Who is Mike McDaniel? Longtime Shanahan assistant hired as next Dolphins head coach

The Dolphins have landed their next head coach.

The team announced Sunday that they have hired 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel for the position. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Dolphins signed McDaniel to a four-year contract.

McDaniel, who according to ESPN’s Marcel-Louis Jacques identifies as “multiracial,” is the first minority hire this offseason among nine head coaching vacancies.

We have agreed to terms with Mike McDaniel. Welcome to Miami, Coach! pic.twitter.com/Hk5gIQsc6l

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) February 6, 2022

The Dolphins fired Brian Flores on Jan. 10 after he led them to a 9-8 finish in 2021, including a seven-game winning streak and an 8-1 record in the team’s final nine games. Flores is suing the Dolphins, Giants, Broncos and NFL in a class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in hiring practices.

There are still two head coaching vacancies left: the Saints and Texans.

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McDaniel being multiracial means the 49ers will receive two compensatory third-round draft picks under the Rooney Rule, because a minority assistant was hired as a head coach.

McDaniel is the latest under-40 coach to be chosen to run a team, and his hiring by Miami comes as both Super Bowl coaches (Zac Taylor of the Bengals and Sean McVay of the Rams) are under 40. Heading into the 2022 season, at least five of the league’s head coaches will be under 40. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and Falcons coach Arthur Smith turn 40 before the start of the season.

Here’s all you need to know about McDaniel:

Mike McDaniel coaching career

McDaniel’s playing days ended in 2005 at Yale, where he was a wide receiver. The history major immediately traded in his pads for a clipboard and a spot along the sideline.

McDaniel was first hired as an intern with the Broncos under Mike Shanahan in 2005 and later spent three seasons with the Texans. He was the running backs coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions in the United Football League from 2009-10 before returning to the NFL to join Washington in 2011.

While in Washington, again under Shanahan, he worked on a staff loaded with assistants who went on to become head coaches. The offensive coordinator was Mike Shanahan’s son Kyle, the quarterbacks coach was Matt LaFleur and the tight ends coach was McVay. McDaniel was an offensive assistant for two seasons before moving up to wide receivers coach.

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McDaniel spent 2014 as wide receivers coach for the Browns before moving to the same position for the Falcons in 2015. He was in Atlanta in 2015 and 2016; the Falcons ranked in the top six in passing yards both years. In the 2016 season, the Falcons reached Super Bowl 51, where they lost to the Patriots 34-28 in overtime.

He was reunited with a Shanahan head coach, this time Kyle, with the 49ers in 2017, to serve as the team’s run game coordinator. In his four seasons in charge of the run game, the 49ers tallied the 11th-most rushing yards in the NFL, according to Stathead.

McDaniel was promoted to offensive coordinator ahead of the 2021 season. This past season, San Francisco had 6,387 total yards of offense (seventh in the NFL) and scored 427 points (13th) as the team made it to the NFC championship game, where it lost to the Rams.

In Miami, McDaniel will take over an offense that ranked 30th in rushing yards (1,568), 25th in total yards (5,219) and 22nd in points scored (341).

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How old is Mike McDaniel?

McDaniel is only 38, making him the fourth-youngest coach heading into next season.

The list of the youngest head coaches in the NFL as of Feb. 6:

* Reported to be hired by the Vikings. Minnesota has not announced the move.