The Buffalo Bills have fired head coach Sean McDermott, which may slow things down for the Miami Dolphins.
The Miami Dolphins are deep in their search for a new head coach. They are expected to ramp up this week with the second round of in-person interviews.
Despite there being a wealth of candidates, the Dolphins appear to be moving into their next step. However, the team may slow down due to the Buffalo Bills' firing of Sean McDermott.
The news of McDermott being fired has shocked the NFL world, and it comes at a time when most teams are setting up the second round of interviews.
In the same manner as John Harbaugh being fired by the Baltimore Ravens, McDermott should rocket to the top of candidates for most teams. This includes the Dolphins.
While the team may be set on Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, they are still doing their due diligence on the available candidates. With McDermott now being available, Miami should slow things down to get in an interview.
McDermott was let go for likely the same reason that Harbaugh was. He simply did not get the Bills over the hump of going to the Super Bowl.
The last six seasons have seen the Bills make the playoffs and win the AFC East, but only to be knocked out by either Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow. Regardless of how much a head coach wins, the ultimate job is to get championships.
Andy Reid experienced the same situation with the Philadelphia Eagles, as Harbaugh did with the Ravens, as McDermott did with the Bills.
Josh Allen is an MVP-level quarterback, and for him not to have a ring seems ridiculous.
Now, the Bills will need to find that next leader.
With McDermott being available, the Dolphins should be one of the many teams that are likely to call the former Bills coach.
McDermott has posted a 98-50 record in the regular season and has gone 8-8 in the playoffs. While he could not get the Bills to the Super Bowl, he is responsible for turning the Bills around.
The type of leader that McDermott is and how he handles players is the type of coach the Dolphins also need. There is no guarantee that the organization will stop its current progress on finding a head coach, but that should be the case.
The Dolphins need a leader of men, and he is certainly McDermott. The selection committee may be on the phone already to set up a meeting. If they are not, then that should be the first thing on the agenda for the franchise.
Miami has had some bad luck in chasing higher-profile head coaches like Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh. Still, with the complete reset happening with the Dolphins, the job might be a bit more alluring to someone like McDermott.