San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is one of the most underrated NFL head coaching candidates of the cycle.
Primarily, the 38-year-old offensive mastermind has been linked to the Miami Dolphins’ head coach vacancy after they surprisingly fired Brian Flores last month.
We’re now hearing more on this. And is sure looks like McDaniel is going to be headed to South Beach.
“Dolphins have not had 2nd interviews with their finalists yet. GM Chris Grier traveled to Mobile for Senior Bowl yesterday and he’s out scouting prospects today,” Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media noted. “I’m told their 2nd interview with the top remaining candidate — 49ers OC Mike McDaniel — is set for later this week.”
Related: Why Mike McDaniel to the Miami Dolphins makes sense
Mike McDaniel to the Miami Dolphins
With San Francisco since Kyle Shanahan’s first season back in 2017, McDaniel was promoted to offensive coordinator prior to the start of the 2021 campaign. That came after the former run-game coordinator received a ton of interest for his current role with other teams last cycle.
McDaniel ultimately “led” the 49ers’ offense to a No. 7 ranking in total yards and a No. 13 mark in points scored. This, despite the limited play of Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback.
While McDaniel did not call plays for San Francisco this past season, he’s seen as a genius on the offensive side of the ball. He’s also a longstanding colleague of Mr. Shanahan. That inlucded their stints together with the Houston Texans (2006-08), Washington Football Team (2012-13), Atlanta Falcons (2015-16) and these 49ers (2017-current).
In the past, McDaniel has worked with some respected head coaches, too. That includes Gary Kubiak, Dan Quinn and Mike Shanahan.
The idea for these Dolphins is to find someone who can work wonders with young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is entering his third season in the NFL after an up-and-down start to his career.
Tua was a point of contention between Flores and Grier during the 2021 season, leading to the former being fired despite the Dolphins boasting a winning record each of the past two years.