The 2025 NFL regular season is now over, and several teams have made coaching moves.
There are currently eight head coaching jobs available after the Miami Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel on Thursday. It wasn't completely surprising to see McDaniel get fired after missing the playoffs for the second straight season, but the timing was suspicious.
Usually, teams fire their coaches on the Monday after the final game. However, the Dolphins waited until Thursday, when all the other teams were already entering the interview process.
Could the Dolphins have been planning to keep McDaniel until the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh? Harbaugh wasn't a name that many expected to be available, and that could have teams rethinking everything.
NFL insider says McDaniel decision not about Harbaugh
There's some interesting smoke with Harbaugh and the Dolphins.
For one, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross graduated from Michigan, where John's brother Jim played and coached. Additionally, Chad Alexander is rumored to be a finalist for the Dolphins general manager job, and Alexander currently works for the Los Angeles Chargers with Jim.
Alexander also worked for the Ravens for over 20 years, so he has familiarity with both Harbaugh brothers. Hiring Alexander would seemingly give the Dolphins an edge to land Harbaugh.
However, NFL insider Jeff Darlington reported that the decision to fire McDaniel had nothing to do with Harbaugh.
“I’m told the Dolphins have not yet been in touch with John Harbaugh or anyone in his camp, and people close to the decision are adamant this decision to move away from McDaniel is independent of Harbaugh’s availability,” Darlington wrote.
Darlington instead claims that Ross simply took his time in deciding whether or not to fire McDaniel.
“Owner Steve Ross met with McDaniel on Tuesday, and the outcome of the meeting left Ross very conflicted,” Darlington added. “He really likes Mike — ‘loves his intelligence and offensive mind’ — but Tuesday’s meeting resulted in some hard thoughts. Ross didn’t feel like the results were there, and despite the end-of-year production, Ross simply wasn’t comfortable moving forward with the ‘status quo.’”
Ross may not have made the move with Harbaugh in mind, but it still wouldn't be surprising to see the team go after the Super Bowl-winning coach. Harbaugh could be tempted by Miami's weather, his relationships with Ross and Alexander, and the opportunity to start from scratch.
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