49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel could be the next coach to fall out of the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. He’s a candidate to be the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, but McDaniel isn’t letting his future distract him from his next task as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator.
While McDaniel could be on to bigger things in the offseason, he has a formidable job going into the wild-card round when his offense squares off against a very good Dallas Cowboys defense. That Cowboys unit is where his focus is despite some potentially life-altering changes coming down the pike.
“Yeah, it has. But as far as juggling, there is no juggling,” McDaniel on Thursday told reporters in a press conference. “It’s about the Dallas Cowboys and the 49ers offense going down there and performing and the 49ers team, doing whatever it takes to try and get a W against a very good football team. And that’s it.”
McDaniel is a key voice in the design of the 49ers’ run game, so it’s not a surprise teams are interested in his services.
There may not be a better audition for him than Sunday in Dallas. The 49ers will be the only game on, facing a Cowboys defense that finished No. 2 in DVOA against the pass and No. 16 against the run.
If San Francisco’s offense performs well in Dallas and the 49ers swing and upset, there could be more interviews for McDaniel to navigate throughout the postseason.
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