The Miami Dolphins had another down season, leading to changes, including the hiring of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and the firing of head coach Mike McDaniel. Now, we’ve learned whose decision it was to fire McDaniel.
Dolphins Ownership Made Final Call on Mike McDaniel Firing
The Dolphins had a miserable start to the 2025-26 season, going 1-6, with their only win coming by a slim margin over the New York Jets, 27-21. However, after that, they finished the season somewhat wrong, going 6-4 to close out the year and finishing 7-10. The Dolphins finished 19th in PFSN’s Offense Impact score (73.1) and 27th in PFSN’s Defense Impact score (67.6).
Not only that, but the team had some bad quarterback play from Tua Tagovailoa. He finished 27th in PFSN’s QB Impact score (72.2). He completed 67.7% of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions across four starts. He was eventually benched in favor of seventh-round rookie signal-caller Quinn Ewers. Since then, he’s even come out about being open to a fresh start.
That said, when the season came to an end, McDaniel wasn’t fired on “Black Monday,” so it appeared his job was safe. Then, the Baltimore Ravens fired head coach John Harbaugh, and after that, McDaniel was fired.
While it’s speculation, it’s fair to wonder whether they fired McDaniel in hopes of landing Harbaugh, but, of course, he opted to take the New York Giants job after preliminary discussions with numerous teams, including the Dolphins.
With McDaniel being fired and the Dolphins now looking for a new head coach, Sullivan, the new general manager, was asked about how that decision came to be. It’s a fair question: Did Sullivan perhaps make that one of his conditions for taking the job?
It appears that’s not the case, according to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “Jon-Eric Sullivan said that Mike McDaniel’s firing was an “ownership decision” that happened before his second interview,” Louis-Jacques reported. So, again, it’s not confirmed, but perhaps Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was hoping to set up the opening for Harbaugh, but missed.
That said, they did ultimately hire their new head coach, Jeff Hafley. He served as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator in 2024 and 2025. Before that, he was the head coach for Boston College from 2020 to 2023.
His hiring makes sense as Sullivan was previously with the Packers, too. He started there in 2004 and has been there ever since, serving in roles such as football operations assistant, scout, director of college scouting, co-director of player personnel, and vice president of player personnel.
Since the firing, the Dolphins have their new general manager and head coach, and McDaniel has been hired as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, so everything is OK, but at least we know now whose decision it was to part ways with McDaniel.
