Miami Dolphins set interview dates for Mike McDaniel, Kellen Moore
The Dolphins’ search for a new head coach has been overshadowed by former coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit this week but the team has set dates for its second round of interviews.
According to ESPN, San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel arrived in South Florida Thursday night and will interview with the Dolphins Friday. Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is scheduled to interview Saturday.
McDaniel, 38, finished his first season as 49ers offensive coordinator after serving as run game coordinator in San Francisco from 2017 to 2020.
A Yale graduate, McDaniel got his start in coaching in 2005 as an intern for the Denver Broncos under head coach Mike Shanahan. Mike Shanahan is the father of Kyle Shanahan, head coach of the 49ers. McDaniel was an offensive assistant for the Houston Texans (2006-08) and had stints with the Washington Football Team, Cleveland Browns and Falcons under Quinn before joining Kyle Shanahan’s staff in San Francisco. McDaniel was promoted to offensive coordinator after Mike LaFleur left to join Robert Saleh’s staff with the New York Jets.
If hired, McDaniel, who is biracial — his father is Black — would be the first minority coach hired in this year’s coaching cycle. Five of the nine vacancies have been filled by white coaches.
McDaniel does not call the plays in San Francisco but under the stewardship of himself and Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers have produced some of the best running games in the NFL in recent years, heavily using an zone running scheme. San Francisco ranked seventh in rushing yards per game this season (127.4) and second in 2019 (144.1).
At this week’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, New York Jets coach Robert Saleh lauded Mike McDaniel’s ability to devise plays.
“Mike, his mind-set, the way he creates things, his creativity, his outside-the-box thinking, his ability to communicate with people, he’s as good as they get,” said Saleh, who coached with him in San Francisco. “He’s been with [49ers coach] Kyle [Shanahan] for longer than any of us have. He’s been there since he and I were [quality control coaches] sitting across from each other with the Houston Texans back in [2006]. He’s brilliant. He’s every bit as deserving to be a head coach. [I] would not like him to come to the division but if it happens, so be it.”
Moore, 33, completed his third season as the Cowboys offensive coordinator after spending the 2018 season as Dallas’ quarterbacks coach. A former undrafted quarterback out of Boise State who carved out a six-year career with the Cowboys and Detroit Lions, Moore has been credited with having a hand in the development of quarterback Dak Prescott in recent years. The Cowboys offense ranks first in points and total yards this season. Moore was notably the last left-handed quarterback to throw a pass in an NFL game until Tua Tagovailoa was drafted in 2020.
In 2019, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott called Moore “honestly one of these young genius phenoms in the game. ... He’s special. He knows a lot about the game, just the way he sees the game, the way he’s ahead of the game. He can bring a lot to us, a lot of creativity.”
McDaniel and Moore are the only two known finalists of a pool that included seven candidates in the initial round of interviews. Both assistants coached in the postseason and since their respective teams have been eliminated, the Dolphins are free to make an offer and hire at any time.
This story may be updated.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 10:32 AM.
