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New Report Reveals How Mike McDaniel Was Blindsided By Miami Dolphins Firing

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This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Mike McDaniel
Mike McDaniel (Credit: IMAGN)

Mike McDaniel is officially done as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. While that’s not necessarily surprising, given how things transpired this season, the timing was definitely shocking.

Earlier in the week, the former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator confirmed that he would be a part of the interviewing process for the GM position. The Dolphins even brought in multiple people with ties to McDaniel.

That’s why the decision caught him by surprise. According to a report by renowned Dolphins insider Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, neither McDaniel nor his camp saw this decision coming.

Mike McDaniel Thought He Was Coming Back For Another Season

Mike McDaniel
Mike McDaniel (Credit: IMAGN)

“McDaniel was informed this morning. This was a shock to Mike; his camp fully expected him to be retained. Ross decided to make the change after assessing situation in aftermath of meeting with McDaniel,” Jackson wrote on X.

Jackson added that McDaniel even met with his players over the past couple of days. He was acting like someone who was going to stay with the team for a little longer:

“A Dolphins player conveyed to me that Mike held exit meetings with players last couple days, talked about offseason plan, their potential role for next season. So this stunned a lot of people. Probably shouldn’t have stunned people but did. But it’s nobody’s fault. This is life in the NFL. Things change and teams must do what’s best for them,” the insider added in a follow-up post.

McDaniel seemed to be in the hot seat from the very start of the season. He was the odds-on favorite to be the first head coach fired.

Instead, the Dolphins pulled the plug on GM Chris Grier. They rallied late in the season with an impressive turnaround, and it seemed that he was going to get another chance, even at 7-10 and with a second consecutive season without making the playoffs.

Even so, it shouldn’t be long before McDaniel finds another job. He’s highly regarded as an offensive guru, and he should land on his feet right away.

There were some doubts about his ability to lead, but Dolphins players seemed to buy in and rally around him late in the season. Still, some people are better suited to be top-notch assistants and not the main guy in charge. If that’s the case with him, someone’s going to get a huge boost to their offense with his arrival.

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