The McDaniel Firing is just the beginning of the Drama

Wow. I don’t think anyone saw this coming.

The Miami Dolphins abruptly fired Mike McDaniel today, and I genuinely mean it when I say this shocked everyone. I’ll have plenty more thoughts on McDaniel himself later, because that deserves its own conversation. But before even getting there, there’s something much bigger that needs to be unpacked first since everything is moving so fast.

The Dolphins are now staring at two massive decisions at the same time. They’re about to make a call on their general manager, which is expected to happen before Saturday, and now they suddenly need a head coach too. Those two decisions are going to be completely intertwined, whether the team admits it publicly or not.

I already wrote about how much I love the idea of going after John Harbaugh and how badly this franchise needs the stability he brings. But here’s where things get really interesting. One of the names being floated as a potential GM hire is Chad Alexander, who spent 20 years working alongside Harbaugh and is reportedly very close with the entire Harbaugh family. That’s the puzzle piece everything else revolves around, and it will have ramifications across the entire league.

If the Dolphins hire Alexander, everyone is immediately going to connect the dots. People are going to assume, probably correctly, that Miami is lining things up for Harbaugh. The chatter will be loud, and it will feel intentional. On the flip side, if the Dolphins go in a completely different direction at GM, that Harbaugh buzz likely fades pretty quickly. Not entirely, but enough that it changes the tone entirely. 

And honestly, if hiring Alexander legitimately moves the Dolphins closer to landing Harbaugh, then I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. If the front office has good reason to believe that Harbaugh wants to be paired with Alexander and is open to coming to Miami, then I would absolutely hire Alexander with that goal in mind. No shame in that at all. This franchise has been wandering for decades and they are desperate for some clear direction.

John Harbaugh is exactly what the Dolphins need right now. Exactly. They don’t need vibes. They don’t need clever press conferences. They don’t need another experiment. They need stability in the worst way. They haven’t had a head coach last more than 4 years in almost 30 years., and something needs to change.

Harbaugh represents the opposite of chaos. He represents consistency, relevance, and competence year after year. I would give him a long-term contract without blinking and let him stay as long as it takes to fix this thing properly. And yes, I know it won’t happen overnight. This roster isn’t one move away. This organization isn’t one season away. But that’s the whole point.

Harbaugh has proven, beyond any doubt, that he can build something that lasts. The Dolphins haven’t had that since the mid-90s. If it takes patience, so be it. Waiting is worth it if it finally leads somewhere real.

Firing Mike McDaniel was shocking. What the Dolphins do next is going to tell us whether it was also purposeful.

And right now, the next move matters more than anything that’s already happened.

The next 24 hours (if the rumors are correct that the Dolphins are quickly zeroing in) can change the entire identity of this franchise and the drama is real. I just hope that they don't mess this up...