Dolphins Dump Mike McDaniel After All

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Thu, Jan 8 2026 4:09 PM UTC

It seemed immediately after Week 18 that Miami would proceed with HC Mike McDaniel in place. But that changed Thursday when the team fired him. That move follows the in-season ouster of GM Chris Grier. McDaniel spent the past four years at the Dolphins helm after one year as 49ers OC and four others as run-game coordinator.

What They're Saying

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero: "[Dolphins owner] Stephen Ross and Mike McDaniel met this week to discuss the season. After that meeting and a few days of reflection, Ross made this decision and informed McDaniel this morning. The team is currently working to hire a GM."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport: "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 they could get Harbaugh."

ESPN's Adam Schefter: "Miami's decision to move on from Mike McDaniel is the first of what should be several major offseason decisions. The Dolphins already have QB Tua Tagovailoa guaranteed $54M in 2026. On March 15, $3M of his 2027 salary becomes guaranteed. Cutting him outright would result in $99M in dead money. Earlier this week, Tagovailoa said it would be 'dope' to get a fresh start."

Fantasy Football Impact

Miami now needs to find a new GM, a new coach (and staff under him), and probably a new QB. And WR Tyreek Hill doesn't seem likely to play another game for the team either.

The Harbaugh connection is worth noting. That's a key factor that changed between the beginning of this week and the day Miami made its move. (His firing in Baltimore came Tuesday.)

Update: ESPN's Jeff Darlington -- who previously worked the Dolphins beat -- reports: "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."

We'll see where all this goes for the Dolphins.

McDaniel, meanwhile, hits the open market with the potential to boost some other team's offense.

Here's how the offense trended after he arrived in 2022:

Year	Pts Rk	Yds Rk	Off DVOA Rk
2021	22nd	25th	23rd
2022	11th	6th	6th
2023	2nd	1st	2nd

Of course, the past two years saw that Miami offense fall off in all categories under McDaniel's watch.

Nevertheless, his total Dolphins tenure plus history with Kyle Shanahan should make McDaniel at least an attractive OC candidate -- if not a target for another HC gig.

We'll be tracking his move for potential fantasy-upside boosts.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.