from last season, and those coaches are all fluent in the scheme.O’Leary will have a great support system to fall back on. He does not necessarily have to build from the ground up. He is building from an already substantial foundation, which he and his staff helped create in 2024 and 2025.There will be considerable schematic turnover on offense. On defense, there will be very little schematic turnover, even if the play caller is changing.“There’s going to be a ton of carryover,” Elston said.4. Elston is one of the best defensive line coaches in the league. So it was a little peculiar that he was not interviewed as the Chargers searched for Minter’s replacement this offseason. Minter left to take the Baltimore Ravens head job.Elston said Jim Harbaugh did approach him about the open DC job. Elston said he was not interested because he was “committed to that craft” of being the “best in the world at coaching defensive line.” Elston said earlier in his coaching career he had “aspirations of running a defense.” But those are no longer his goals at age 51.5. Earlier this month, we talked to Chargers special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken for the first time in the offseason. He was asked about his expectations for returner Derius Davis, who is coming off a down year: “High expectations.”“He had a phenomenal rookie year, and he had a really good second year,” Ficken added. “Now we just got to get back to there, and he’s got it in him.”A fourth-round pick in 2023, Davis was one of the best returners on football over his first two seasons. Among players with at least 20 punt returns, he ranked second in yards per return at 14.4, according to TruMedia.As Ficken said, “Him being on the field, it changes the dynamic of how opponents are going to want to attack you. I’ve talked to other coordinators around the league, and when he’s not out there, it’s different, because he does bring an element where he can go ahead and hit the home run any time he touches the ball.”In 2025, Davis suffered a knee injury in Week 3. He was not the same after that injury, and his punt return average fell to 7.0 yards on 11 returns.Davis played well enough in his first two seasons to earn the benefit of the doubt. When he is right, Davis is a game changer. He will have to earn his role this season, and he will have to stay healthy. But heading into training camp, I expect this to be Davis’ job to lose.