The Buffalo Bills are in the middle of their search for their next head coach and a new name has been added to the list. According to Albert Breer, the Bills will be interviewing former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. Ian Rapoport then reported that it would be an in-person interview.
The Bills are very familiar with McDaniel as he was with the Dolphins the last four seasons, and was even a threat to the Bills at one point in 2023 when Miami’s offense seemed unstoppable at one point. It looked like the Dolphins were going to retain McDaniel as he wasn't initially fired right after the season. But then Stephen Ross made the choice to show McDaniel the door, and now they have former Packers defensive coordinator as his replacment.
Earlier this week, Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported that McDaniel was expected to become the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers to work under Jim Harbaugh and work directly with Justin Herbert. Now, he is taking a head coaching interview with the Bills and if he doesn't land the job, he will be in LA.
Bills talking with Mike McDaniel is a smart, but bold move
Considering when the Bills started their head coaching, they need to talk to as many valuable candidates as possible. No one can deny the fact that McDaniel is a great offensive playcaller and he turned the Dolphins into one of the best high-scoring offenses the last four seasons. At the same time, the Dolphins were also a bit a mess under his leadership.
There seemed to be no accountability and while they had a bit of a spark in the middle of the season, Miami wasn’t performing at a high level on the field and at one point, it looked like there was dysfunction happening inside the building.
From an offensive perspective, McDaniel would be a dynamite hire but as a head coach overall, the Bills need to go in a different direction. It will be very interesting to see if this is the only time the Bills talk with McDaniel, or if they continue their conversation.