On Oct. 30, the Dolphins got smoked by the Ravens on Thursday Night Football. On Oct. 31, they announced that they were firing only their general manager, Chris Grier. That was a good start, but it was super clear that Mike McDaniel also had to go … but they said they were going to keep him on through the season.
Fast-forward to Monday, Jan. 5. During his postseason press conference, McDaniel said that he was going to be the Dolphins’ head coach until told otherwise and that he was going to be part of the hiring process for the new general manager.
Apparently, Stephen Ross (the Dolphins owner) heard that and thought, ‘Wait… did we not fire Mike? I’ve got to get on that this week.’ Because on Thursday morning, news came out that Miami was getting rid of him.
Maybe McDaniel isn’t cut out for a head coaching job. He’s only 42 years old, so if he wants to get back on that path a long, long, long, long, long time from now, he still can … But the dude has got one hell of an offensive mind, and there are plenty of teams that could use a guy like that.
These are some of those teams. For reference, I’m ruling out any team that doesn’t currently have a head coach, because duh.
Washington Commanders
Mike McDaniel and Dan Quinn worked together in Atlanta from 2015 to 2016. McDaniel had a drinking problem that had already cost him a job in Houston, so Quinn and some of the Falcons’ coaches sat him down and got him straight.
He’s said that he owes everything to Quinn, so from a personality standpoint and his ability to gel with a head coach, Washington makes a whole lot of sense. As for the actual offense? That’d probably be a home run.
Kliff Kingsbury’s offense in 2024 was all about going quick and letting Jayden Daniels be Jayden Daniels. Mike McDaniel’s offense in Miami was all about letting Tua be Tua (which turned out to be a pretty bad idea), very meaningful motions and formations with special players, and a creative running game.
If the Commanders are looking for a guy who can run an offense that makes things easier for Jayden Daniels and can get his career back on track, Mike McDaniel is a great person to look at.
Philadelphia Eagles
It’s no secret that the Eagles' offense has been uninspiring this season. The running game isn’t working, and the passing game is void of any type of structural creativity… but that’s kind of just how Nick Sirianni’s offense is, and Kevin Patullo only emphasizes that.
They’re run like the best high school team in a city: the Eagles have better players, and they’re going to win on talent alone. That can work (and it works really well with the Eagles because they do actually have that kind of talent)... but this is the NFL. When it doesn’t work, it’s disgusting to watch, and that’s what we’ve seen this season.
Mike McDaniel would be a very refreshing breath into the Eagles' offense and bring a whole bunch of new concepts to the offense… like meaningful motion… or route concepts that work off each other and make things easier for the receivers… and maybe, just maybe, sequenced playcalling.
The problem is that he might not necessarily be welcome: he wouldn’t have full freedom to run his offense, the Eagles already have a run game coordinator, Kevin Patullo is Nick Sirianni’s guy, and Vic Fangio probably doesn’t like him a whole lot after their time together in Miami.
Other than those four mountain-sized speed bumps, this would be fun.
Detroit Lions
If you think about Ben Johnson, ‘creative’ should be the first word that comes to mind. If you think about Mike McDaniel, ‘creative’ should be the second word that comes to mind behind ‘MacGruber.’
After Johnson left Detroit to go to Chicago, the Lions lost a whole lot of that creativity. It seemed like they tried to fake it a little bit in the beginning of the season with John Morton as their offensive coordinator, but that clearly didn’t work out. McDaniel’s creativity is a lot different than Johnson’s, but they can both build one hell of a running game.
In 2023, McDaniel turned 70-year-old Raheem Mostert into a 1,000-yard rusher who led the league in touchdowns (18!). It would be truly horrifying to see what he could do with a good offensive line (if they ever get healthy) and with a running back like Jahmyr Gibbs.
Also, pairing a certified hoss like Dan Campbell with a certified pipsqueak like McDaniel would be hilarious. I’m not totally sure you’d be able to see him behind the giant lectern in Detroit.
Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs fans are tired of Matt Nagy. Luckily for them, he’s been interviewing for a handful of the open head coaching jobs. If he gets one of those jobs (and maybe even if he doesn’t), the Chiefs should be looking to change things up on the offensive side of the ball.
I don’t know how well Andy Reid and Mike McDaniel would gel. There’s a chance that their two brains would completely clash and everyone would have a bad time… OR, they could have some Pacific Rim type of mind-meld and do things that we’ve never seen before.
Every bit of offensive success that they’ve had over the past two seasons has been based purely on Patrick Mahomes being Patrick Mahomes, and not at all about elevating anyone else not named Travis Kelce.
We also know that McDaniel can get speedsters open and get them the ball downfield. That’d be a good thing for the Chiefs because they picked the speedster, Xavier Worthy, in the first round of the 2024 draft. Aside from some gimmicky plays, he’s been pretty disappointing for them.
Getting an offensive guy who can turn a player like that into an actual weapon would be massive for that team and for the franchise as a whole.
San Francisco 49ers
This would probably be the most boring place for McDaniel to go, but it also makes a whole lot of sense. That’s why I put it last … Just get the gang back together. Kyle Shanahan, Robert Saleh, and Mike McDaniel had some pretty solid 49ers teams when they were together from 2017 to 2021.
The biggest weak point in that era was that their quarterbacks were a combination of Jimmy Garoppolo, C.J. Beathard, Nick Mullens, and Trey Lance… and they made it to a Super Bowl with Garoppolo. Brock Purdy is a massive step up from all of those guys.
Also, McDaniel never got to coordinate a run game with Christian McCaffrey. Brian Fleury is their run game coordinator right now, and it’s been pretty stinky all season. If their year ends on Sunday afternoon, a large part of that is probably going to be due to them not being able to establish a ground game against the Eagles, who would much rather have you run than pass.