NFL insider continues to hint at Mike McDaniel and Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could certainly use a home run hire at offensive coordinator. Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles promoted Josh Grizzard from within to run the offense at the beginning of the 2025 season, but a lackluster offense saw him get fired after a bad collapse at the end of the season.

As a result, the Buccaneers need a new offensive coordinator — their fifth in five seasons. They've interviewed four candidates already for the job, but there's one name that Bucs fans would likely love to see with the OC headset.

The Miami Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel shortly after the season ended after it looked like they were set to keep him, and with that firing, he's immediately become one of the hottest names in the cycle for a vacant head coaching job or offensive coordinator job. It would be tough for the Buccaneers to beat out a number of teams that could utilize his services, but one ESPN insider seems to think it's very possible.

ESPN writer Jeff Darlington initially hinted at the union on Jan. 9, when he did a segment on ESPN and told viewers to pay close attention to a potential move with the Buccaneers and McDaniel. Darlington mentioned that McDaniel is looking for a new challenge, and he even retweeted a tweet about the segment with the classic quizzical eyes emoji.

👀 https://t.co/BlpwQPl7Pz
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) January 9, 2026

Darlington dropped yet another hint when it came to McDaniel and the Bucs on Monday, further increasing the possibility that the Bucs could make the big hire.

Darlington continues to hint at McDaniel to Buccaneers

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel looks on during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Darlington posted on X Monday that McDaniel was being very cautious about the teams he speaks to when it comes to OC jobs. When he told fans of teams not interviewing McDaniel not to worry about it too much, he specifically mentioned the Bucs.

"So if you don’t see your team on the reported lists (cough, Bucs, cough), don’t overthink it," He wrote. "Everyone is still in play. He just doesn’t currently see a reason to rush."

When it comes to Mike McDaniel, I wouldn’t read too much into his interview schedule. He’s talking to 3 teams today, 1 team each of the next 3 three days, and it’s possible 3 other OC jobs open up. That’s 9 potential teams (#math). The point is, aside from a can’t-turn-it-down…
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) January 12, 2026

There would be plenty of reasons for McDaniel to head to Tampa Bay. The Bucs have a wealth of weapons when healthy, with four top-notch receivers in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka. The Bucs will want McDaniel for his talent in run game scheming — he's perhaps the best at it in the NFL — and McDaniel would have a versatile back in Bucky Irving to work with.

Other teams will aggressively pursue him, though, and some may even be willing to make him a head coach. That could be very appealing to McDaniel after being fired in Miami, but he could also take the Bucs job knowing there is a path to being a head coach there, too. Todd Bowles is on the hotseat following a big collapse, and should he be fired after 2026, McDaniel could theoretically step right in if the Glazers were willing to do that.

We'll have to see how McDaniel's interview schedule shakes out. But he's clearly being patient, and according to Darlington, he may have a keen eye for Tampa Bay's OC job.

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