The Miami Dolphins are hiring San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as head coach, according to multiple reports on Sunday.
McDaniel, who is biracial, will be the first minority hire of the 2021-22 NFL coaching cycle.
The 38-year-old will also be among the youngest NFL head coaches, while shooting to the top of the league's head coach personality rankings.
McDaniel entered the league as an intern for the Denver Broncos in 2005, and his first on-the-field job came as the Washington Redskins' wide receivers coach in 2013. His hiring will make four future NFL head coaches on Washington's 2013 offensive staff, joining offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco), quarterbacks coach Mike LaFleur (Green Bay), and tight ends coach Sean McVay (LA Rams).
(To prove God has a sense of humor, that team went 3-13.)
McDaniel has been a longtime lieutenant of Kyle Shanahan, following him from Washington to Cleveland, Atlanta, and finally to San Francisco. He was the run game coordinator for a 49ers team that reached the Super Bowl in the 2019 campaign, then promoted to head coach for the 2021 season.
He joins a Dolphins organization embroiled in controversy. The club fired Brian Flores on the heels of two straight winning seasons, a feat the team had not accomplished since 2002-03. Flores has since included the Dolphins in his suit against the NFL, accusing owner Stephen Ross of paying him $100,000 per loss in an effort to tank his first season. (Ross denies the claim.) On the field, the franchise has not won a playoff game since 2000 and has not reached the AFC Championship since 1992.
With Miami's hiring of McDaniel, two jobs -- Houston, New Orleans -- remain open in the NFL.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
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