The Miami Dolphins fired coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday, the team announced, cutting ties after a second straight season of missing the playoffs. The Dolphins become the eighth NFL team with a head coaching opening.

The 42-year-old McDaniel finished with a 35-33 record and failed to notch a postseason victory in his four seasons in Miami. After a successful start to his time with the franchise, in which McDaniel looked like one of the NFL’s brightest offensive minds, things fell apart early in his fourth season with the Dolphins.

Miami got off to a 1-6 start — putting McDaniel squarely on the hot seat — before eventually stabilizing with a four-game midseason winning streak. That wasn’t enough to earn McDaniel a fifth year on the job, especially with the Dolphins likely to start over at quarterback after benching Tua Tagovailoa for the final three games. The Dolphins finished 7-10, their first double-digit losing season since 2019.

“After careful evaluation and extensive discussions since the season ended, I have made the decision that our organization is in need of comprehensive change,” Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross said in a statement Thursday. “I informed Mike McDaniel this morning that he has been relieved of his duties as head coach. I love Mike and want to thank him for his hard work, commitment, and the energy he brought to our organization.

“Mike is an incredibly creative football mind whose passion for the game and his players was evident every day. I wish him and his family the best moving forward.”

A quarter of the NFL's teams now have head coaching vacancies:

◽️ Titans
◽️ Giants
◽️ Falcons
◽️ Raiders
◽️ Browns
◽️ Cardinals
◽️ Ravens
◽️ Dolphins

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 8, 2026

In a statement posted by the Dolphins, McDaniel called his tenure with the team “the honor of a lifetime” and said he will “forever cherish (his) time in Miami.”

“When I took this job, I had a vision of a team that was bonded together and played with passion and energy on the path to winning championships,” he said. “I gave everything I had for that goal. I am disappointed, especially for the fans, that we did not have better results on the field, but I am grateful for every coach, player, and staff member who poured themselves into that vision alongside me.”

McDaniel also thanked Ross for hiring him as a “little-known coach at the time,” as well as his wife and daughter for their support.

The Dolphins hired McDaniel in 2022 after he served as the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan for one season and had been a longtime Shanahan assistant. At the time of his hiring, the Dolphins had missed the postseason for five consecutive years and 12 of the previous 13 seasons. McDaniel managed to immediately end that drought, leading Miami to the playoffs in 2022 with a 9-8 record. The Dolphins fell 34-31 to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round. Miami improved to 11-6 in 2023 and again made the playoffs, where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round.