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The Miami Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel last week, and Darren Waller found himself almost right in the middle of it.
“I was at the scene, bro. I think I was the last person that saw him before he got fired,” the Dolphins tight end said in a recent appearance on Johnny Manziel’s podcast.
Waller said that in his exit interview with McDaniel, he discussed options for the 2026 season before owner Stephen Ross “kicked the door open” about 10 minutes into their discussion.
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Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller (83) catches the ball in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium on October 5, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)
“He comes in and kind of joins the conversation,” Waller said. “We’re all just talking and reflecting on the year and Stephen Ross said, ‘I’d love to have you back next year.’ Then the conversation kind of just pauses.”
Waller said Ross then gave him a specific look that Manziel understood.
“Time for you to get the hell out,” Manziel said, laughing.
“I looked at Mike and he said we’ll finish the conversation later … I walk out of the meeting, get a massage, check my phone and see he got fired. I’m like, ‘This is— is cold.'”
Ross cited a need for “major change” after the team missed the playoffs for the second year in a row with a 7-10 finish this season.
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel runs to the locker room after the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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The Dolphins made back-to-back playoff appearances in McDaniel’s first two seasons as head coach, but were eliminated in the first round both times. The following season, they were eliminated after suffering an unexpected loss to the New York Jets in the team’s season finale.
McDaniel’s final season in Miami was tumultuous, highlighted by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa‘s games and his possible benching in the last three games of the season.
In one of his last big moves as head coach, McDaniel said this week that the Dolphins would hold a quarterback competition for the 2026 season, a decision Tagovailoa seemed to welcome this week when he confirmed he was open to a “fresh start” elsewhere.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel speak to reporters. (HAL HABIB / The Palm Beach Post / USA TODAY NETWORK)
In addition to replacing their head coach and finding a reliable candidate for the quarterback position, the Dolphins will be looking to replace longtime general manager Chris Grier after he was fired midseason.
