The Dolphins got some fascinating evidence that they made the right call with former coach Mike McDaniel on Monday

Some evidence that the right call was made appears to have emerged.

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer

Jan 20, 2026 6:40 AM EST

Coaching gigs are starting to fill up. On the day in which the Miami Dolphins filled their head coaching vacancy by nailing down coach Jeff Hafley from Green Bay, we also saw the Tennessee Titans reach an agreement with Robert Saleh. On the coordinator front, we also saw the Detroit Lions secure an offensive play caller, and Kansas City Chiefs took steps towards reuniting with Eric Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator, too.

The hiring of staff is going to lead to some fast and furious transactions in the next several weeks — which Miami is thankfully going to be on the front end of by being the third team to nail down a head coach. As Hafley now works to complete his staff, Miami’s former coach Mike McDaniel is still looking for his next stop. He should, ultimately, have little issue finding work. Tampa Bay is out there. So, too, could be a gig in Tennessee working under his old friend Saleh.

The job Mike McDaniel didn’t get came with an interesting headline yesterday, though. You may have missed it.

Mike McDaniel viewed as not ‘quite the right fit’ by the Detroit Lions

Of coordinator jobs that Mike McDaniel has interviewed for, the Lions gig was the least likely to materialize. Campbell liked McDaniel a lot, but Lions didn’t view it as quite the right fit for them.

As for other OC vacancies? Mike is very much in play. Ball is in his court. https://t.co/urG1cDmg4T
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) January 19, 2026

Few people are as plugged in to all things Miami than Jeff Darlington. So when he suggests coordinator vacancies across the league besides Detroit are very much in play, the question for McDaniel’s future is instead whether a head coaching opportunity comes his way. He’s met with the Browns, Raiders, and Ravens. There are still openings to be had; although the outlook of McDaniel actually getting one is very much in question.

Let’s be honest though. The Dolphins were always going to be at risk of their decision to move on from Mike McDaniel aging poorly in the public eye, even if it was time to go and for a fresh start. Detroit is one of those destinations that could have made your eyes pop out of your head by mid-season next fall. There’s a well-developed offensive line, a multitude of weapons, an explosive home run hitter at running back, and a veteran quarterback who thrives throwing those play action in-breaks that identified Miami for so long. McDaniel in Detroit could have yielded some angsty Sundays for Dolphins fans who had hoped Miami would have given McDaniel another shot.

Instead, the Lions “didn’t view it as quite the right fit for them”. Perhaps the concern lied with someone who could leave quickly for another job if they were successful. It’d be understandable. But just about any other influence that would have led to a fit concern is, probably, an omen that the Dolphins made the right decision to transition in a different direction. If the Detroit Lions, known for their hard-nosed, relentless effort and physicality up front paired with a relentless aggression about their approach, don’t think you’re a fit for their organization as an offensive coordinator, especially when the head coach apparently liked you “a lot”?

I have some questions. And the answers to those questions will probably bring even more questions. We’ll likely never get the answers to know for sure in what way the fit seemed wrong. Jeff Hafley may be the wrong fit for the Dolphins’ next head coach; we don’t know until we get a few years in. But we do know that the fit with Mike McDaniel wasn’t right anymore. It apparently wasn’t the right one for Detroit in a lower, specialized role, either.