Back-to-back Dolphins playoff berths will produce the first extension for a 2022 HC hire. The team has agreed to a new deal with Mike McDaniel, according to ESPN.com’s Jeff Darlington.
The third-year HC agreed to a deal to tie him to the Dolphins through the 2028 season. This comes after the Dolphins booked consecutive postseason appearances for the first time in over 20 years. McDaniel, 41, has rejuvenated Miami’s offense. The team led the league in total offense for the first time since Dan Marino‘s age-33 season (1994), and Tua Tagovailoa has shown substantial growth since the Dolphins hired the Kyle Shanahan disciple.
This offseason brought a Tagovailoa megadeal and new agreements with Tyreek Hill — a reworking that brought more guarantees the future Hall of Famer’s way — and Jaylen Waddle. As other clubs who hired new HCs in 2022 still determine how to proceed regarding long-term plans, Dolphins ownership is confident in the team’s direction under McDaniel.
Known perhaps as much for his eccentricities, which have produced numerous interview soundbites, McDaniel displayed an immediate ability to coach Miami’s offense. While the 2022 Hill trade significantly impacted Tagovailoa’s trajectory, the league’s lone southpaw quarterback starter turned a corner once Stephen Ross hired McDaniel.
Amid a concerning concussion-marred 2022, Tua still finished third in QBR while leading the league in passer rating and yards per attempt. The 2020 first-rounder paced the NFL in passing yards in 2023, staying healthy and guiding the team back to the postseason. The Dolphins had not previously secured consecutive playoff berths since they strung together five in a row during the Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt years (1997-2001).
Hired in the aftermath of a controversial Brian Flores firing — a move that prompted the former Dolphins HC to file a racial discrimination lawsuit — McDaniel has also gone through three defensive coordinators and seen his team limp to the regular-season finish line in both the 2022 and ’23 seasons. Miami went 9-8 in 2022, a season overshadowed by Tagovailoa’s injuries, and 11-6 last season. The Dolphins wrapped the ’23 campaign with a wild-card no-show on a frigid Kansas City night. This generated more questions about the Super Bowl viability of the nucleus McDaniel and GM Chris Grier have assembled.
That said, the Dolphins nearly upset the No. 2-seeded Bills despite third-string rookie Skylar Thompson starting in the 2022 wild-card round. According to Darlington, Grier and McDaniel also forged a strong relationship; that was certainly not the case with the veteran GM and Flores. Ahead of Grier’s sixth season with roster control, the Dolphins will continue to pair him with his 2022 HC hire. The 2022 HC additions — Kevin O’Connell, Matt Eberflus, Brian Daboll, Doug Pederson, Dennis Allen and Todd Bowles — are still on their initial deals. One other 2022 HC hire, Josh McDaniels, did not make it out of his second season.
