The Atlanta Falcons have completed an interview with Mike McDaniel for the team’s head coach position. The search follows the departure of Raheem Morris after the 2025 season. The process is being led by a new leadership group, including Falcons President of Football Matt Ryan, and is supported by ZRG Partners and Sportsology Group.
“Our search committee will be structured a little bit differently than it has been in the past,” said Falcons owner Arthur Blank. “[It will] still be made up of a component of people that represent our leadership in all areas of our businesses, but we’re going to put heavy emphasis, we’re hiring this president of football first. That’s the goal, and over the next couple of days, we have a series of interviews set up. We want to get that person in their seat and have them lead the interviews for the head coach and general manager position going forward.”
The organization plans to announce each interview after its completion.
Mike McDaniel was interviewed on Monday, January 12. He previously served as head coach for the Miami Dolphins from 2022 to 2025. During his time with Miami, he led the team to consecutive playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023—the first such achievement for the franchise in more than two decades.
Before joining Miami, McDaniel was offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 and run game coordinator following the 2020 season. His NFL career began as an intern with the Denver Broncos in 2015. He later held coaching positions with several teams: Houston Texans (offensive assistant), Washington Redskins (offensive assistant and wide receivers coach), Cleveland Browns (wide receivers coach), and Atlanta Falcons (offensive assistant).
McDaniel’s previous stint with Atlanta included serving as an offensive assistant during their Super Bowl run from 2015-16 when Matt Ryan was quarterback and named league MVP.
His experience includes helping Miami become one of the top offenses in 2023—leading in scoring and yardage—and breaking franchise records. As run game coordinator for San Francisco, his unit ranked second in rushing yards two years after his promotion.
McDaniel is known for adapting schemes around players’ strengths rather than forcing them into rigid systems—a quality seen as potentially beneficial for developing quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
The Atlanta Falcons are based in Atlanta, Georgia, compete in the National Football League’s NFC South Division, began play as an expansion team in 1965, and have reached the Super Bowl twice—in 1998 and again during McDaniel’s previous tenure on staff—in 2016 official websiteofficial website.
