The Dolphins have named Mike McDaniel formerly, with the 49ers, as their head coach this Sunday. The former offensive coordinator of the San Francisco team fills the gap created in January after Brian Flores was sacked. In a major development, Flores sued the National Football League last week, citing race bias.
Mike McDaniel will take over a team that is coming off a couple of winning seasons but has been unsuccessful in their bid for the playoffs since 2016. Mike McDaniel’s father is Black.
Flores Filed Suit After Mike McDaniel Replaces Him
The announcement of the appointment of Mike McDaniel by the Dolphins comes 5 days after Brian Flores, a Black, took the NFL along 3 member teams to court over what he alleged was discrimination against Black candidates for jobs in management and coaching.
The lawsuit has been filed to bring changes in NFL, incentivize the member teams to take in Black GMs and coaches and force teams to be accountable for appointing and terminating decisions, which they should submit in writing.
Brian Flores has alleged that teams have in the past conducted fake interviews when it came to Black candidates. He said that the interviews were done only to keep in line with an NFL policy of 2003, the Rooney Rule, which required teams to interview minorities for all coaching jobs.
NFL has dismissed claims that Mike McDaniel’s appointment or other incidents mentioned by Flores had racial undertones.
The decision to sack Flores was among the surprises of the NFL season IN 2021. The Dolphins were winners in 8 of their last 9 games after they started the 2021 season at 1-7. Flores went 24-25 in the 3 seasons he was with the team. But it was his inability to take them into the playoffs, something the Dolphins have not managed since 2016, that is believed to have led to the decision.
Mike McDaniel comes in after 5 seasons with the 49ers, where he was the offensive coordinator of the team at the concluding season after 4 seasons as the run game coordinator between 2017 and 2020.
