We now know John Harbaugh's role in Dolphins firing Mike McDaniel

Billy Heyen

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We now know John Harbaugh's role in Dolphins firing Mike McDaniel image

The Miami Dolphins took a bit longer than the rest of the league.

But on Thursday morning, they fired head coach Mike McDaniel, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Naturally, everyone's minds immediately went to John Harbaugh.

Earlier this week, the Ravens parted ways with Harbaugh, who had been their head coach for 18 years and won a Super Bowl with them.

Harbaugh immediately became the top coaching candidate available, and reports indicated that at least one team that didn't have a head coach opening had already contacted Harbaugh.

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The Dolphins were speculated as a possibility as that team, although nothing concrete came of that reporting.

Now, though, Miami has invited further speculation.

At least for the moment, this isn't as much about Harbaugh as it may seem, according to Schefter.

"Dolphins have not contacted John Harbaugh or made inquiries into other coaches," Schefter wrote on X. "This was an independent decision apart from general manager."

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Of course, Harbaugh could've loomed in the backs of minds as this decision was made by the Dolphins' leadership.

But it's interesting that almost immediately someone made sure to share with Schefter that it wasn't about Harbaugh. That's intentional messaging, although for what purpose, we don't know yet.

Harbaugh wouldn't necessarily jump at the Miami job anyway. There are a lot of question marks the Dolphins have to answer.

And with the firing of McDaniel, regardless of what it means for Harbaugh, the NFL offseason got even a little more interesting, and it's just getting started. 

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Senior Editor