After spending the past two days with the two finalists for the Miami Dolphins’ head coach position a decision, and offer to become the franchise’s 11th head coach and the fifth during Steve Ross’ 13-year tenure as owner, is expected shortly.
San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who reportedly met with Ross and his selection committee for 10 hours on Friday, entered the weekend viewed as the front-runner to replace Brian Flores. But team sources say Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore delivered an impressive presentation on Saturday.
The decision will likely come down to which of these two young offensive coordinators the Dolphins feel is the better leader of men, and will deliver the offense they believe will bring out the best in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Miami’s 2020 first-round pick, who had a 90.1 passer rating last season and owns a 13-8 record in his first two seasons.
Moore, 33, is a former college football record holder from his illustrious playing career at Boise State, and a former NFL quarterback. He quickly worked his way up the coaching ranks in Dallas, and has been instrumental in Dak Prescott’s development as one of the league’s upper-echelon quarterbacks.
The Cowboys had the NFL’s top-ranked offense this season, producing 407 yards per game and 31.2 points per game. The Cowboys offense ranked sixth in red-zone efficiency, ninth in rushing yards per game, and finished the 2021 season ranked sixth in sacks allowed per passing play.
The previous season, when Prescott missed all but five games because of season-ending ankle injury, the Cowboys ranked 14th in yards per game (371.8) and 17th in scoring per game (24.7) with veteran Andy Dalton as the team’s starter the rest of the way.
McDaniel hasn’t specifically worked with quarterbacks, but the Yale graduate is viewed as the architect of the 49ers’ forceful rushing attack, and the Dolphins decision-makers feel beefing up the ground game, and becoming more balanced as an offense could strengthen the run-pass-option offense Tagovailoa specializes in.
McDaniel just completed his first season as the 49ers offensive coordinator after spending the previous four years with the team as the run-game coordinator (2018-20) and run-game specialist (2017).
San Francisco’s offense has featured one of the NFL’s most physical rushing attacks, averaging 131.1 rushing yards per game in the three seasons he was the run-game coordinator. This season, the 49ers ranked seventh in yards per game (375.7), seventh in rushing yards per game (127.4), 13th in points per game (25.1), first in red-zone efficiency and 17th in sacks per passing attempt with Jimmy Garoppolo as the team’s starting quarterback.
The 49ers were a win a way from playing in the franchise’s second Super Bowl in three years this season. But McDaniel didn’t call the plays, head coach Kyle Shanahan did.
Both candidates likely spent time during their sit-downs with the Dolphins going over their proposed coaching staffs, and that could also impact Miami’s decision.
Miami’s entire offensive staff needs to be overhauled considering the unit’s struggles during the 2021 season, but there are some capable defensive coaches who the Dolphins might benefit from retaining. However, it’s usually a bad idea to force assistants on any coach, especially if they already have individuals they’d like to work with.
Some of Flores’ assistants are still under contract with the Dolphins, and Miami has typically allowed assistants to leave in situations like this.
An announcement will likely be made once a contract is finalized, but word on these decisions often begins to leak out when coaches begin setting up interviews and hiring assistants for their staffs.
Flores received a five-year, fully guaranteed contact from the Dolphins that was reportedly worth around $3 million a season. However, the exact figure has never been confirmed.
First time coaches in the NFL typically earn as much as $5 million a season. That’s what the Jets reportedly gave Robert Saleh last year when he left the 49ers to become the head coach of the Jets.
