The Miami Dolphins have decided to move on from Mike McDaniel. After a disappointing season, Miami has fired McDaniel after four seasons with the team. The Dolphins' strong finish to the 2025 season was not enough to save McDaniel's job.
Luckily for the Dolphins, there are some capable names on the coaching market who'd be an excellent replacement for McDaniel. One of these candidates is the recently fired John Harbaugh. Unsurprisingly, there's already interest from Miami to hire Harbaugh.
“With John Harbaugh available, and #Dolphins owner Stephen Ross' ties to the family, he now looms as a key candidate for Miami. A reason to fire a coach, with the thought that they could get Harbaugh,” Ian Rapoport said.
Adam Schefter reports that as of the moment, the Dolphins have not contacted Harbaugh yet. Dianna Russini corroborated this report, but notes that, “with Chad Alexander interviewing in-person for the GM job and his close connections to Harbaugh, this will be one to watch.”
Harbaugh was let go by the Ravens after missing the playoffs this season. Having coached the team since 2008, Harbaugh's pedigree as a head coach is undeniable. He's led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win in 2012 and has coached Baltimore to multiple playoff appearances, Championship Game appearances, and AFC North division titles. The Dolphins would love to have someone like Harbaugh coaching this team.
That being said, the Dolphins have other issues to take care other than their head coaching job. As Russini mentioned, Miami has an open general manager role to fill after Chris Grier's firing earlier in the season. In addition, the quarterback role is a huge question mark after Tua Tagovailoa's benching this year.
Aside from Harbaugh, other names that are being considered by other teams are Rams DC Chris Shula, Chiefs OC Matt Nagy, Vikings DC (and former Dolphins head coach) Brian Flores, and Chargers DC Jesse Minter.
