FlurrySports lists the top Miami Dolphins head coach candidates after firing Mike McDaniel, including John Harbaugh and more.
After being successful for multiple years in San Francisco, Mike McDaniel got his first head job as the Miami Dolphins head coach in 2022. In his first two years, he looked the part, leading the Dolphins to a combined record of 20-14 along with two straight playoff appearances, Miami’s first since 2016. Since their 2023 Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, though, everything has gone downhill in Miami. Over the last two seasons, the Dolphins have gone 15-19, including a 1-6 start to the year this season.
With plenty of big-name coaches and coordinators either fired or looking for the next step in their careers, the Miami Dolphins will have plenty to choose from to lead them for the foreseeable future. With so many big names on the board and multiple teams looking to make hires all at the same time, we should be in for a very interesting offseason for the Dolphins. These are the three most likely Miami Dolphins head coach candidates.
Top Miami Dolphins Head Coach Candidates
John Harbaugh | Former Ravens HC
While this one may seem the most obvious for most teams that are looking for their next head coach, it makes even more sense for the Miami Dolphins. You see, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has plenty of ties to the Harbaugh family and will certainly be giving John Harbaugh a look. Back in 2011, Ross was interested in John’s brother Jim taking over in Miami. Another link between John Harbaugh and the Dolphins is the current GM of the Los Angeles Chargers, Chad Alexander, who is being floated as a possible hire for the Dolphins’ front office. His time with John Harbaugh goes way back as he served in the Ravens’ front office, most notably as assistant director of player personnel from 2009 to 2019.
As if those links weren’t strong enough already, Stephen Ross is also a major donor and alumn of the University of Michigan. As most NFL fans know, that is where John’s brother Jim was a starting quarterback and head coach. Not only does Harbaugh have the ties to Miami, but it’s a nice fresh start for both sides. The Miami Dolphins were looking for a breath of fresh air with McDaniel, and it didn’t pan out. With many questions regarding their future that will need to be addressed pretty soon, hiring John Harbaugh would bring much-needed stability to their organization.
Vance Joseph | Broncos DC
Another high-quality candidate to be the next Miami Dolphins head coach who has ties to Miami is current Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Joseph’s ties to Miami go back to 2016, when Vance Joseph was the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. With Adam Gase at the helm, Joseph’s defense helped Miami win nine of its last 11 games on its way to the playoffs. His defense was a large part of that success as they forced 21 turnovers during that stretch and were in elite company in multiple defensive metrics such as third-down conversion rates and negative plays forced.
It is no secret that Joseph’s first head coaching gig didn’t go as planned. He went 11-21 over two seasons and was promptly fired from Denver after. Although that isn’t the best thing to see from a possible head coach candidate, many coaches have failed at multiple places in their careers due to multiple reasons. In addition, those Denver Broncos teams he took over were not great on paper and didn’t give him much to work with. Ever since that failure of a tenure at Denver, he has been a fantastic coach at every other stop, especially this year, in charge of a historically great Broncos defense. It’s long past time he gets another shot as a head coach, and Miami would be as good a place as any for him to get that chance.
Kliff Kingsbury | Former Commanders OC
This hire may not be the one that most Dolphins fans want, but it certainly is one that is a possibility. After his four years in charge of the Arizona Cardinals and one at USC as a senior offensive analyst, Kingsbury was hired onto Dan Quinn’s staff with the Washington Commanders. His time as the head coach at the Arizona Cardinals didn’t quite go as planned, but like Joseph’s time at Denver, not all of that can be attributed to his own failures. Just a simple look at the Cardinals since his departure and their recent firing of his replacement, Jonathan Gannon, shows that there are much deeper organizational issues in Arizona.
While at Washington, he had plenty of early success that couldn’t able to be translated to this past year. In his first year as offensive coordinator, the Washington Commanders went a surprising 12-5 and even won two playoff games. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, and the Commanders were viewed as one of the more popular dark horse picks this offseason. Instead, Daniels and the team battled the injury bug, and the Commanders limped to a disappointing 5-12 record.
With the Commanders and Kingsbury parting ways mutually, many teams will likely be interested in Kingsbury’s services. Although the results have been muddled in terms of consistency, there is no doubt that he has gotten the best out of Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Dolphins curious if he can do the same with Tua Tagovailoa, especially seeing how much money they have locked into him for the next few years.
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