Dolphins' GM interview request reveals timeline of decision to fire Mike McDaniel

Matt Sullivan

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Dolphins' GM interview request reveals timeline of decision to fire Mike McDaniel image

The Miami Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday morning, a few days after most teams made their head coach firing decisions.

While there's no confirmation that this is why they fired McDaniel, the Baltimore Ravens firing of John Harbaugh might have played a role.

And, as Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated notes, the timeline for when the Dolphins sent in their general manager interview requests might have revealed when they changed their tune on firing McDaniel.

Dolphins fire Mike McDaniel, GM search reveals timeline for big decision

"It's worth mentioning that the Dolphins put in five GM requests on Monday. The one on Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander didn't go in until Tuesday - the day John Harbaugh was let go in Baltimore." Breer writes. "Miami owner Stephen Ross has a lot of history with the Harbaugh family."

Breer isn't saying it directly, but there's a strong implication that the Dolphins, once they heard of Harbaugh's firing, decided to begin putting things into motion to bring him to Miami.

Their first move was to request an interview with Alexander, a GM candidate who has a connection to the Harbaugh family and could be a strong pairing with the former Ravens head coach.

And with rumors swirling that the Dolphins were interested in Harbaugh despite having McDaniel still as the team's head coach, their decision to fire the four-year Miami coach isn't a major surprise.

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The Dolphins, with Alexander likely the favorite for the GM job, a strong link to Harbaugh already, and with the note from Breer, the Dolphins seemingly fired McDaniel thanks to Harbaugh becoming available.

There were signs that the Dolphins were sticking with McDaniel as the season wound down, but things changed, which likely revolved around Harbaugh getting fired.

Miami's general manager search and interview request timeline hints at the Dolphins changing plans once Harbaugh was fired.

There won't be any confirmation such a decision was made, but the timeline of the GM interviews points to Ross and the Dolphins making the decision ot move on from McDaniel, thanks in large part to Harbaugh becoming available.

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News Correspondent