Darren Waller may have been the last player to speak with Mike McDaniel before the Miami Dolphins fired the coach. As Waller put it on an interview with former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel, he was at the “scene of the crime.”
Waller, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, says he was in an exit meeting with McDaniel last week where the former coach told Waller he hoped the tight end would return to Miami next season.
Then, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross walked in. The three talked briefly before the conversation stalled, Waller said. Eventually, Ross gestured at Waller to leave the room.
The tight end stepped out for a massage, only to receive an alert on his phone roughly 20 minutes later that McDaniel had been fired.
“That (expletive) is cold for real,” Waller said on the “Glory Daze with Johnny Manziel” podcast.
McDaniel’s firing came as a slight surprise to at least some. The ex-Dolphins coach previously said he would be part of the team’s interview process for its next general manager. But a 1-6 start in his fourth season and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s regression led to McDaniel losing his first head coaching job.
The 42-year-old finished with a 35-33 record and failed to notch a postseason victory.
“After careful evaluation and extensive discussions since the season ended, I have made the decision that our organization is in need of comprehensive change,” Ross said in a statement last Thursday. “I informed Mike McDaniel this morning that he has been relieved of his duties as head coach. I love Mike and want to thank him for his hard work, commitment and the energy he brought to our organization.”
McDaniel has already interviewed for other head coaching opportunities and is also a sought-after offensive coordinator candidate. The Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons interviewed McDaniel for their vacant head coach position.
He led the Dolphins to the NFL’s top offense in 2023 and spent one season as the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator before that.
Waller praised McDaniel throughout his discussion with Manziel, calling him a “human computer” and testifying to McDaniel’s play-calling prowess.
“He’s brilliant. You see throughout the years, everybody needs somebody to blame,” Waller said. “The (expletive) that he’s preaching, what he’s teaching, how detailed he is, how he’s explaining stuff to us, I feel prepared going into every game.”