All Dolphins

Dolphins Lose One of their Coaching Targets

Brian Daboll was among the Dolphins' leading candidates to become their new head coach, but he instead is headed to the New York Giants

Alain Poupart

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Just as multiple reports indicated the Miami Dolphins had narrowed their list of head coach candidates to three, that number became two.

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll no longer is an option for the Dolphins after he was hired to become head coach of the New York Giants.

Reports of the Giants hiring Daboll began surfacing late Friday afternoon/early Friday evening, not long after another report indicated the Dolphins had formally requested second interviews early next week with Daboll and Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

This always was a risk by the Dolphins to wait until next week to interview Daboll, though if Daboll preferred the Miami job he easily could have told the Giants he needed some time to make a decision.

This was a scenario that always needed to be considered, which is why we broke down the appeal of each situation for Daboll earlier in the week.

The Giants are hoping that Daboll can work the same kind of magic with incumbent quarterback Daniel Jones as he did with Josh Allen in Buffalo, much the same way the Dolphins had looked at Daboll as somebody who could help Tua Tagovailoa get to the next level.

But it must be pointed out that Allen is unique in terms of his physical traits and there's no guarantee Daboll can get the same kind of results with Jones.

The other finalist for the Dolphins opening, based on reports, is San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who could be interviewed next week as well but couldn't be officially hired until Feb. 14 if the 49ers end up playing in the Super Bowl.

Moore and McDaniel both are young offensive coaches held in high regard, and we analyzed both of them as head coach candidates earlier in the week.

-- BREAKING DOWN MIKE McDANIEL AS A HEAD COACH CANDIDATE

-- BREAKING DOWN KELLEN MOORE AS A HEAD COACH CANDIDATE

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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