The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I’m not happy with what happened to McDaniel but it did.

So who do you want to hire?


Who do you think they’ll hire?

I’d be fine with them hiring Chris Shula or Harbaugh, I feel like Harbaugh is the only reason the job became available in the first place.

I just hope we don’t end up with someone like Mike McCarthy.

Harbaugh first, Shula second.   

Boy it would be great to have The Don's grandson as head coach.

I'm not sure about Chris Shula. I know Ross wants to find the next Don Shula, but what are the chances that Chris Shula is that person?

I'd love to have Harbaugh, but I don't think we are going to land him because I think he's going to be able to decide where he wants to go and I don't think Miami is that appealing due to it's salary cap issues and dealing with the whole Tua and Hill situations etc. 2026 is going to be a bumpy year and perhaps beyond and I doubt that Harbaugh is interested in that. The timing was strange that they added Alexander to the GM search when Harbaugh became available, but I'm not sure that's the reason that McDaniel was fired. I'm also becoming convinced that Ross and the Harbaugh family aren't really as close as it seems. If the Dolphins really wanted to secure Harbaugh, it would have made more sense to make Chad Alexander their next GM. I really think Aikman is driving this process moreso than Ross and that makes me feel better about the whole process.

I've heard that Matt Lafleur might be looking for a new head coaching job and I would love that, but again I think that's wishful thinking. I think Lafleur will be staying in Green Bay.

Personally I'd rather give a coach with an established record a second chance rather than some young up and coming offensive or defensive coordinator their first, but I just don't know who that might be. We could do worse than Mike McCarthy. I'm kinda surprised that we haven't heard the name Raheem Morris come up. Robert Saleh anyone? I just don't know.

I have no idea who would be best but the only thing I will say is that if Chris Shula gets the job, he's certainly earned it. I know many think he's just a name but he's been proving himself for 16 years with the last 6 being in LA. There is a reason he is on everyone's list and it isn't because of his last name. He has earned it from the bottom up.

I don't know much about Chris, but I do know that he has never had to be the demonstratively better than anyone else to get the job.  As long as the other applicants were about the same with none head and shoulders better than him then he got the benefit of the doubt.   Now this doesn't mean he sucks and he may have benefited from some insight from his grandpa that most people can't get from grandpa.  And just because he has never *needed* to be demonstratively better doesn't mean he never *has* been demonstratively better. 

This isn't particular to Chris, and not all nepotism hires are incompetent, some are actually quite talented.  However, the most incompetent people I have ever dealt with are people who have benefited for nepotism and privilege.  (In contrast I have never dealt with a truly horrible DEI hire, not saying all DEI were phenomenal some were quite bad, but none were the true bottom of the barrel incompetent of nepotism and privilege.)   

About the same chances anyone else is -- very slim.

How would this be a nepotism hire?   Don Shula is dead and there is no one else from his family that works for the Dolphins.   What it would be is a follow-in-the-footsteps-of-a-legend hire.   And Chris obviously has the pedigree and performance background.

I find Chris Shula to be fan-casting.  If his last name wasn't what it was, we wouldn't be interested in him.  That just seems like the same kind of things as putting Marino in the front office.  It's just looking backwards.

I really think we screwed up by cutting McDaniel loose and we seem rudderless.

I disagree he hasn't been better. He has succeed everywhere he's been. He is in his 9th year in LA and second as DC. He has coached on both sides of the ball, something most never do. He also has known Sean McVay since they played together at Miami of Ohio where they played all 4 years together. If anything, he has benefitted from connections with McVay but has done very well with the opportunities given ... just like McVay.  

I couldn't disagree more. Shula isn't just on our radar. Also it was just a couple days ago you referred to Hill as the best receiver in the league. That is backwards thinking and clamoring for something that is gone. Miami and any team interviewing coaches are automatically going to seem rudder less because there isn't a face in front of the fans yet.

Mike Tomlin anyone? I guess we should first find out if he's even interested in coaching next year.

I don't think he is.  He wasn't fired, he stepped down.  He is still under contract for two more years.  He would need Steeler's permission to take another coaching job. 

I doubt he stepped down from the Steelers, because he wanted to coach the Dolphins.  I suspect after 19 years he wants to do something different probably something that allows him to spend more time with his family.

I think the biggest impact of his quitting, is the Steelers is the best coaching gig in the NFL, maybe the best coaching gig in all of professional sports.  Nobody is going to agree to be the coach of any of the other teams with openings for head coaches until they are certain they are out of the running for being the Steeler's head coach. 

Ravens and Steelers are switching coaches  :D

As if those two teams need more reason for a rivalry. 

He wasn't fired, he resigned.   He's still got two more years remaining on his contract so if he goes anywhere else, the Steelers would have to approve and they would likely demand compensation in the form of draft picks.   

Believe it or not Stephen Ross and company interviewed Tomlin way back when, just before he took the Steelers job, and word leaked that he wasn't hired by the Dolphins because Ross believed he was "too hip-hop."  You might as well have just said he was "too black" for Christ's sake.

Jesus Christ what a quote lol Ross is a moron

We’ve requested an interview with the DC of the raiders.

Can’t believe we’d hire anyone from that dumpster fire but we’ll see

That is an unbelievable story.  In that I am completely unable to believe that Ross was interviewing coaches while Huizenga was still the sole owner of the team. 

Miami Dolphins CEO Joe Bailey is the one who said that. He worked under Wayne Huizenga and not Stephen Ross.

He was a defensive coordinator for the Dolphins in 2019 so Ross has familiarity with him. 

Their are nine coaching openings.  The Dolphins are one of the least desirable, maybe the least desirable of bunch.  It is unlikely you get you first choice. 

that's OK, I'm sure Ross is still somehow at fault anyway

That's a load of crap, there are few openings more desirable than the dolphins one. What fans look for in a team isn't what a coach looks for in a team.

I imagine most coaches are looking for 1) as much control as they can get, followed by 2) financial health of ownership.  Stuff like "How many picks do you have in the 2026 draft?" or "What is your cap situation next season?" are fleeting and can be fixed, whereas the criteria I listed earlier are more permanent.

Everyone except ATL already has a GM, so they are going to be ranked lower on the first criteria.  On the second criteria, ARI, LV, NYG, PIT, and TEN are all owned by nepo babies whose net worth is primarily from the team, whereas ATL, BAL, CLE, and MIA have ownership with real money on the outside.

All 32 teams are financially healthy. I agree for some coaches how much control they get is important.  "If you want me to cook dinner, you should let me shop for some of the groceries" 

But imagine the number one thing coaches are looking for is: 1. "Can I see a path with this team and the resources available to be successful enough that the owner is going to keep me employed"  until 2) "Can I take this team to the superbowl?"

How many picks I have and what is the cap situation directly ties into both of those question.  Name a single coach of the Dolphins to coach a full five season not name Shula.  Odds are who ever is hired this off season will be fired before the Dolphins fix their cap situation, find their franchise QB, fix the oline and put together a defense.   

As it has been pointed out many times the NFL is a QB driven league.  The Dolphins don't have a high enough draft pick to draft a top QB prospect.  And they don't have the money to buy one in FA.  So unless you are willing to bet all your chips on Ewers  being  better than Maye and Allen then the Dolphins aren't a good choice.   

Ross hasn't been patient or loyal to his coaches and has a tendency to fire them for the flaws of his GM. 

KC traded up to draft Mahomes.
BUF traded up to draft Allen.
BAL traded up to pick Lamar (at #32!).

The idea that you're better off inheriting a worse team because it has a better draft pick this year is unfounded.  And as far as cap situations go, DEN's cap situation got dramatically worse after Sean Payton was hired, and they seem to have come through it just fine.

While I'm sure the Cardinals, Titans and Raiders are "financially healthy" as organizations, that doesn't mean their owners are willing to spend money (or can maintain financial health if they did so).  There's a reason why some teams in the league are willing to spend big bucks, and others are in the corner counting pennies... and the penny-pinchers are almost exclusively teams with owners who inherited the franchise.

Pretty much every list I have seen, outside of Miami fans, has shown the Dolphins at the very bottom. If you feel like you will need to come in and prove yourself right away this is not the place. We are in cap hell with no obvious starting QB. 

Harbaugh to NYG so we fired McD for nothing. This makes no sense.

McD should have been allowed to handle next year and then if he failed start the full rebuild when we will be in better shape.

Interesting nugget of info. Chris Shula turned down 4 teams request to interview for head coach but is meeting with Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Miami. Like I was saying previously ... if we do end up hiring him it isn't only because of his name. He brings the credentials.

Looking like Jeff Hafley from Green Bay advancing to second interview.

Can’t say I’m excited about it but we will see.

There is no State tax and you get to live where other people pay to come take their vacations.  That's gotta be worth something.

There isn't a salary cap for coaches so an owner can make up any difference in cost of living from one city to another with more money if the candidate is attractive enough.

As for the fact Miami is a vacation destination any coach who puts a priority on nice beaches and how many strip clubs a city has is likely not the coach you want. 

Not gonna be Kevin Stefanski, which most people had #2 behind JH for best available

"Most people" had Stefanski over Tomlin?

No but Tomlin isn't available.  If he was he was he would be one or two.