The uncertainty surrounding Mike McDaniel‘s status has ended. Miami has elected to move in a new direction with respect to the head coaching spot. 
McDaniel has been fired, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This ends his four-year run leading the team and creates an eighth head coaching vacancy around the league. Signs pointed toward McDaniel staying in the days following the regular season, but that will not be the case. McDaniel was caught off guard by this decision, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
[RELATED: Fallout From McDaniel Firing; Latest On John Harbaugh]
“After careful evaluation and extensive discussions since the season ended, I have made the decision that our organization is in need of comprehensive change,” a statement from owner Stephen Ross reads in part. “I informed Mike McDaniel this morning that he has been relieved of his duties as head coach.”
Through the second half of the season, it remained unclear if McDaniel would be retained for 2026. The 42-year-old was safe after the mid-season dismissal of general manager Chris Grier, something which suggested a strong finish to the campaign would allow him another year at the helm. Miami did improve to an extent late, albeit to wind up with a record of 7-10. That made 2025 the second straight season with a losing record under McDaniel, whose overall mark with Miami was 35-33.
McDaniel had a say in the early portion of Miami’s GM search, although it recently became clear he would not be present for interviews. Still, his lingering presence through the Dolphins’ decision to narrow their list of general manager targets suggested McDaniel would be safe. Candidates to replace Grier naturally received questions about working alongside the ex-49ers staffer but also the possibility of a different coach being brought in. With a shortlist of GM targets now in place, the latter route will be taken.
The timing of this move is certainly interesting. The 2026 cycle is set to be dominated by the presence of John Harbaugh, whose 18-year Ravens run came to an end on Tuesday. Multiple reports have pointed to teams contemplating a pursuit of the Super Bowl winner by firing a coach they otherwise would have kept. It remains to be seen if the Dolphins fit that description, as conflicting updates emerged yesterday with respect to Miami’s interest in Harbaugh. The team has not yet reached out to Harbaugh’s agent, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. Meanwhile, Schefter’s colleague Jeff Darlington notes McDaniel’s firing would have taken place with or without Harbaugh on the market.
An NFL coach dating back to 2005, McDaniel spent time in Denver, Houston, Washington, Cleveland and Atlanta early in his career. He worked under Kyle Shanahan with the Falcons for two seasons before following him to San Francisco in 2017. Over the course of a five-year run with the 49ers, McDaniel generated a reputation as one of the league’s top young offensive minds.
His first head coaching gig came with the Dolphins, and McDaniel saw early success in the role. Miami reached the postseason in each of his first two years at the helm, bowing out in the wild-card round both times. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was not available for the first of those two playoff losses, but when healthy his best performances have come under McDaniel. With that said, 2025 marked a downturn in production from under center, and Tagovailoa was benched late in the season.
A change at the quarterback spot could be coming relatively soon, with Tagovailoa open to a change of scenery. A decision on that front will need to be made by the new general manager in tandem, presumably, with McDaniel’s replacement. In the meantime, McDaniel will become one of the top offensive minds on the market. Interest in a second HC gig could emerge, but failing that there should be a number of offensive coordinator opportunities over the coming days and weeks.
The Dolphins have not won a playoff game since 2000. Ending the NFL’s longest drought in that regard will of course be a central goal for the team’s new decision-makers. As one of only two teams in need of both a general manager and head coach, Miami will be one to watch closely in the near future.
Mcdaniels to the eagles to be their OC!
I’m thinking Tampa.
You read my mind! Patullo needs to go swimming in the Schuylkill after what he’s done to our offense.
Washington OC
John Harbaugh effect
Absolutely
Good coach stuck with a BAD QB. If only they had picked Herbert when they were on the clock, but as a Bills fan glad they screwed up like they always do
But Herbert was supposed to struggle because he liked living in Oregon 🤣
Not a huge surprise. With Harbaugh and McCarthy out there, the HC bench is pretty strong.
Finally. Love this.
something about that scrawny f**k I didn’t like
Please for the love of god come to Houston
I’m guessing this means we know who the team without a vacancy calling on Harbaugh was. We know Ross wanted Jim for years. Would even make sense for Harbaugh to come in and keep Weaver in place at DC.
As for McDaniel, he immediately becomes one of the most interesting HC candidates. I’d retread him over Nagy in a heartbeat. But if he doesn’t land a head coach job right away, he’d be a great OC outcome for a team with a defense-first head coach.
He wanted Jim, not John. I don’t think John is going there. Why would he have to? He’s not desperate. They have no QB, bad lines, and mediocre defensive personnel. Other than that, everything is good. Haarbaugh can wait and see if McDermott gets fired or might even sit out until next year to see if that’s Andy Reid’s swan song. He doesn’t have to go to these terrible jobs like the Dolphins and Browns. People forget that that Raven team went 13-3 a couple of years before he got there. He’ll be looking for a similar situation where he doesn’t have to start from the bottom.
I think your characterizations are a bit melodramatic here
Miami isn’t as bad as you describe and working in South Florida isn’t a bad gig. Harbaugh would address the holes that you describe pretty quickly
Cleveland isn’t as bad where talent is concerned. I think ownership is the worst but they have a pretty solid defense.
To me, if he goes to either New York job—should the Jets job open—, he’s doing worse
Lol. The Dolphins haven’t been relevant since the early 90s. It’s very relevant. They have a bad owner, no Qb, and a mediocre roster. People were heralding McDaniel, and the guy had an 11-6 season where they lost to every good team they played. That was the whole crux of his success, destroying bad teams, and even then, he still ended up .500 just like the last guy, and that’s the high water mark of the franchise since Jimmy Johnson’s aborted time down there. Tell me why Harbaugh has to settle for that mess considering his pedigree? No one wants to be the next George Seifert or Pete Carroll.
That’s your assessment as to why Harbaugh shouldn’t go there? Relevancy? So in your mind, coaches of his caliber should only go to front runners? Or where things are already in place?
That’s ridiculous, and that’s not coaching.
If Harbaugh is as great as we think he is, he’d build a football team. He’d draft well. He’d staff his assistant slots properly. He’d instruct. That’s coaching
And I’m not about to defend Ross but winning cures everything. I have no doubt that if Harbaugh brought that team to prominence, you’d hear little about their owner
Any bad team has ownership that’s lacking, especially according to fans. Sounds like you’d like Harbaugh to land with a playoff team rather than build something from the ground up
No, that the roster isn’t that good, and you’re going to have Tua on your cap Russell Wilson style for two years. You’re not relevant because you have a bad owner just like all the other bad teams.
Complete baloney.
Miami would be a great landing spot
Build your team. Reside in a beautiful city
I don’t think Cleveland is as bad as you think. Yes, Jimmy Haslam was awful until Andrew Berry & Kevin Stefanski came to town, but it looks like it stabilized a bit. I think Paul DePodesta had way too much sway and likely was the leading supporter for Deshaun Watson.
I’ll eat my words if this next coach lasts less than 3 years.
The bad owners are the reason these teams are bad. Cleveland definitely has some talent anchored by a HOF defensive player, but they have a terrible offensive line, a questionable QB situation, and lost their promising rookie RB to a gruesome injury that might alter the rest of his career. They were stacked when Stefanski and Berry got back there, and it’s been downhill since.
Whoever it is will still be stuck with Watson.
Is this horror film over in 2027?
Harbaugh is on the way.
Wouldn’t be so sure about that…..Miami isn’t necessarily the best opportunity for him….he’ll have a choice of several opportunities….
Yep, people are acting like this dude needs to be desperate. He’s earned the right to be choosy.
I don’t the attraction to Harbaugh, Tomlin, & McCarthy. All 3 are living off SB run’s 10+ years ago.
And 17 attempts by SB winning coaches to duplicate the feat with another team have all failed…so that’s one more reason to take a pass on these guys.
And yet there are coaches getting interviews who never sniffed a Super Bowl or even successful as a head coach in the past. Arthur Smith interviewing in Tennessee is a prime example
I agree with that take. I read recently that R. Morris is interviewing as well. Do those franchises see something that no-one else saw in Atlanta? But both McCarthy and Harbaugh are in their 60’s. I’d look at younger coaches that relate to this generation of players.
I think you just answered your question of why Smith and in particular Morris is getting interviews. He got some of the highest coaching grades from players last year on the player report card. He just botched games every week.
High coaching grades, or losing seasons?
Rooney rule. He’ll definitely be a defensive coordinator somewhere next year, if he so chooses.
Agree 100%. For years, I didn’t want to believe that was the story behind Tomlin but it’s become clear as Cowher era players have faded off into retirement
You have a lot of ring kissers and the people who want you to wonder if there’s anything better out there. There always is. I give Baltimore credit in attempting to find it
I always love this narrative. You do realize he and Cowher had the exact same record at the exact same time when he reached it in his career, don’t you? All of those players were long gone in the early 2010s before he reached that same level, and he never had a 5-11 season, which Cowher had a couple of times. He’sa great coach. He just got bested more times than not by the greatest QB of all time like almost everybody else in this generation when he had a team capable of winning it all.
And I always love the fanboy take on a good but not great coach. I never said Cowher was great, by the way. Colbert and Cowher drafted well at the end of Cowher’s era here. Tomlin had that advantage.
He got bested? Seriously? He had arguably the greatest offense for a couple years and lost to “greatest” QB’s like Bortles and Tebow
But hey, keep listening to national talk show types fawn all over the guy
Hardly a fan boy. I just hate clowns like you who criticize someone who has been great in this league while talking up clowns like Stefanski and the like.
Don’t know when I ever talked up Stefanski, but ok, if that’s how you debate.
“Clowns like you”. Wow. Coming from someone who feels a sense of superiority such as you, that’s laughable. You’re a legend in your own mind. And delusional
If he’s still available once the season ends for us, even if we win the Super Bowl, if im the Bills I’m trading Joe Brady for McDaniel every day of the week.
Some deseperate team like Cleveland or Tennesee will give him the HC job.
Cleveland has long been said to be interested in him for some reason. I just hope he doesn’t ruin their defense if he goes there.
What a great win that would be for the Bills if Brady were to be given that job. Just defend the screen pass and run and you’re good.
Nooooo! Not Gimpy Taylor!
Too bad the 49ers promoted Klay Kubiak last off season. I would say keep an eye on if Klint Kubiak gets a head coaching job somewhere. McDaniel might have an upper hand in getting that OC position.
Well, we know where Harbaugh will probably land.
I’ll put my money on Harbaugh joining the Cowboys.
Why would Harbaugh want that situation? Between the QB situation and an aging roster, it’s going to take a couple years to move in the right direction. He’s getting old.
I will give the Dolphins credit for not jumping into the water before knowing how deep it was.
But the wildcard is Mr. Concussion – as no coach is going to be able to win with a QB that can’t stay on the field, either through injury or declining performance.
I think the advantage of someone like Harbaugh is that he’ll come in with the security of outlasting the rough cap years of moving on from Tua.
Tua is done there.
Trent Dilfer – limited in all aspects of ability was still able to win.
Dilfer won in a very different era and was playing with the best defense in football. Nick Foles won a Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean that’s a likely outcome.
with one of the two or three greatest defenses of the last 50 years. I don’t have to tell you the Dolphins don’t have that, nor did Baltimore pay Trent Dilfer the equivalent of $52 mil back then. He was actually the backup who took over for another lowly paid starter, Tony Banks.
He could go to Miami, but we need to keep an eye on what the Packers or Bills do this weekend? Harbaugh could coach in a glorious, old stadium, or a new one.
Do they simply promote Weaver?
Would love to see McDaniels paired with Saleh.
Flores coming back, LOL
lol thought he was safe. It’s painful listening to this dude speak. He always sounds drunk
Haha … drunk from xs and os
Lmao bro
But, the media and all the writers were saying his job was safe!! Never listen to the media
Harbaugh changed the math, or else they wouldn’t have waited until Thursday to fire him.
Bum of a coach.
Harbaugh and Stefanski are locks to land a HC this cycle assuming they want to coach in 2026. McDaniel will likely have to drop down to an OC position and work his way back up.
I’m not sure how to judge him, because I am not sure how much say he had into the combination of having a starting qb who was injury prone and not ever having a top quality backup.
That he took that he took that team from like 1-7 yo 7-7 is a testament to his leadership. The team didn’t quit on him when the owner decided to be sellers at the deadline, when tyreek hill permanently destroyed his leg, when his qb (who eats up a massive % of the cap) can’t play anymore because he’s taken too many devastating blows to the head, etc, etc, etc.
He’s a good coach.
He had a bad year along with his QB. He can coach and Tua can play, but McDaniel is more suited as an assistant. This team underachieved too much.
He fumbled that Fangio situation, who won the Super Bowl the next year with the Eagles. Either he let the players push back on him too much, or he didn’t hold them accountable to get their defense up to snuff to stop being soft. Right now, that’s his biggest blind spot.
That, and the team not being ready enough for big games. Too much talent not to play in colder weather.
All the love he’s getting in all of these posts, makes you wonder if the Dolphins should have kept him… They obviously want Harbaugh. The timing is not a coincidence.
He’s pretty clearly excellent at his side of the ball. If the don’t get harbaugh then I doubt the will find someone better. He’s going to make a mint as an OC for a year or two and then he gets another HC opportunity.
I think Miami is dumb your not get John Harbaugh u don’t have a QB why would go there good lucky
most obvious outcome .. can’t imagine any team firing their GM and letting the lame duck coach have any say in the hiring process.. was just a matter of time
That‘s what seems to have happened. They talked to a couple of GM candidates who told them they want to pick the HC.
Wow! The Dolphins 🐬 and there drama continues….
Miami is such a hard sell imo.
MIA has Achane, Waddle, & Hill (maybe) plus a patchy Defense … but they’re also looking for a GM
NYG has Dart, Nabors, & Scatt and a young talented Defense … but they have a doofus GM
I dunno folks, I think I’d go with NY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What took so long?