GLENDALE – When Mike McDaniel woke up on Black Monday with his job intact, everyone expected him to be the coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2026. Some McDaniel’s peers weren’t so luckily, as Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon headlined the name of fired head coaches. However, just three days later, Miami has decided to relieve McDaniel of his duties to the franchise.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!One can assume the Dolphins could be looking to sign recently fired head coach John Harbaugh as a replacement. McDaniel is on the job market, which could be just the answer for what the Cardinals are looking for to turn around the franchise as the next head coach.
Dec 28, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel runs off the field following a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
McDaniel’s past success speaks for self:
The 42-year-old was the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator in 2021 before succeeded Dolphins head coach Brain Flores for the job a year later. McDaniel inherited an offense that 25th, 15th and 22nd in points the three previous years and turned them to the 11th best offense in the NFL. He revived the young career of Tua Tagovailoa and turned him into a Pro Bowler in the duo’s second year together.
In 2023, McDaniel led Miami to the second best scoring offense in the league, while he had a system in place for Tagovailoa to lead the league in passing. The genius of McDaniel’s offensive mind is his versatility, as the rushing game had the sixth most yards on the season.
Dec 28, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill reacts during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The subsequent two years were derailed by injuries that saw Tagovailoa missed six games in 2024 and was never the same player after all the concussions. This past season seemed to be a complete fall off of McDaniel as a head coach in the NFL, as the Dolphins started the year 1-6. However, McDaniel stayed the course and kept his team together to win five of its next six games.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon embraces team owner Michael Bidwill before the team plays the Jacksonville Jaguars at State Farm Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025.
Despite not finishing the final four games strong, McDaniel proved that he still had control of the locker room to not let the season go completely sideways. Comparatively to Gannon, who started the 2025 season 2-0, would lose 14 of the last 15 games and couldn’t recover from a string of bad losses.
His last two years in South Beach wasn’t pretty, but McDaniel has proven to be resilient and could help unlock a team that Cardinals fans have been clamoring for in 2026.
Former Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu ridicules Jonathan Gannon following firing
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Reporter Tanner Tortorella covers general assignment for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @TannerTSports
