New Hello, Hard Goodbye: Miami Hires Mike McDaniel as Head Coach -

Four weeks. That’s how long it took the Miami Dolphins to find a new head coach after they relieved Brian Flores of his duties. And his name is Mike McDaniel.

Miami Hires McDaniel over Kellen Moore, Others

Miami announced that it is hiring former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel for its new head coaching gig on Sunday and the new head of South Beach is already en-route as of Monday.

McDaniel was in the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 30, but after suffering a loss, he embarked on a 10-hour interview with the Dolphins.

Miami interviewed McDaniel, as well as Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, after Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll had already been scooped up by the New York Giants. Per NFL rules, McDaniel could not be interviewed until the 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs.

After being interviewed for those 10 hours last week, the official hiring announcement came Sunday afternoon.

McDaniel Entered NFL in 2005, Has Held Numerous Successful Positions

McDaniel started in the league with the Denver Broncos as an intern back in 2005. Then, from 2006-08 he worked for the Houston Texans as an offensive assistant under head coach Gary Kubiak before his big break as a running back coach for the CFL Sacramento Mountain Lions in 2009-10.

McDaniel eventually came back to the NFL in 2011 where he again worked as an offensive assistant under head coach Mike Shanahan and the Washington Redskins from 2011-13, before being promoted to wide receivers coach following the 2012 season. WR Pierre Garcon led the NFL in receptions under McDaniel for the Redskins in his time as the coach in Washington.

McDaniel was hired by the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons both for the same positions as WR coach, with Cleveland’s coming in 2014 and Atlanta in 2015-16.

McDaniel was part of the infamous Super Bowl flunk when New England came back from the 28-3 second-half deficit to upset the Falcons, and I’m sure is something he doesn’t want to be known for.

After the 2016 season, McDaniel would reunite with his former boss, and now head coach of San Francisco, Kyle Shanahan, as its run game coordinator from 2016 until 2021. He was promoted to offensive coordinator when former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh left to join the New York Jets as their head coach and took pass game coordinator Mike LaFleur with him, leaving various openings on the 49ers’ coaching staff.

Will McDaniel’s Offensive Mind Get Dolphins Offense on Track?

How did that translate, we honestly couldn’t tell you, but it got San Francisco to the NFC Championship again, so we won’t ask too many questions.

It is safe to say that McDaniel has some experience with the offense, especially with getting it in the right direction. But hopefully, his talents will translate over from making 49ers WR Deebo Samuel into the star he is to either Jaylen Waddle, or any of the receivers Miami possesses.

Hopefully, with a new head coach with an offensive background, he can direct quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the boys to a more hopeful future, while also riding the defense just a little bit more before he can fully throw the team on his back.

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Regardless, if Tagovailoa can throw the team on his back, the defense will still be the focal point. But, keep an eye out for some splashy news in the near-future as tight end Mike Gesicki is up for a new contract. It will now be up to new coach McDaniel if he wants to build on the young star. Time will tell.

FPC Dolphins News

As they say in with the new, and out with the old.

This is why I am telling all of you that with the addition of Miami’s new coach, we will be losing our “coach” here at FPC Dolphins.

Our Managing Editor Kayla Morton has decided to leave our publication at the end of the month in pursuit of herself. After three years, she is leaving the FPC website and didn’t know she’d be reading this in my article. I hope she decides to not edit this out.

But Kayla, you will be reading this, and I hope you know that everyone who means something to you wants to let you know that we are proud of you and that you need this time away to relax and be you. Unfortunately, we can no longer offend certain faiths (inside joke), but I trust that one day our names will be on FPC articles again and you will come back when the time is right.

On that note, I also regret to tell all of you that I will be switching back over to the New York Jets FPC website, where I originally began.

It should tell you something that I, being a long-time suffering Jets fan, came over to work with Kayla, and what kind of a person she is to work in-division. But I have decided to go back to my herd and go back to bashing the Dolphins now that my friend and long-time editor Kayla has stepped away.

It is time for me to rejoin the formation as the Jets say. I wish you all well and good luck with the NEW HC!

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– Alessandro Senatore is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins who specializes in the NFL Draft and fantasy sports. Like and follow on Follow @AM_Senatore Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.