Miami Dolphins 2026 Head Coach Odds: The John Harbaugh Sweepstakes Begin

By Christopher Boan

Jan 9th, 2026 2:10 PM EST

Harbaugh will be the Dolphins' top target (USATODAY)

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Change is officially coming to Miami Gardens and NFL betting sites, as Mike McDaniel’s four-year run as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins is over, with owner Stephen Ross opting to fire the 42-year-old after a 7-10 season.  

McDaniel’s time with the Dolphins ends on a 35-33 note, with consecutive losing seasons in 2024 and 2025 and zero playoff wins in the two years where they made the postseason.  

Now that Miami’s hired Green Bay Packers VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as the team’s next general manager, the team at Bookies.com updated our odds on which candidate the AFC East stalwart will hire to replace McDaniel in Miami Gardens come the fall.  

Who Will Be Next Dolphins Coach?

Who Replaces McDaniel? A Look At The Dolphins Candidates 

Right now, our top candidate for the Miami opening is still the man who was fired by the Ravens earlier this week, with John Harbaugh holding +550 odds of replacing McDaniel in 2026.  

Prior to getting the boot, Harbaugh was the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL (behind Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers), with a Super Bowl title and a 13-11 record in 24 playoff games dating back to his first season in the Charm City back in 2008.  

Hafley Has GM Connection in Miami

Outside of Harbaugh, keep an eye on former Boston College head coach and current Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley (+650), as well as Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur (who’s also the brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur), with the latter checking in at +700 alongside former Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.  

Hafley obviously has the connection to the new GM, and should a team like the Giants woo Harbaugh over Miami, the Packers DC could well become the Dolphins' man.

Also: Giants Next Coach Odds.

The rest of our Miami odds board includes former LSU Tigers pass game coordinator and current Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, with both co-listed at +1100.  

Brady’s time in Buffalo has seen 

the AFC East stalwart win 25 games over the last two years with last year’s team making the AFC Conference Championship game for the first time since 2020, to go with his work as the LSU Tigers’ pass game coordinator during the team’s CFP title season in 2019.  

Minter’s been along for the ride alongside Jim Harbaugh since arriving in Ann Arbor in 2022, serving as the Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023 before moving with the head coach to Los Angeles in 2024.  

During L.A.’s successive 11-6 seasons in 2024 and 2025, Minter’s helped install the NFL’s top scoring defense in 2024 (allowing 17.7 points per game), with this year’s team ranking ninth by that metric (allowing 20.0 points per game). 

Who Else To Watch in Miami?  

As far as Dolphins longshot contenders are concerned, keep an eye on names like Rams DC Chris Shula, who checks in at +1750 alongside former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, while Kliff Kingsbury and Robert Saleh are co-listed at +2000 apiece, while Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak rounds things out at +3500.  

For now, what we know is that the Dolphins are in need of a new head coach for the first time since 2022, as Mike McDaniel’s time with the club officially ended on Thursday morning, potentially opening the door for a longstanding AFC head coach to start over with a new franchise in the new year.  

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