Everything was odd leading up to the firing of Mike McDaniel by the Miami Dolphins. Black Monday arrived, and McDaniel was still the HC.
In the days immediately after the last weekend of the regular season, McDaniel was under the impression he was coming back. The Dolphins were looking for a new GM, and he was going to have a small voice in the search. That didn't materialize.
A day after McDaniel is fired, the Dolphins announce they hired Jon-Eric Sullivan. Most viewed this as a Sullivan decision. He had already been interviewed for a second time, and it was being reported that he was being offered the job. Naturally, it was assumed that Sullivan made the decision. That, however, wasn't the case.
Miami Dolphins firing of Mike McDaniel had nothing to do with Jon-Eric Sullivan
The new GM was asked about the power structure of the Dolphins now that he is the GM. It was also asked about the McDaniel termination. Sullivan pointed out that the decision to part ways with McDaniel was made the day before he was hired.
That may be technically true, but it was pretty much a done deal when he walked out of the second interview a day before. Sullivan said he had nothing to do with that, but he also stated that he spoke openly about the kind of head coach he wanted in Miami.
Chances are, he was asked about McDaniel, someone he said he has a lot of respect for, but he made it clear the decision wasn't made by him. Despite that, he clearly didn't go into the interviews expressing his desire to keep him either. If he had, Ross would not have fired him.
There was little question that Sullivan wanted Jeff Hafley. He told the media that he was "Convicted in bringing Hafley with him," to the Dolphins. He did say that they looked at every other coach as well. He said he sat back during the second interview with Hafley and let the room decide whether he should be the coach. They universally agreed.
Stephen Ross didn't need the second interview with his new head coach. As Ross opened up the room and introduced his new GM and coach, he said that 10 minutes into the Hafley interview, he knew that was who he wanted. Rumors circulated in the league after Hafley's interview that he "blew away" everyone in the room.
Whatever changed Ross' mind on McDaniel will never be known, but it was the right decision for the Dolphins, no matter the kind of offensive mind he has. Miami needed accountabiliy and McDaniel couldn't provide it.
Sullivan didn't hide his desire for Hafley as his head coach. He told the media he was aware of the outside voices saying it was a favor to a friend. Sullivan called Hafley a friend, but he also said that his hiring was about everyone making the decision, not just him.
The Dolphins GM acknowledged that hiring a coach with previous NFL HC experience would have made his job easier, but he also knew that there could be philosophical issues as well.