Key Highlights
- Roman had been Harbaugh's only offensive coordinator in the NFL, but Roman's offense was inconsistent and lacked creativity.
- In two playoff appearances, the Chargers offense had scored just one touchdown. Known for his creativity with motions and condensed formations that put opposing defenses in a bind, McDaniel's approach changed offenses league-wide.
- Former Bills coach Sean McDermott called McDaniel's offense in Miami "revolutionary." 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan admitted that he stole some of McDaniel's pre-snap motions in 2023. In Miami, where he was hired in 2022, McDaniel helped turn around the career of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, who had struggled to perform up to his draft selection in two seasons before McDaniel. In his first year, McDaniel's offense finished sixth in total offensive yards, the first time Miami's offense had finished in the top 10 in total yards since 1995.
- The Dolphins led the NFL in total offense in 2023 and Tagovailoa finished with a league-leading 4,624 passing yards and the only Pro Bowl selection of his career. The best performance of McDaniel's tenure in Miami came when the Dolphins beat the Denver Broncos 70-20 in 2023, becoming the first NFL team to score 70 points with 700-plus yards of offense in a game and tying the NFL record for most points ever scored. Still McDaniel went 0-2 in two playoff appearances and his offense declined over the last two seasons.
- McDaniel benched Tagovailoa after a loss in Week 15, and the Dolphins' offense didn't look much improved under rookie Quinn Ewers for the final three games.