With just one game remaining this season, we are nearing one of the most anticipated (or unanticipated) days of the year in NFL circles. Just what will the Miami Dolphins choose to do on the infamous "Black Monday" coming up?
Typically, the immediate Monday following the conclusion of the regular season is prime for franchises to announce coach firings. It isn't unusual to see multiple head coaches let go that day, and for the Dolphins, there is a very real possibility Mike McDaniel is included in that group.
Another name worth monitoring, too, is Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns. Interestingly enough, these two teams are now linked together with Black Monday in mind, thanks to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
According to Fowler, McDaniel is a candidate for the Cleveland job if the Browns choose to move on from Stefanski.
Mike McDaniel could wind up coaching Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland
Both clubs have been inept, offensively, for most of the year and much of the past few seasons. The ironic part of that is the fact that both McDaniel and Stefanski have been known, in the past, as offensive masterminds.
McDaniel has been coaching a quarterback with clear holes in his game in Tua Tagovailoa. And, going to Cleveland, he'd get to try his hand at yet another young, prominent name in Shedeur Sanders. It's funny calling a fifth-round pick "prominent," but we all know the story there.
Sanders was thought by some to be a top-60 pick but wound up falling to the fifth round. Now, he's the starter in Cleveland and has had a chance to prove himself for a few games.
He hasn't exactly done that in six games as the starter, however, as he's thrown for just 1,289 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions with a rating of 68.5 and a QBR of 20.2. The funny thing about McDaniel going from Tua to Shedeur is that they haven't been much different this year, with Tua's QBR sitting at 37.3 on the season -- a career-low.
At this point, Dolphins fans may just have to admit that McDaniel isn't nearly the offensive guru we thought he might be coming in. Arriving from Kyle Shanahan's staff in San Francisco, McDaniel could just be another coach who is better suited as a coordinator rather than a head coach.
Regardless of what he does after Miami, though, one thing seems to be pretty clear: McDaniel's time is darn-near over with the Dolphins.