Browns Want To Keep Jim Schwartz In Some Capacity; Schwartz Favorite For HC Job?
Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has made it to the next stage of the club’s head coaching search, as he will take a second interview with Cleveland on Monday. Albert Breer of SI.com believes Schwartz will ultimately land the position, and he says the preference within the organization is to keep a talented DC on the staff in some capacity.
That suggests that even if the Browns go in a different direction at HC, they still want to keep Schwartz aboard for what would be a fourth year as defensive coordinator. And given the success he has had in that role, the team’s wish makes plenty of sense.
[RELATED: 2026 HC Search Tracker]
Schwartz, 59, has further cemented his status as one of the league’s top defensive minds during his Browns tenure. His unit ranked first in the NFL in yards allowed in 2023 and fourth in that regard this past season (albeit with a 19th-place finish in 2024 sandwiched in-between). Schwartz has received a number of endorsements from his players, and though Cleveland limped to a 5-12 mark in 2025, the team’s offense was the primary culprit.
That offense – or, more accurately, the unappealing quarterback situation – is one of the reasons why the Browns’ HC post is not as well-regarded as some of the other openings around the league. On the other hand, the Ravens are the only other club that appears to be considering Schwartz for a head coaching role in this year’s cycle, so the Cleveland vacancy may represent his best chance to get back in the HC ranks.
Schwartz has not worked as a head coach since 2013, which marked the end of a five-season run as the Lions’ sideline general. His overall 29-51 record in Detroit is a poor one, though he did lead the then-moribund franchise to a playoff berth in 2011, which was the first time since 1999 the Lions had qualified for the postseason. Schwartz earned a Super Bowl ring as the Eagles’ DC in 2017.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is also scheduled for a second HC interview with the Browns. That summit is due to take place on Tuesday, one day after Schwartz speaks with team brass for a second time. If he does not land the Cleveland post, Monken is expected to follow John Harbaugh to New York and become the Giants’ OC.
Other offensive-minded candidates are getting additional consideration from the Browns as well. Jaguars OC Grant Udinski has secured a second interview. The same is true of former Dolphins HC and highy-popular candidate Mike McDaniel, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, who reports McDaniel’s second summit is scheduled for Wednesday. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase has also earned another interview request following his Friday meeting. Since LA is still in the playoffs, the date of his in-person sit-down is to be determined.
In light of his accomplishments, it stands to reason that another candidate who gets the Browns’ job would want to keep Schwartz as their DC. It remains to be seen if Schwartz would be amenable to that, or if he would seek a coordinator job elsewhere.
Eagles To Give Brian Daboll “Extended Look” For OC Job; Team To Interview Mike McDaniel
11:00am: ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirms an Eagles-Daboll interview is expected.
08:34am: Brian Daboll lost his head coaching position with the Giants in the middle of the 2025 season, but as expected, he is still generating significant attention from clubs in need of an offensive coordinator (he also landed an HC interview with the Titans). The Eagles are one of the teams interested in Daboll’s services as an OC, and Philadelphia will give him an “extended look,” per Connor Hughes of SNY.tv.
Despite their bounty of talent on the offensive side of the ball, the recently-demoted Kevin Patullo was unable to guide the Eagles to the same success as his predecessor, Kellen Moore. After helping Philly to a Super Bowl title in 2024, Moore accepted the Saints’ head coaching job last year, and Patullo’s performance in his first and only season in the OC role was heavily criticized. Towards the end of the ‘25 slate, head coach Nick Sirianni felt compelled to become more involved in his team’s offense.
That did not bode well for Patullo, and after the Eagles were dispatched from the playoffs by a short-handed 49ers outfit in the wildcard round, the writing was on the wall. It is unclear if Patullo will remain with the organization, but if he does, it will not be as OC.
Daboll, 50, earned his shot at the Giants’ HC gig by virtue of his success as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, and his OC aptitude remains well-regarded in league circles. He also has familiarity with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver DeVonta Smith from their time together at Alabama – where Daboll worked as OC and QB coach in 2017 – and he coached running back Saquon Barkley for two seasons in New York.
As of the time of this writing, only the Chargers have secured a publicly-reported OC interview with Daboll. The Eagles’ vacancy appears to be a tempting one, though, and unless Los Angeles makes him a pitch he can’t refuse, it would be fair to expect Daboll to sit down with Philadelphia brass.
The club did land an interview with Mike Kafka, who worked under Daboll as the Giants’ offensive coordinator and then replaced his former boss as Big Blue’s interim head coach in 2025. Hughes suggests the Eagles are high on Kafka as well, and they are taking a few other big swings.
Former Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel, one of the most-coveted coaches on the market, is expected to interview with the Eagles for their OC post, as ESPN’s Jeff Darlington notes (previously, we knew only that Philadelphia was interested in talking with McDaniel). The club will have competition for his services, however.
McDaniel’s Miami tenure ended on a sour note, but the first half of his stint produced excellent results as he helped unlock quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s potential. That has buoyed his stock as a highly-respected offensive mind, and he has drawn head coaching interest from five teams (the Browns, Falcons, Raiders, Ravens, and Titans) and OC interest from four others (the Bucs, Chargers, Eagles, and Lions; Baltimore is also considering McDaniel for its OC position).
The Falcons have already hired Kevin Stefanski as their next head coach, and the Browns’, Titans’, and Raiders’ HC openings are generally not considered to be as enticing as the Atlanta or Baltimore jobs. On the other hand, the teams that are interested in McDaniel as an OC boast considerable offensive talent, and McDaniel acknowledges he is intrigued by those jobs (via Darlington).
Jim Bob Cooter, Zac Robinson, and Kliff Kingsbury are among the other names on the Eagles’ radar.
Raiders To Interview Mike McDaniel For HC Job; Ejiro Evero Lands Second Interview
The Raiders have lined up a head coaching interview with Mike McDaniel, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The former Dolphins head coach will meet with the Raiders in Miami on Monday.
The Raiders will also hold an in-person interview with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero next week, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Evero, who has already met with the Raiders virtually, is the first candidate to set up a second interview with the club.
McDaniel has been a hot commodity across the league since the Dolphins fired him on Jan. 8. The 42-year-old has already interviewed with the Falcons, Ravens, Browns and Titans.
If McDaniel doesn’t receive a second head coaching chance in 2026, he may spend the season as an offensive coordinator. The Chargers, Lions, Buccaneers and Eagles have all shown interest in McDaniel in an OC role. Other than Philadelphia, all of those teams have booked interviews with McDaniel.
McDaniel, a longtime Kyle Shanahan protege, worked as a non-play-calling O-coordinator in San Francisco in 2021. After McDaniel’s lone season in that position, the Dolphins brought him in to replace Brian Flores. The results over McDaniel’s first two years in South Florida were encouraging. Led by McDaniel’s high-flying offense, the Dolphins combined for a 20-14 regular-season mark and earned back-to-back playoff appearances.
Although the Dolphins didn’t win either of their postseason contests, McDaniel got the most out of Tua Tagovailoa, who quarterbacked the league’s top-ranked offense in 2023. Miami’s offense sputtered in each of the past two seasons, though, and McDaniel benched Tagovailoa for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers for the team’s final three games in 2025. The Dolphins finished 7-10, their second straight sub-.500 campaign, and elected to move on from McDaniel. He ended his Dolphins tenure 35-33.
If McDaniel winds up in Las Vegas, expectations are he’d work with a second consecutive first-round quarterback. The Raiders, who went 3-14 under one-and-done head coach Pete Carroll in 2025, will pick first in April’s draft. Indiana’s Heisman Trophy-winning signal-caller, Fernando Mendoza, is the heavy favorite to go No. 1 overall.
Evero, 45, is among the candidates McDaniel will attempt to fend off in the Raiders’ search for Carroll’s replacement. Considering the Raiders are meeting with Evero again, it’s clear he’s a serious contender for the position.
Evero, briefly a safety with the Raiders in 2004, has worked in various coaching roles in the NFL since 2007. He was the Broncos’ D-coordinator in 2022, and though the team struggled during its ill-fated Nathaniel Hackett season, its defense allowed the league’s seventh-fewest points. Then-Panthers head coach Frank Reich hired Evero to run the team’s defense in 2023.
While Carolina’s defense ranked a lackluster 29th in points allowed during Evero’s first season at the controls, it surrendered the fourth-fewest yards that year. The unit plummeted to last-place rankings in both categories in 2024, but it was a much more respectable 15th in scoring and 16th in total defense this season. The Panthers, despite an 8-9 record, won the NFC South. The Rams ended their season with a 34-31 wild-card round win, and multiple teams have shown interest in Evero since then.
Along with the Raiders, the Falcons and Steelers have requested interviews with Evero. Having signed an extension with Carolina before the season, Evero will stay put if a team doesn’t choose him as its next head coach.
Chargers To Interview Mike McDaniel For OC Position
Since he was fired by the Dolphins just over a week ago, Mike McDaniel has been offered a litany of opportunities to move on in some form or fashion. Some teams (Titans, Falcons, Browns, and Ravens) have expressed interest in him as a potential head coach again, while some teams (Lions, Eagles, and Buccaneers) still have head coaches in place and are interested in him returning to a potential offensive coordinator job. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Chargers can be added to the latter group of teams as they are set to interview McDaniel to potentially replace Greg Roman.
It’s been a busy week for McDaniel. Following his dismissal in Miami, he kicked off his week with his head coaching interviews with Atlanta and Cleveland. On Tuesday, he interviewed with the Lions for their offensive coordinator job, following that up with head coaching interviews with Tennessee on Wednesday and Baltimore on Thursday. Today, McDaniel returned to the coordinator interest, interviewing with Tampa Bay. Nothing’s been announced as scheduled for McDaniel this weekend, so perhaps he’s just enjoying a couple days off, but Rapoport expects his interview with Los Angeles to take place “early next week.”
Since firing Roman, the Chargers have looked at a number of names to fill his shoes. They first looked internally, granting an interview to passing game coordinator Marcus Brady of Montreal Alouettes fame. He has arrayed experience with both young and veteran talent, and his familiarity with Herbert could be a strong place to start with the likely journey to a new offensive scheme. Their second internal candidate was quarterbacks coach Shane Day. Day held the passing game coordinator title for two seasons in 2021-22 but was fired after the team blew a 27-point lead in Herbert’s first playoff game. He returned this year, much to the joy of the team’s star quarterback.
Mostly recently, the team interviewed former Titans head coach Brian Callahan for the open position. Callahan’s experience with young quarterbacks is a bit of a mixed bag. He helped kickstart what has been a strong start to Joe Burrow‘s career in Cincinnati, but in Tennessee, he struggled to get much out of offenses led by Will Levis and Cam Ward. In an attempt to save his job this year, he ceded play-calling duties after an 0-3 start to the Titans’ season, but he was relieved of his head coaching duties, too, after only three more games.
McDaniel only had one season of coordinator experience with the 49ers, and he didn’t call plays as the OC, but he was the Dolphins’ primary play-caller throughout his four-year run with the team. His arrival in Miami seemed to unlock Tua Tagovailoa in his third season as the offense improved from 25th in total yards and 22nd in scoring to sixth in total yards and 11th in scoring in McDaniel’s first year with the team. In Year 2, the Dolphins led the league in total yards and finished as the second highest-scoring offense. Injuries would limit the team over his last two seasons in Miami, but it’s clear why McDaniel is such a respected name in offensive coaching circles.
Pairing McDaniel with Herbert, young running back Omarion Hampton, a versatile receiving corps, and eventually, two extremely talented, recovered offensive tackles could make for a dangerous unit. In order to land him, though, the Dolphins will need to hope the right head coaching opportunities don’t come his way and that he’ll prefer to work for them. There’s a long way to go in this process but bringing McDaniel in certainly makes the team’s OC search more interesting.
Buccaneers Interview Steelers’ Danny Smith For ST Coordinator
The end of the Mike Tomlin era may lead to the end of the Danny Smith era in Pittsburgh. Tomlin resigned after a 19-year head coaching run on Tuesday, leaving Smith’s future as the Steelers’ special teams coordinator up in the air.
If Smith leaves Pittsburgh, he could land on his feet in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers held a virtual interview with Smith for their open ST coordinator position on Friday. He joins Craig Aukerman, Anthony Levine Sr., Michael Clay and Jett Modkins as known candidates for the job.
Tampa Bay is looking for a replacement for Thomas McGaughey, whom head coach Todd Bowles fired last week. McGaughey lasted just two seasons in Tampa Bay, whereas Smith has been a fixture in Pittsburgh. The gum-chewing 72-year-old has worked in the same role since 2013.
Previously with Buffalo for three years and Washington for nine, Smith has been an NFL special teams coordinator for 25 straight seasons. Adding in a four-year stint with Philadelphia from 1995-98, Smith has 29 years’ experience as an ST coordinator in the league.
Should he join the Buccaneers, Smith may end up on the same coaching staff as Mike McDaniel in 2026. The Bucs interviewed McDaniel in person for their offensive coordinator gig on Friday, Jenna Laine of ESPN reports. As PFR’s Nikhil Mehta noted on Wednesday, the former head coach has been popular across the league since the Dolphins fired him on Jan. 8. As is the case with the Buccaneers, the Lions and Eagles are considering McDaniel for the OC role. Meanwhile, the Falcons, Ravens, Browns and Titans are interested in hiring him as a head coach.
Kliff Kingsbury Interviewed For Ravens’ HC, OC Positions; Team Could Follow Same Pattern With Mike McDaniel
Baltimore’s offensive coordinator position is still technically filled by Todd Monken at this point. A departure in his case is widely expected, however. 
That reality has apparently played a factor in the Ravens’ ongoing head coaching search. Kliff Kingsbury met with the team earlier this week. That summit was one of many head coaching interviews Baltimore has conducted since the firing of John Harbaugh, but ESPN’s Peter Schrager noted during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show (video link) that Kingsbury also interviewed for the offensive coordinator gig.
That represents a further sign Monken is set to coach elsewhere in 2026. Following John Harbaugh to the Giants is a distinct possibility, although the veteran OC is also in position to interview for a second time with the Browns for their HC gig. In any case, the Ravens are preparing to move on at the offensive coordinator spot. Kingsbury would certainly be one of the top candidates for that role, and Schrager noted to no surprise the former Cardinals coach would relish the chance to work with quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Kingsbury had a two-year run coaching another dual-threat QB in the form of Jayden Daniels. The 46-year-old turned down head coaching interest last year based on the success enjoyed during Daniels’ rookie season. Things played out much differently in 2025, though, and a decision was made by Kingsbury and head coach Dan Quinn to part ways. A second HC gig could be in store this cycle, but as Schrager notes – and as the nature of his Ravens meeting illustrates – a new offensive coordinator opportunity (perhaps with the Eagles) looms as a distinct possibility as well.
Mike McDaniel finds himself in a similar position to Kingsbury at the moment. The ex-Dolphins head coach is among the top offensive candidates on the market. A number of links to open OC positions have been made in his case, but McDaniel is also set to interview with the Ravens for their head coaching spot. Per Schrager, the 42-year-old could also speak with Baltimore about the team’s OC opening. It will be interesting to see if that takes place and if so whether or not Kingsbury or McDaniel will become finalists for either position.
Mike McDaniel To Interview For Bucs’ OC Job
The Buccaneers will interview Mike McDaniel for their offensive coordinator vacancy on Friday, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman.
McDaniel, 42, was fired by the Dolphins last week after a disappointing 2025 campaign. But as one of the league’s top offensive minds, he is expected to land a job in this year’s hiring cycle, whether that be as a head coach or offensive coordinator. Currently, he is a head coaching candidate for the Falcons, Ravens, Browns, and Titans with offensive coordinator interest from the Lions, Eagles, and now, the Buccaneers.
McDaniel would prefer a “great OC opportunity” to a “not-great head coaching vacancy,” per Auman, though, of course, those qualifiers are entirely up to the coach’s judgement. At first glance, the Browns and Titans do not seem to be as appealing due to their lack of offensive firepower, though McDaniel would have a chance to mold a young quarterback with either team. The Ravens, of course, have Lamar Jackson, while the Falcons have an exciting array of young offensive weapons.
The Buccaneers would appear to fall into the “great OC opportunity” category. They have an established veteran quarterback in Baker Mayfield, a strong offensive line, and several playmakers at different positions. The unit’s struggles in 2025 seemed to be more related to their injuries, and new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was not able to step into Liam Coen‘s shoes after he left for Jacksonville, especially as a play-caller.
McDaniel is proven as an architect and play-caller who could build on the foundation established by Coen and his predecessor, Dave Canales, while adding his own motion-heavy wrinkles into the playbook. He could use success in Tampa Bay to quickly springboard into another head coaching job, especially if he can help the Buccaneers overcome their playoff struggles under Todd Bowles.
Mike McDaniel, Brian Daboll Among Eagles’ OC Candidates
After removing Kevin Patullo from the offensive coordinator role on Tuesday, the Eagles have begun reaching out to potential replacements. Former head coaches Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll are atop the Eagles’ list, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. It’s unknown if either will interview for the job.
McDaniel and Daboll join the previously reported Kevin Stefanski and Kliff Kingsbury as established offensive coaches on the Eagles’ radar. Judging by that group of four, the Eagles and head coach Nick Sirianni are aiming high in their quest to upgrade an offense that fell flat in 2025.
In 2024, Kellen Moore‘s lone season running their offense, the Eagles ranked seventh in scoring and eighth in yards. Running back Saquon Barkley put together the ninth 2,000-yard rushing season in NFL history, helping the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship. Their offense was unable to follow up on that performance after Moore left to become the Saints’ head coach.
In the wake of Moore’s departure, Sirianni opted for continuity in promoting Patullo from pass game coordinator to OC. The Eagles won 11 games en route to their second straight NFC East crown, but their offense frustrated the team and its fans throughout the season.
Barkley’s rushing total declined from 2,005 to 1,140, which played a big role in the Eagles’ below-average offensive performance. Despite boasting a strong offensive line (albeit one that went without cornerstone right tackle Lane Johnson for a large chunk of time), a championship-winning QB in Jalen Hurts, and pass catchers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, the Eagles finished 19th in total offense and 24th in scoring.
Considering their past accomplishments, either McDaniel or Daboll could end up as Sirianni’s pick to help Philadelphia’s offense rebound in 2026. McDaniel, long considered one of the game’s brightest offensive minds, is coming off a four-year run as the Dolphins’ head coach. He got plenty out of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at times, especially when the Dolphins led the league in total offense and finished second in scoring in 2023. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane joined Tagovailoa as part of a well-oiled offensive machine that year, but the unit’s production fell off a cliff in the past couple of seasons.
Hill missed almost all of 2025 after suffering a torn ACL in Week 4. That didn’t help Tagovailoa, who performed so poorly that McDaniel benched him for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers in Week 16. Ewers was at the helm for the last three games of a 7-10 campaign for McDaniel, who lost his job after two straight sub-.500 seasons. Although his final two years in Miami didn’t go well, McDaniel is highly likely to stay in the league as either an offensive coordinator or a head coach in 2026.
Like McDaniel, Daboll is fresh off a first-time head coaching stint that began with a flourish but ended with a thud. The Giants went 9-7-1 and won a playoff game in 2022, Daboll’s rookie year as a head coach. He meshed well with quarterback Daniel Jones, who landed a four-year, $160MM extension in the ensuing offseason. That wound up as a major misfire for the Giants. Jones endured a horrid 2023 in which a torn ACL limited him to six games. After he failed to bounce back the next season, the Giants released him in late November.
After combining for a 9-25 mark from 2023-24, Daboll entered this season on the hot seat. The Giants remade their QB room in the offseason with two free agent pickups, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, as well as first-round pick Jaxson Dart. Wilson began 2025 as the Giants’ starter, but Daboll pulled the plug on the former star after an awful showing in a loss to the Chiefs in Week 3. Dart took over under center and went on to impress as a rookie, though Daboll didn’t last the year. The Giants fired him after a 2-8 start.
Daboll went a dismal 20-40-1 as New York’s head coach, but he joins McDaniel as someone who at least figures to work as a coordinator next season. Taking over the Eagles’ offense would give Daboll his fifth try as an NFL O-coordinator. He previously held the position with the Browns (2009-10), Dolphins (2011), Chiefs (2012) and Bills (2018-21). The Giants hired Daboll after a particularly fruitful run in Buffalo, where he helped Josh Allen go from raw prospect to superstar.
Also a former Alabama offensive coordinator and QBs coach, Daboll has prior working experience with Hurts and Smith. The three were together in 2017, a national championship-winning season for the Crimson Tide. Hurts was at the helm for the majority of the season, but after a rough first half in the title game, Alabama benched him for Tagovailoa. It ended up as a wise move in a 26-23 win over Georgia. Smith caught the game-winning 41-yard touchdown in overtime.
Adding to his familiarity with Hurts and Smith, Daboll coached Barkley in New York from 2022-23. General manager Joe Schoen let Barkley walk to the division rival Eagles in free agency in March 2024. Barkley, who has become an integral part of the Eagles’ offense since then, could reunite with Daboll soon.
Mike McDaniel To Interview With Falcons, Ravens For HC Position
8:00pm: McDaniel has completed his interview with the Falcons, according to the team.
10:30am: An offensive coordinator gig could await Mike McDaniel by the time the hiring cycle comes to a close. There is strong interest for a second head coaching opportunity as well, however.
McDaniel is among the coaches who were fired last week. He has already arranged interviews with the Browns and Titans for their HC positions, and the list of suitors is growing. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports the Falcons and Ravens have reached out to McDaniel as well. Interviews with Atlanta and Baltimore will take place this week.
The Lions reached out to McDaniel about their offensive coordinator opening hours after his Dolphins firing. Per Pelissero, an interview for that spot will also take place shortly. Further interest for other OC positions would come as no surprise, but McDaniel is clearly a candidate to continue leading an NFL team in 2026 at this point.
Over the course of four seasons in Miami, McDaniel posted an overall record of 35-33. The team reached the playoffs in 2022 and ’23 but lost in the wild-card round both times. Things did not go according to plan over the following two seasons, with the Dolphins posting a losing record both times and the connection between McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa not producing the same success as was seen in previous years. A change of scenery for one is known to be imminent, while the other could be playing elsewhere in 2026.
Atlanta cleaned house after the regular season came to an end, firing both Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot before ‘Black Monday’ even began. The Falcons spent last week interviewing candidates for their new president of football operations role, and as expected Matt Ryan is now in place. With that front office hire having been made, attention will turn to the league’s only GM vacancy along with the search for Morris’ replacement. McDaniel spent two years with the Falcons, serving as an offensive assistant in 2015 and ’16.
Baltimore’s list of candidates to serve as John Harbaugh‘s successor is long and continuing to expand. McDaniel, 46, is among those with an offensive background and previous head coaching experience. That is rare when it comes to the 2026 hiring cycle, something which helps explain the widespread interest in McDaniel. Whether or not he emerges as a finalist for any of the league’s eight HC openings as the coaching landscape takes shape will make for a notable storyline.
Lions To Interview Mike McDaniel For OC Job
The Lions expressed interest in Mike McDaniel immediately after his Dolphins ouster. Days later, the sides have scheduled a meeting.
McDaniel will interview for Detroit’s OC post on Tuesday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. This process may take some time, though. McDaniel is on at least three teams’ HC radars, booking Ravens and Falcons interviews today to go with his Titans meeting.
The Lions weren’t shy about their pursuit of McDaniel, as the team reached out to him only hours after his ouster in Miami. Detroit has been hunting around for a replacement for OC John Morton, who was fired after only one season in the role. The Lions are clearly hoping to reboot an offense that sorely missed Ben Johnson in 2025, and McDaniel provides as much upside as anyone on the market.
The 42-year-old put himself on the head coaching map following his first stint as an offensive coordinator. McDaniel spent one season in that role with the 49ers, where he helped guide a Jimmy Garoppolo-led offense to a top-10 showing in total yards. Part of that offensive success was thanks to rookie RB Elijah Mitchell, who finished with 1,100 yards from scrimmage that season.
The Dolphins were quick to name McDaniel as their next franchise leader in 2022, and the coach had immediate success in Miami. He helped guide the Dolphins to playoff appearances in each of his first two seasons at the helm, with his 2023 squad representing one of the league’s best offenses. The Dolphins fell off in 2024 and 2025, partly thanks to McDaniel’s inability to control the locker room. Following a 7-10 showing this year, the 42-year-old was issued his walking papers.
Considering his initial success in Miami, McDaniel is already looking to land on his feet, as he’s garnered three head coaching interviews. Still, a job in Detroit wouldn’t be the worst fallback. While the Lions offense took a step back in 2025 and especially struggled down the stretch, the unit still finished top-five in both points and yards. While the Lions haven’t tapped into the Mike/Kyle Shanahan tree since Anthony Lynn, McDaniel would certainly warrant some consideration for the gig.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.