The Miami Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday, ending his four-year stint with the team following a 7-10 2025 regular season. The rumors and speculation has Miami looking toward former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh as their top choice to take over the reins of a team that has not won a playoff game since 2000, but there are plenty of suitors for Harbaugh and there is no guarantee he lands in Miami. Who is could be on the list of possible hires?
The Dolphins are expected to fill their vacant general manager position before moving to their coaching search, but reports indicate that move could comes as early as tomorrow. Whenever Miami does get their front office hire completed, the list of coaches who could be on the radar could prove expansive.
Rooney Rule considerations
The NFL requires teams to interview minoirity candidates for vacancies in both the general manager and head coaching positions. The rule, initially introduced in 2003, has been modified over the years and, as of 2020, requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates for the head coaching position, and those interviews must be of coaches from outside the organization. For the Dolphins this year, that would mean an interview with defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, though a minority, would not count as meeting the Rooney Rule requirement.
The rule is not without controversy, including a lawsuit filed by former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores who, in 2022, alleged he had interviews prior to being hired by Miami that were simply to meet the Rooney Rule requirements and were not actual considerations for a vacant head coaching position. That litigation is still ongoing.
The NFL added a stipulation in 2020 that rewards teams for developing minority candidates. A team is awarded third-round draft picks if it has a minority candidate hired away from them for a head coaching or general manager position.
Harbaugh is the obvious name in this category, but several coaches could bring valuable experience to Miami, having already served as a head coach elsewhere. Miami’s last seven head coaching hires (McDaniel in 2022, Brian Flores in 2019, Adam Gase in 2016, Joe Philbin in 2012, Tony Sparano in 2008, Cam Cameron in 2007, and Nick Saban in 2005) have all been first-time NFL head coaches. The last time the Dolphins won a game in the playoffs was in 2000, when Dave Wannstedt, who had been the Chicago Bears head coach before joining Miami, was in his first year as the team’s head coach. It might be time for Miami to consider a “retread” coach instead of trying to find the next great rookie for the position.
Here is a list of potential targets for the Dolphins, with their head coaching and coordinator experiences, along with career highlights:
Coaches who could be first-time head coaches
If the Dolphins look to return to the younger-coach well, some rising stars could be in line for their first shot at the top coaching position. This year seems like one in which defensive coordinators are swinging back toward the top of the lists after years of offensive coordinators having the easier path to a head coaching position. Two names from the defensive side of the ball have Dolphins ties: Miami’s current defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and the Los Angeles Rams’ Chris Shula, the grandson of Dolphins legendary Hall of Fame coach Don Shula.
Here are some of the coordinator names who could find themselves on Miami’s list of potential head coaches: