Mike McDaniel’s firing not linked to John Harbaugh: insider

The Dolphins’ decision to fire head coach Mike McDaniel was not related to the sudden availability of former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. 

Speculation surrounding the shocking move, which the Dolphins announced on Thursday, has been that it was a sign that Miami would be going after Harbaugh, but ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported later in the day that the firing was “independent of” Harbaugh hitting the market. 

McDaniel met with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross on Tuesday, and after the sit-down, Ross felt like it was time for a change. 

“Ultimately, [Ross] just walked away from it feeling like it wasn’t the right decision to keep [McDaniel],” Darlington said on the Worldwide Leader. “He used the term status quo, wanting to avoid status quo. Now I am told Mike McDaniel was certainly surprised by this news, but ultimately, the Dolphins decided that they were both going to hire a new general manager and a new head coach.” 

The ESPN reporter then addressed the suggestion that the move was linked to Harbaugh, which he said he was told was “not the case.”

“McDaniel’s firing was independent of Harbaugh’s availability,” Darlington said. “That it happened as a result of that meeting and ultimately as a result of the continued toiling that Ross was going through when it came to the head coach.” 

The decision on who the next head coach of the Dolphins will be will depend on who the team brings in as their next general manager, which Darlington suggested would be hired within the next 24 hours. 

Miami fired Chris Grier in late October, with Champ Kelly serving as the interim GM through the end of the season. 

The Dolphins planned to bring in candidates for in-person interviews this week, according to the team’s own website, which included Kelly, Chad Alexander, Jon-Eric Sullivan and Josh Williams. 

Darlington added more context to how everything is intertwined now as the Dolphins seek out a new general manager and coach. 

“Here’s the deal: If Harbaugh isn’t cool with the GM that the Dolphins hire, it’s just not going to be a match. That’s something the Dolphins are willing to accept,” he wrote on X. “Yes, they are interested in Harbaugh. But the Dolphins are prioritizing the GM search over the head coaching search. That’s the structure they desire.

“That said, they have four very respected and viable candidates up for the job, one of which has a strong history with Harbaugh (Chad Alexander). 

“So it’s all still on the table.”