The Dolphins have not made it official Mike McDaniel will return for a fifth season as HC, but this situation certainly looks to be headed that way.
McDaniel said (via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe) he will be part of Miami’s GM search process. While the hire will not solely be McDaniel’s call, this provides a pretty clear indication which direction Dolphins ownership is leaning regarding the head coach.
A GM who can work with McDaniel was not believed to be a Dolphins priority, but it would help if the organization indeed plans to keep its HC. The early makeup of the Dolphins’ search points to McDaniel having a great chance to stay. Three of the six interview slips Miami has sent out went to San Francisco execs — all of whom were with the 49ers during McDaniel’s tenure. Josh Williams, Tarik Ahmad and R.J. Gillen are among the names the Dolphins want to interview.
Stephen Ross will make the final call, but he split up McDaniel and Chris Grier just before the trade deadline. Both Dolphins power brokers entered the season on hot seats; Grier’s interest in a fire sale-like approach at the deadline hurt his chances of staying. Well, that and the Dolphins’ record.
McDaniel’s fourth season started 1-6, and the team later benched Tua Tagovailoa for Quinn Ewers. Tagovailoa, who would welcome a fresh start, appears heading toward surpassing Russell Wilson‘s single-player dead money record (cutting the left-hander would bring a staggering $99.2MM in dead cap).
McDaniel and Tyreek Hill had revitalized Tagovailoa’s career in 2022, but both players’ contracts became an issue under Grier. The GM had caved to player demands for early paydays on a few occasions, with Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey joining Hill in being given a monster guarantee package with more than a year remaining on a contract. The Dolphins designated Howard as a post-June 1 cut, with Ramsey being traded after June 1 because of his contract. Tagovailoa could be a post-June 1 release — if he is jettisoned without a trade, the Dolphins will have to use that designation — and Hill not being classified as a post-June 1 cut would bring nearly $30MM in dead cap. Tagovailoa’s $53.1MM-per-year extension runs through 2028.
McDaniel, 42, was tasked with leading a flawed roster this year, but his offense ranked 25th in points and 26th in yardage. After back-to-back playoff berths, Miami is riding consecutive sub-.500 seasons. Tagovailoa avoided injury this season but underwhelmed despite being in Year 4 in McDaniel’s offense. Miami would carry a glaring QB need if it moves on from the southpaw passer, and the Dolphins look to be trusting McDaniel in helping find a replacement.
The Dolphins rallied to reach a 6-7 record, but they struggled mightily in Pittsburgh during a nationally televised game. Tagovailoa’s subsequent benching did not spark the offense, as Ewers started in blowout losses to the Bengals and Patriots. McDaniel surviving despite this would be interesting, though Ross has long been a fan of his coaching. Grier’s ouster did not precede reports McDaniel would follow him out the door. On the contrary, reports pegged McDaniel as a clear candidate to stay.
While some pushback on this emerged late last month, the Dolphins appear ready to at least partially stay the course. The GM search could change the plan, as the Jaguars’ mid-search decision to fire GM Trent Baalke (in order to attract better HC options) reminds. For now, though, McDaniel will be a key part of the search. Hiring a GM based partially on the recommendation of a coach on the hot seat would not seem wise, so it will be interesting to learn how much influence McDaniel ends up having here.