The Miami Dolphins made their decision on Mike McDaniel's future two days after the head coach met with owner Stephen Ross. It took less time for the coach to start getting calls about a future job.
The Dolphins' former head coach spent only a couple of hours without a job before his phone started ringing, and the first call may be the most ironic.
According to reports, former Dolphins interim head coach and current HC in Detroit, Dan Campbell, has already reached out to McDaniel about taking their vacant offensive coordinator job.
Dan Campbell has already reached out to Mike McDaniel to gauge interest in his OC job
The news came later in the afternoon from Ian Rapoport via social media channel "X."
The #Lions have reached out to former #Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel about their vacant offensive coordinator position, sources say. McDaniel is a top candidate for any open OC job. pic.twitter.com/Eg7jc6zTdg
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 8, 2026
There are many others in the media who see McDaniel getting another head coaching job this cycle. Teams needing offensive help with vacancies may not be able to resist what McDaniel brought to the Dolphins offense, especially in 2023.
Miami fans are not surprised by the news either. His offensive system is fast and confusing for defenses. He was taking on far too much by calling his own plays, something a team may not want him doing if they talk with him about an HC job.
The Raiders, Titans, Browns, Ravens, Giants, Falcons, and Cardinals are all looking for new head coaches. It is likely that McDaniel will get a call from at least one of those teams, but it is still hard to imagine him not having to take an OC job for a few more years to gain a real foothold on another HC job.
In Detroit, McDaniel would be lethal with an arsenal that includes Amon-Ra Saint Brown, Jared Goff, and Jhamyr Gibbs. Given his propensity for calling complex plays, McDaniel could potentially be what the Lions need to make a real run at a Super Bowl.
Another team to watch that we discussed earlier is Washington. McDaniel has close personal ties to Dan Quinn. For now, the fact that the Lions were the first to reach out shows how much they missed Ben Johnson this past season.