With more than half the league eliminated from the 2025 playoffs, several owners have begun the difficult next step to hopefully make their team better by firing the current head coach. The Patriots have been in that position the last two years, and fortunately, they aren't this year. Plenty of their rivals aren't facing the same fate, the most notable of which is the Dolphins.
The Miami team has been questionable for several years, despite the initial excitement surrounding the hiring of Mike McDaniel. He was expected to bring the kind of success the franchise had been longing for, only to be fired after four seasons and plenty of questionable decisions.
The Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel, per sources. pic.twitter.com/hJniAcXz5i
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 8, 2026
The Dolphins become the eighth team in the head coach search for the 2026 offseason, and are immediately looking to hire one of the best available candidates, as they were already rumored to be looking at the most highly sought-after name, even before officially moving on from McDaniel.
That appears to still be the case, and that's not great news for a team like the Patriots, who hope to continue their rise to the top of the AFC East with just the Bills as their main competition.
The Dolphins could become contenders quick if they manage to land John Harbaugh
According to the latest details from NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Dolphins are intrigued by the possibility of bringing in John Harbaugh, who was fired by the Ravens earlier this week after spending 18 seasons with the team.
He instantly became the hottest name to become a free agent, so much so that even teams that still had head coaches on their staff, like the Dolphins, considered firing them if it meant they'd have a chance at the accomplished coach.
With John Harbaugh available, and #Dolphins owner Stephen Ross' ties to the family, he now looms as a key candidate for Miami. A reason to fire a coach, with the thought that they could get Harbaugh.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 8, 2026
That's not great news for the Patriots, because the Dolphins bringing in a guy like Harbaugh would mean they're on track to becoming a legitimate team. He has built some of the most dominant rosters over the last 18 years, and we've seen the kind of success he had in Baltimore because of it.
If he were able to replicate that in Miami, they could easily become a competitive team in no time and challenge the Patriots for the divisional title.
But at the same time, the Dolphins aren't the best organization to work for. If you look at some of the most recent controversies involving the front office over the past few years, they're not in a good position from a roster standpoint.
That seems like an undesirable place for Harbaugh to continue his career, especially with seven other teams to consider, so there's a good chance he won't even entertain the idea of moving to South Florida.
He will inevitably have several interviews lined up, and there are no clear frontrunners for where he might land. But Patriots fans should be crossing their fingers that he will pass on the Dolphins, or else the AFC East will become a stronger division in no time.