The Miami Dolphins fired their head coach, Mike McDaniel, on Thursday morning, giving Buffalo Bills fans things to consider on multiple fronts.
On one account, the Bills have to be worried that the Dolphins feel confident in their pursuit of ex-Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. While Harbaugh isn’t a mastermind on either side of the ball, nor an elite play-caller, he is one of the league’s most successful head coaches of the past two decades. News broke on Wednesday, ahead of McDaniel’s firing, that the Dolphins were heavily interested in Harbaugh.
Miami faces a heavy rebuild, no matter who they hire, but if it’s Harbaugh they land, they could turn things around much quicker.
On the other side, one of the league’s top young offensive minds just became a free agent. While the Bills still have their own in Joe Brady, if he lands a head coaching job himself, the Bills will have to consider making a move for McDaniel themselves.
If Buffalo Bills need to replace Joe Brady, Mike McDaniel might be the top option
Whether or not the Dolphins can get Harbaugh, who has been heavily linked to the New York Giants since he was fired, the NFL now has eight head coach vacancies, giving Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady one more possible destination for a head coaching job of his own. Unless McDaniel lands another head coaching gig himself, the Bills may want to look his way if Brady lands a promotion.
For what it’s worth, Brady’s head coaching aspirations have cooled a bit. After all, the Bills’ offense in 2025 wasn’t quite what the league and its fans had grown to expect. Josh Allen was sacked a career-high 40 times, the offense tumbled back down to 12th in turnovers, and the wide receivers were woefully inefficient. Despite Buffalo leading the NFL in rushing and still mustering 12 wins, that’s a lot for another organization to overlook.
Nonetheless, the league has slim pickings for young offensive minds. Beyond Brady and McDaniel, Seattle’s Klint Kubiak has generated the most buzz, setting interviews with multiple teams while the Seahawks enjoy their BYE Week.
With McDaniel, it remains to be seen if the league believes he’s ready to be a head coach again so quickly. His personality and inconsistent tenure in Miami will surely deter some teams. To be fair, it’s understandable if the Bills were included in such a group.
Nonetheless, if Brady lands himself a head coaching job, then McDaniel might be the most proven offensive play-caller available, and his system would work in Buffalo. McDaniel’s system supported a solid rushing attack when De'Von Achane was healthy, and consistently creates space for wide receivers at every level of the defense. Buffalo needs more talent at wide receiver, yes, but the motions and designs in McDaniel’s offense would at least offer promise for things to improve out wide quickly.
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Of course, timing is everything. McDaniel could land a job before Brady is even able to begin interviewing. Naturally, that’d make the whole idea moot. Still, barring that scenario, Bills fans must start wondering if it’s in the best interest of the Buffalo offense to set aside some of their lingering disdain for the once-rival coach.