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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Guardian sport

Miami Dolphins hire 49ers’ Mike McDaniel as new head coach

Mike McDaniel helped the 49ers to the NFC title game this season
Mike McDaniel helped the 49ers to the NFC title game this season. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/AP

The Miami Dolphins have appointed San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as their new head coach.

McDaniel will replace Brian Flores, who was fired on 10 January and has since filed a lawsuit that alleges the NFL “is racially segregated and is managed much like a plantation”.

McDaniel, who identifies as multiracial, is now one of only four minority head coaches in the NFL along with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, the Washington Commanders’ Ron Rivera and Robert Saleh of the New York Jets. McDaniel is the first person of color to land a head coaching job in this cycle.

The 38-year-old McDaniel did not play football at any significant level and studied history at Yale before interning at the Denver Broncos. He slowly worked his way up the NFL ladder, becoming the 49ers’ offensive coordinator in January 2021.

McDaniel is seen as one of a number of innovative young coaches in the NFL, and the 49ers reached the NFC conference game this season, beating the No 1 seed Green Bay Packers along the way. McDaniel helped develop Deebo Samuel into a dual threat as a receiver and rusher, and the player was named an All-Pro this season.

“He’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve been around,” said 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan of McDaniel last month. “… He’s been huge to our team and huge for me throughout my entire career.”

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