Baltimore Beatdown
The Baltimore Ravens interviewed former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel for their head coaching vacancy on Thursday, per a team announcement.
McDaniel, 42, was on the hot seat for much of the 2025 season, but all reports indicated he would be retained for another year. But Dolphins owner Stephen Ross relieved McDaniel of his duties anyway, making him one of the hottest offensive coaches on the market. He has already drawn interest from a number of teams and will likely land a new job by the end of the cycle, whether it be as an offensive coordinator or a head coach.
McDaniel began his coaching career as an intern under Mike Shanahan in Denver in 2005. He spent much of the next 15 years working with Kyle Shanahan, including time in Washington with a now-legendary staff that also included Kevin O’Connell and Sean McVay. He also worked under Shanahan in Houston, Atlanta, and San Francisco.
After years as an offensive assistant and wide receivers coach, McDaniel was named the 49ers run game coordinator, a position he held for four years before a promotion to offensive coordinator in 2021. He revitalized the unit after an underwhelming 2020 season, which helped him secure the head coaching gig in Miami.
The Dolphins were coming off the controversial tenure of Brian Flores – another candidate for the Ravens’ vacancy – when they hired McDaniel. He quickly installed a motion-heavy scheme that gave Tua Tagovailoa easier throws and reads while unleashing the team’s wide receiver duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Miami broke a five-year playoff drought as a 9-8 wildcard in McDaniel’s debut season and improved to 11-6 in 2023. They were the league’s best offense that year, but they have not been able to recapture the same magic. The bottom did not completely fall out – the Dolphins went 8-9 and 7-10 in the last two years – but McDaniel’s hold on his job was clearly loosening. A few days after the season ended – and shortly after John Harbaugh’s firing was announced – the Dolphins announced they relieved McDaniel of his duties.
McDaniel is a candidate for several other head coaching vacancies around the league, as well as a few OC positions. Theoretically, the Ravens could consider him for an OC job under their new head coach, though McDaniel may have already accepted another gig.
