After surprisingly firing Brian Flores, the Dolphins continue to put in early work on his replacement. They sent interview requests to Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter links).
Quinn has become a consistent presence early in the request process. The Broncos and Bears have requested permission to meet with the first-year Cowboys DC. The Jaguars also submitted a request to interview Quinn virtually, attempting to take advantage of the NFL’s new early window, but the ex-Falcons leader declined to do a virtual meeting during the regular season. Nevertheless, he is a popular name thus far.
The 49ers saw the Jets poach one of Kyle Shanahan‘s right-hand men on offense last year, when Mike LaFleur became Robert Saleh‘s OC. McDaniel has been a Shanahan staffer for years, following him from Atlanta to San Francisco. The first-year 49ers OC doubles as the team’s run-game coordinator. Despite Raheem Mostert going down in Week 1 and Elijah Mitchell missing time with multiple injuries, the 49ers finished as a top-10 rushing attack.
This marks McDaniel’s first HC connection this year, but the Dolphins were interested in him a year ago. Miami had the San Francisco assistant on its OC radar last year, but Flores opted to go with an Eric Studesville–George Godsey co-OC setup. The Quinn and McDaniel summons follow the Dolphins’ Brian Daboll request, one the team submitted hours after firing Flores.