Asking and answering questions about where the Dolphins stand in their search for a coach and general manager:
▪ What’s the deal with John Harbaugh and the Dolphins?
The Dolphins are interested, and Harbaugh assuredly will consider any Dolphins offer.
But Harbaugh’s agent, Bryan Harlan, told the Miami Herald and NFL Network on Thursday afternoon, hours after Mike McDaniel’s firing, that the Dolphins had not inquired about Harbaugh since his dismissal from the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday. That contact would not have violated any league rules, since Harbaugh is unemployed.
The Dolphins are expected to reach out to Harbaugh very soon, but the former Super Bowl-winning coach has more than a half dozen suitors and is in no rush to make a decision. He wants to spend the weekend gathering his thoughts and assessing potential options.
The Giants and Falcons — who have coaching openings — are known to be among the nine teams that have reached out to Harbaugh. He’s expected to consider numerous factors, including a team’s roster, cap situation and comfort level with the management and ownership, among others. He hasn’t decided how many interviews to take.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and the Harbaugh family have a longtime relationship, and that should help Miami when it begins an earnest pursuit. The Dolphins and Giants are among the teams expected to receive serious consideration.
“New York would appear to be the logical spot for John Harbaugh, but it’s not a done deal,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said on “The Rich Eisen Show,” citing the Dolphins as another contender.
▪ Where does the general manager search stand?
A decision among four candidates is expected by Friday evening or Saturday.
The Dolphins interviewed interim general manager Champ Kelly for a single time in person Wednesday, and then interviewed Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan and 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams for the first time in person, and second time overall, on Thursday.
They also interviewed Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander for the only time on Thursday.
Alexander — who worked with Harbaugh for many years in Baltimore — was added to the interview list Tuesday, hours before Harbaugh’s firing. The Dolphins believed it made more sense simply to interview him once in person than twice in a 24-hour period.
▪ Could the Dolphins have paused their GM search, tried to hire Harbaugh and given him the authority to hire his own GM?
The Dolphins did not want to do that, and it would have been very difficult for several reasons:
1). Harbaugh has been intending to consider multiple teams and is in no rush to start that this week.
2). It’s unrealistic to tell all these candidates to hold on for a while; they want clarity and to be able to interview elsewhere in some cases.
3). Achieving this would be very difficult within the framework of league’s Rooney Rule.
▪ How many coaching candidates will the Dolphins interview?
At least three and likely more. The league’s Rooney Rule requires teams to interview two external minority candidates. Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver — who is interviewing for the coaching jobs with the Cardinals, Falcons and Raiders — would not count among those two if the Dolphins interview him for the head coaching job. So he would be a third.
A fourth would be Harbaugh, assuming he accepts the interview.
Other candidates also are expected to be interviewed.
The decision on a coach will be a collaborative decision between Ross and the new GM.
▪ The Dolphins can interview coaching candidates who are unemployed. But can they interview candidates who work for teams that are not in the playoffs?
Only virtually, for now. In-person interviews with coaches who aren’t working for playoff teams cannot begin until Jan. 19.
▪ What if the Dolphins wish to interview a coach on a team that’s playing a playoff game this weekend?
There are strict rules involving that. Coaches of teams that lose this weekend can interview immediately, but only virtually before Jan. 19.
For assistants whose teams advance this weekend, they can have a virtual interview beginning Tuesday, except for coaches on Houston and Pittsburgh, who must wait until Jan. 14 because they play Monday night. No in-person interviews with coaches still in the playoffs would be permitted next week.
In-person interviews are allowed only with coaches whose seasons are over.
▪ Can the Dolphins interview coaches on the two teams with first-round byes?
If they wish to interview coaches on the staffs of Seahawks or Broncos, they need to conduct them virtually by Monday or risk not being able to speak with them until after the Super Bowl, should their team make it.
Coaches on the Super Bowl teams are not allowed to interview in person with other teams during the bye week if they hadn’t done an initial virtual interview earlier in January.
No coach can sign a contract or agree to sign a contract until their season is complete.
A new rule limits interviews with still-active playoff coaches to a maximum of three hours per session. Teams must request permission to interview coaches under contract, and employer teams cannot deny requests for playoff-eligible coaches without cause.
▪ Why was McDaniel fired?
Anyone could reasonably presume that Harbaugh’s availability factored into it.
But there’s more to it than that, a Ross associate said.
McDaniel presented a plan to Ross during their meeting Tuesday.
Though Ross is fond of McDaniel and wanted to make it work, he entered the offseason open-minded and emerged from that Tuesday meeting leaning toward making a change. He slept on it and informed McDaniel of his decision on Thursday.
Ross is comfortable with the notion that Miami will find a good coach even if Harbaugh takes a different job.
▪ How did McDaniel take the news of his dismissal when he was informed Thursday morning?
A source close to McDaniel said he was shocked. NFL Network described him as emotional.
A Dolphins player conveyed that McDaniel had exit meetings with players Wednesday and discussed their potential areas of improvement and an offseason plan for many of them.
A close associate of McDaniel said by phone on Monday that he and McDaniel expected he would return, even though he was never told that.
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 5:25 PM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
