The Dolphins are suddenly without a head coach after firing Mike McDaniel on Thursday. The team also doesn’t have a full-time general manager, but it appears that’s about to change.
The Dolphins expect to make a decision on a GM by Friday, Jeff Darlington of ESPN reports. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald passes along similar information, writing they’ll choose a candidate by Friday night or Saturday.
Since the Dolphins parted with longtime GM Chris Grier on Halloween, Champ Kelly has held the position on an interim basis. He’s one of four finalists for the job, joining Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander, Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan and 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams.
The Dolphins interviewed Kelly on Wednesday. Their in-person meetings with Alexander, Sullivan and Williams occurred Thursday, per Darlington. Sullivan previously conducted a Zoom interview with the team on Tuesday, according to Albert Breer of SI.com.
Alexander wasn’t on the Dolphins’ list of GM possibilities until Tuesday. They added him hours before the Ravens fired head coach John Harbaugh, Jackson writes. With Harbaugh now available and on the Dolphins’ radar, it’s worth noting that Alexander was in Baltimore’s front office for the majority of the coach’s 18-year run there. Alexander worked in the organization with Harbaugh for 11 years.
Once the Dolphins identify a front office leader, the focus will turn to finding McDaniel’s replacement. The head coaching hire will be a collaborative effort between the GM and owner Stephen Ross, per Jackson. Unsurprisingly, though, Ross will have the final say.
Since taking over as majority owner in 2009, Ross has signed off on hiring four head coaches. None of his previous selections – McDaniel, Brian Flores, Adam Gase and Joe Philbin – won a playoff game. The Dolphins have only gone to the postseason three times under Ross. McDaniel was at the helm for two of those seasons, but back-to-back sub-.500 campaigns cost him his job.