When Head Coach Mike McDaniel was let go by the Miami Dolphins earlier this offseason, it came as a bit of a shock to many around the league. Unlike most coaches who are fired either midseason or on "Black Monday" directly after Week 18, McDaniel's firing was delayed by a few days.
The fact that he was fired in general wasn't all that surprising, as he was coming off his worst record as the Dolphins' leading man since he arrived in 2022. But waiting until several teams had fired their HCs and begun the interview process is abnormal, with many thinking it only happened due to John Harbaugh being let go by the Ravens.
Harbaugh is now the next coach of the Giants, so hopefully that wasn't the catalyst for the decision. While we may never know the specifics of why Stephen Ross made the call to fire him, Dolphins tight end Darren Waller just shed light on when the decision was made.
Appearing on former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel's Glory Daze podcast, Waller revealed that he was having his exit meeting with McDaniel when Stephen Ross joined them.
“I was at the scene of the crime”
— Glory Daze Podcast (@glorydazepod) January 15, 2026
Darren Waller was the last person to see Mike McDaniel before he was fired🤯
Full interview with Darren Waller is live now on Youtube and Spotify🤝 pic.twitter.com/QnF3H9L6Ed
Darren Waller reveals Miami Dolphins' owner Stephen Ros interrupted his exit meeting to fire Mike McDaniel
NFL players often have exit meetings with their HCs, just to reflect on the season and make sure they are on the same page. Waller is an impending free agent, and it sounds like McDaniel had an interest in bringing him back in 2026.
"My exit meeting was that Thursday morning", Waller said. "He's like, definitely want you back next year."
Things were seemingly normal, but that's when Ross showed up and changed the entire tone of the situation, as Waller would go on to explain.
"And then, Stephen Ross kicked the door in, and he comes in and joins the conversation."
From there, Waller leaves once he realizes that Ross and McDaniel wanted to talk privately. He left to get a massage, only to find out afterward that McDaniel had been relieved of his duties. Even a veteran like Waller seemed shaken by the suddenness of it all.
If there is one thing everyone who has spent any amount of time in the NFL will tell you, it's that it is a business first and foremost. No matter how much you may be liked or how highly you are thought of, winning (and making money, of course) will always be the driving force behind most decisions.
Now, fans will have to wait and see if Ross made the right call to move on from McDaniel, or if he made a miscalculation that could haunt him for years.