The Falcons have completed an interview with Mike McDaniel for their head coaching vacancy, the team announced Monday night.
McDaniel interviewed with the Browns earlier in the day. The Titans and Ravens also have interviews with McDaniel this week.
The former Dolphins head coach was an assistant with the Falcons in 2015-16 when the team’s president of football Matt Ryan was their quarterback during his time in Atlanta.
The Dolphins went 35-33 under McDaniel, reaching the playoffs in his first two seasons but going one-and-done.
He should have offensive coordinator opportunities if he does not land his second head coaching gig in this cycle.
At least one team has now formally spoken with John Harbaugh about their head coaching vacancy.
The Falcons announced that they have completed an interview with Harbaugh on Monday afternoon.
After firing General Manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris last week, Falcons owner Arthur Blank told reporters that Harbaugh would “certainly be a candidate we would want to spend some time with.” That has now happened.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes that Harbaugh has also been conducting “preliminary and extensive phone calls” with the Giants, Titans, Browns, Raiders, and Cardinals. At this point, he’s trying to decide who he’ll meet with this week and into next week before making a decision. But Harbaugh is expected to coach in 2026, as opposed to potentially becoming a TV analyst for a year before re-entering the market in 2027.
Atlanta made the widely expected hiring of Matt Ryan as president of football official on Saturday. With plenty of options, Harbaugh will have to determine if he’d like to work with Ryan or any other number of front-office executives when choosing his next spot.
The Browns announced their interview with Mike McDaniel for their head coaching vacancy on Monday morning and McDaniel is reportedly going to double up on conversations about a new job before the day is out.
Peter Schrager of ESPN reports that McDaniel is also set to interview with the Falcons on Monday evening. McDaniel was an assistant with the Falcons earlier in his career and the team’s president of football Matt Ryan was their quarterback during his time in Atlanta.
They are the first two teams to meet with McDaniel since he was fired, but there are others lined up. The Titans and Ravens are also slated to interview McDaniel this week.
McDaniel should also have offensive coordinator opportunities if he does not land his second head coaching gig.
Mike McDaniel’s dance card is filling up this week.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that McDaniel is set to interview with the Falcons and Ravens this week about their head coaching vacancies. This comes after word on Sunday that he will interview with the Browns and last week’s word that he’ll meet with the Titans.
McDaniel spent the last four seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach and was on Kyle Shanahan’s staff with the 49ers before going to Miami. He moved to the 49ers with Shanahan after working on the Falcons’ staff in 2015 and 2016, which was the same time that new Falcons president of football Matt Ryan was the team’s quarterback.
McDaniel is also drawing interest from the Lions for their offensive coordinator vacancy and other teams looking for a change at that spot could also throw their hat in the ring for McDaniel’s services.
A bad ending to the Packers season isn’t dimming interest from other teams in their defensive coordinator.
According to multiple reports, the Cardinals, Dolphins, Falcons and Raiders have all requested interviews with Jeff Hafley. The Titans had previously made a request, so it’s a total of five teams with eyes on Hafley being part of their head coaching search.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said on Sunday that he anticipates Hafley landing a job with one of those teams.
Hafley finished his second season in Green Bay with Saturday night’s loss to the Bears. He was previously the head coach at Boston College and worked for the 49ers and Buccaneers earlier in his career.
