The San Francisco 49ers were able to bring back their former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh this past offseason, and they may be able to bring back their old offensive coordinator pretty soon in Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.
The Dolphins are off to a dreadful start this season, going 1-6 after a brutal blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. It seems the team is going in the wrong direction, but it does not seem like the Dolphins are going to fire McDaniel just yet.
However, if the Dolphins continue to look this bad and keep on losing, the team may have no other choice than to move on from McDaniel. He has a record of 29-29 as a head coach, but the days when the Dolphins had one of the most impressive, high-powered offenses in the NFL seem to be long gone.
For over a month, it has seemed like McDaniel's job is in jeopardy. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has seemingly taken some veiled swipes at McDaniel, so it truly does seem like his days are numbered unless there is a rapid turnaround.
If the Dolphins do fire McDaniel midseason, it could be huge news for the Niners. There is the potential that they could get back the guy who designed some of the team's most devastating run schemes as the run game coordinator from 2017 to 2020. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk has sung the praises of McDaniel in the past, so the team would certainly love to get the band back together by reuniting head coach Kyle Shanahan with Saleh and McDaniel once again.
Of course, that is not always how things work. McDaniel may rather lay low and not get involved with another team if things do not work out in Miami. Or, he could be like Saleh and go to a different team briefly. After Saleh was axed by the New York Jets last season, he spent some time with the Green Bay Packers as a consultant where he had ties with head coach Matt LaFleur.
Maybe McDaniel would do something similar and go somewhere else and help another coach he has ties to.
The 49ers may also not want to look like they are undermining their own offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak by bringing McDaniel back into the fold. However, since Shanahan is the one calling plays, it may not be as big of a deal to bring McDaniel back and have him scheme up runs once again.
With the exception of Sunday's game against Atlanta, the 49ers have struggled to run the ball very well at all this season. Part of why they improved on Sunday was because they had both tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Jauan Jennings out there at the same time and both are known as excellent run blockers.
Yet, maybe bringing back McDaniel would bring the team's run game back to the heights it reached in 2019 when Raheem Mostert was rushing for over 200 yards in the NFC Championship game.
McDaniel is not fired yet, but if he is the 49ers would be wise to swoop in and bring him back into the fold.