So... John Harbaugh is Available. Is Sunny Miami Calling?

I concluded earlier that keeping Mike McDaniel around for 2026 isn't the worst idea in the world unless something major happens. Unless a truly intriguing, proven head coach suddenly becomes available and forces the Dolphins to reassess everything.

That moment arrived today when the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh.

That firing should immediately change the Dolphins’ internal conversation. Not because McDaniel is a disaster, and not because the Dolphins are desperate to find a head coach, but because opportunities like this almost never come around. John Harbaugh isn’t some theoretical upside hire or coordinator you’re hoping turns into something. He’s a Super Bowl–winning coach with an 18-year track record of keeping his team relevant, competitive, and respected- something the Dolphins have only sniffed at this century. Those guys don’t hit the open market very often.

What makes Harbaugh so appealing isn’t just the résumé. It’s the stability he brings. Just look at the Ravens over the past 18 years. In 17 of those seasons, they won at least 8 games. 17! That kind of consistency is what every owner, GM and fan dreams of, and not many are fortunate enough to experience that. Baltimore is always in the playoff mix at the very least, is always taken seriously, and is always prepared. Yes, this year fell apart — but it feels far more like an outlier than any kind of warning sign.

I know the immediate pushback. He had Joe Flacco. He had Lamar Jackson. The Dolphins may have nobody!

That may be true, But football doesn’t work that way. Quarterback talent alone doesn’t guarantee success. Justin Herbert is incredibly gifted and the Chargers have gone nowhere. Joe Burrow is a generational talent, and putting injuries aside for a moment, he’s only brought his team to the playoffs twice. A great quarterback certainly helps, but without a great coach, it only gets you so far. If anything, the NFL proves every year that coaching might matter more than raw talent.

This isn't to say the Dolphins don't have a big question mark at quarterback. They absolutely do! But if there's anyone on this planet who I trust to see talent and coach that talent up- whether through the draft, free agency, trade or with what you already have, it's John Harbaugh.

My dad always says that if he were the coach of a baseball team, he could probably scrape together 60 wins just by showing up. But if he were the coach of an NFL team, he wouldn’t win a single game. I can say the exact same thing for myself. In the NFL, the head coach matters more than in any other sport. The margins are too thin, the decisions too constant, and the structure too complex. Play-calling, strategizing, coverage on defense, seeing how the other team is playing against you, and a host of other things which are far beyond my pay-grade make my dad's comment so true.

That’s why Harbaugh feels so different from anything the Dolphins have had in decades. He offers something Miami hasn’t had since 1995, the final season of Don Shula: stability. The Dolphins haven’t had a head coach last more than 4 years since before the turn of the century! That’s not bad luck — that’s a franchise identity problem. Harbaugh is the kind of coach who fixes that.

This situation reminds me a lot of when the Chicago Cubs abruptly moved on from David Ross to hire Craig Counsell after the 2023 season. Ross wasn’t terrible. He just hadn’t proven much either way. The Cubs could’ve stuck with him and hoped things slowly improved. That was actually the plan the Cubs had in mind! But once Counsell became available, they didn’t hesitate. They went all in and made him the highest-paid manager in baseball history, because they understood something important: when a proven winner becomes available, you don’t cling to potential. You take certainty.

That’s exactly where the Dolphins are right now. I don’t think they should fire Mike McDaniel just for the sake of change. But now that John Harbaugh is officially available, they have to aggressively pursue him. And if that pursuit turns into a yes from Harbaugh to come down to South Florida, then yes- you move on from McDaniel and you do it without regret.

I would give John Harbaugh a seven-year contract without hesitation. Not just to give him stability, but to give the Dolphins stability as well.

McDaniel may still turn into a good head coach. That’s possible. But John Harbaugh already is one. And when you’re a franchise that’s been searching for direction, consistency, and most importantly stability for decades, sometimes the smartest move is the simplest one.

This is one of those moments.

So go get 'em, Stephen Ross.