The Josh Innes Show - Lions, Please Hire Mike McDaniel

Episode Date: January 8, 2026

I am a Mike McDaniel Stan. I need this man in Detroit. Is he gonna have a shot at any head coach openings? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I know there's other stuff to get into, and I've hammered this Lane Kiffin thing a lot and college football a lot. But can I tell you, I really, really hate this Kurt Signetti. It doesn't mean he's not a good coach. He's obviously a great coach. What the guy's done is arguably a miracle. You've taken Indiana and made Indiana a championship contender, which in any of our lifetimes, we would have thought that would never be possible. And now you're going to the portal and you're getting big-name quarterbacks in the portal again.

I respect what Kurt Signetti has done. I just don't like the guy. I think his whole vibe is annoying. I don't care about how you never smile. Like the whole thing feels put on and contrived. And now he's kind of embracing the character. And like he looks like some guy that's about to go fucking postal. He looks like Michael Douglason falling down.

He's got like the crew cut and the glasses. Like he just looks like some Midwest dude that's about to just like unloading. on a fucking bank or something. Like, there's something that, like, I just don't like the guy. I'm so sick of hearing about how he never smiles and just everything about he's a hard on. Good for you for making a lot of cash and you've had a moment. And I'm not saying you want to have more moments.

Maybe Indiana will become the new powerhouse, right? I just don't like the guy. I find him annoying and he's not charming and the act is lame and the media people fawning all over the dopey act. Ugh. No, thank you. But anyway, let's play a few commercials and get into some other stuff. Thank you.

All right. Another sad story is that my man Mike McDaniel got fired in Miami. Oh, that makes me sad. I really enjoyed him. I don't know if he was a good coach. And who knows, maybe he'll be a very good offensive coordinator for someone. I guarantee you there's going to be a bunch of teams knocking on the door to get Mike McDaniel. How much of his failure was the fact that Tua sucks?

I mean, they clearly want to do away. with Tua. They've paid him a ton of money, but he sucks. So how much of Mike McDaniel's failures were because of Tua? How much of Mike McDaniel's failure was because he's a weirdo that wears, you know, Capri pants on the sideline? Like, I don't know. But I dig Mike McDaniel. I enjoyed his vibes. Is there like a YouTube video that has like the best of Mike McDaniel? Can we get the best of Mike McDaniel? The guy that more like gigantic aviators that were bigger than his face. Like, oh, I love it. Let's see, best of Mike McDaniel.

Let's see if there's like a sizzle reel. Mike McDaniel funniest moments. Let's see, hold on. Now than I did in my past endeavors, it's partially because it didn't matter. I mean, I used to be able to really push it from game day to almost Wednesday without showering. Now that would be obvious.

I can't hide. so I love this guy I love him and I wanted him to be successful so badly like a lot of people kind of viewed his act as fake I don't think his act was fake I think he's genuinely a weirdo like when I see this Kurt Signetti

and it's like oh he's like I think he's embracing this kind of no nonsense hard on character that he's playing I think Mike McDaniel is just an awkward dude probably on the spectrum former alcoholic like total fucking wacko and I love him

and then so that you prioritize that and then you know that's not that's something that I knew um had to be adjusted you know from the moment that I was assembling uh the coaching staff something very quick to end on kill kiss or marry your coaching tree Kyle Shanahan Matt LaFleur Sean McVeigh also kill kiss or Mary either way it's a weird thing to ask somebody but come on it's Mary fuck kill grow some balls interview guy uh start with Matt I'd kiss him because he's most endearing.

Eyebrows. Yeah. I mean, he's Napoleon dynamite. When you look at him, he's Napoleon dynamite. He is truly just an awkward, weird dude. I think it's authentic. Like, I think it's impossible when you start seeing that people are into a character

that you don't kind of ham it up a little bit. So I'm sure there's a percentage of it that's kind of bullshit. But I don't think it's a big percentage. Like, I think my man is authentic. and I'm going to miss him. And he's going to be an offensive coordinator somewhere and he's going to be successful. Kyle, because I've spent the most time with him, so I should marry him.

And I would kill Sean because he just was the last team that I played and he beat me. Safe to assume you evaluated Justin Fields ahead of the 2021 draft. One could assume that safely. How would you say he's grown from that time to now? Well, I think he's two inches taller. And then Chris walks in. He's like, hey. So I just got a call.

I'm the Chiefs talking about Tyree Kill and I'm like, what? So I'm like, this is why I'm not a GM. I'm like, tell them they can have everything. I love this guy. So here in Detroit, I would give my left nut for the lions who are looking for an offensive coordinator to hire this guy. I need the sound bites. I need the interviews.

I need it all. I need this guy in my life. Mike McDaniel is the Mike McDaniel's top NFL landing spots after being fired as Dolphins head coach. The Dolphins announced on Thursday they have fired McDaniel after a 7 and 10 record this year. He was 35 and 33 overall.

McDaniel will have no shortage of jobs to choose from with seven other teams looking for a new head coach as well as a potential offensive coordinator. I don't think he's going to get another head coaching job. Look, he's half black. So based on USA today, he's got less than half the chance that a white guy has to get the job. They'll certainly use Mike McDaniel if they need to use him for their black guys not getting

other jobs. If you'll recall, remember people ripped the hiring of Mike McDaniel, then they found out that he was like half black and they're like, oh shit, our bad. Well, if he gets another job, there's like a 50% part of it, they'll be like, look, another white guy got another shot. And then the other half, it'll be like, look, another black guy didn't get another opportunity. Let's see, the Cleveland Browns immediately stand out as a potential landing spot for

McDaniel. The 42-year-old would be a candidate for the Browns if they didn't retain Kevin Stefansky. They mentioned that on December 31st. Stafansky was fired on Monday after seven seasons. The Browns already have a strong defensive foundation, blah, blah, blah. Another team that could be attractive to McDaniel is the Las Vegas Raiders. No, it shouldn't. Brother, here's what I would do. If I'm Mike McDaniel, and first of all, I don't know how covet he's actually going to be. Like, I'm reading these stories as if he's some guy, people are beating down the door to hire. Now, Stafansky is a guy, like the New York Giants are involved, although the Harbaugh is probably their guy.

Like, Stefansky might get another job, like, immediately, because I don't think people hold it against you when you coached the Browns, right? Like, when you're the coach of the Browns, most people pity you, and they're like, hey, you're probably better than we think you are. But I don't know that McDaniel's going to fall into that category. Let's see, Johnson ultimately blah, blah, blah, the Raiders remained a mess in 2025, blah, blah, blah. There's a lot of work to be done.

If McDaniel doesn't like any of these head coaching openings or if he gets passed over for them in favor of other candidates. There are some ways he could rebuild his value as an offensive coordinator. For example, a team like the Baltimore Ravens goes for a defensive-minded person as a new head coach. McDaniel could be the offensive coordinator with Lamar Jackson. It would be a surprise if McDaniel isn't coaching on an NFL sideline in 2026. This was a waste of time story. It didn't really give you any true insights. Eagle, this story, Eagles and Lions fans already fighting over Mike McDaniel as next offensive coordinator. I love this. guy so much. I need this guy in Detroit. It's all I need. Let's see, seven Mike McDaniel landing spots

after Dolphins fire. And let's see what USA Today says. Atlanta Falcons, they have a head coaching vacancy. Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator. There's not even an opening there yet, but you can imagine that if the franchise doesn't make the Super Bowl and wants to make some changes, McDaniel would be great. The New York Giants. Imagine Jackson Dart being coached by McDaniel either with him at the helm or as an offensive coordinator. I think they're probably, though, going to go with somebody like, look, to me, if you're the Giants and you don't hire John Harbaugh, like, you need an adult in there and someone that's won, and that franchise is sputtering, you need some stability, you need a guy that's one and one at a high level. Apparently, Lamar didn't like

him, and that's why they fired him. Fine. You got a young guy in Jackson Dart. I would imagine you can get along with Jackson Dart, I can assume. But, like, the Giants doesn't make sense. Lions is an offensive coordinator. This could be amazing. McDaniels could cure all the ails, all the ails of the lions. I would agree. I don't think he's going to get the Buccaneers. Although the Buccaneers didn't fire their coach, but they mentioned him as offensive coordinator. Baltimore Ravens.

I don't think he's in a position where he's going to get another head coaching job right now. I don't think so. But offensive coordinator and what's a better spot to be an offensive coordinator than in Detroit? I mean, I guess you could argue Philly, but I mean, You've got golf here You've got Amin Ra here Jamo here You've got

Gibbs here Now the question you have is offensive line And they've got to make the offensive line better And that's never an issue for the Eagles I think he's going to be a highly sought after Offensive coordinator As a head coach I don't know that I buy it Although you know what's wild

And it's easy to make fun of the guy Because he says wacky shit And it's easy to make fun of the guy Because he's weird And it ended poorly but if you actually look at the numbers and look at his overall record, which, again, was 35 and 33, like, the guy went to the playoffs back-to-back years, and one of those playoff losses, they had to go play on like negative 500 degrees in Kansas City, and then they, you know, lost to Buffalo, which again, those are the two best teams in the AFC over the last five, six years. Like, the guy's kind of a flake and kind of weird, but he seems to be a pretty smart cat. 9 and 8, 11 and 6, 8, 9, 7, and 10.

So, I mean, hell, we blow Mike Tomlin for doing that. Now, granted, Mike Tomlin's done it for 20 years and he's won the Super Bowl, but I don't know, man. Like, if you ask me, who would you rather hire as a head coach? Who would be a better candidate? Cliff or this guy, and Cliff's a name getting mentioned a lot. The difference, of course, being that Cliff was the head coach with the Cardinals, then got fired, and has been an offensive coordinator. And that's kind of more of a trajectory, which is you get fired.

You rehabilitate as a coordinator, and then you get another opportunity. I don't know that you're going to go from being fired. I don't know that he's got the skins on the wall to go from fired to hired by a team to be their next head coach. But I love the guy, and I hope to God he comes here. I will do whatever. I will use my tiny pulpit and my tiny megaphone to do everything I can to get Mike McDaniel here. More to come.