Dolphins hire McDaniel as head coach from 49ers

The Miami Dolphins hired San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as their head coach Sunday, making him the first minority candidate to get hired so far this offseason.

McDaniel, who is biracial, replaces Brian Flores, who was fired despite posting winning records in the final two of his three seasons in Miami.

Flores sued the NFL, the Dolphins and two other teams last week over alleged racist hiring practices for coaches and general managers, saying the league remains “rife with racism” even as it publicly condemns it.

McDaniel had worked under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan for the past 11 seasons and gets his first shot as a head coach after only one year as offensive coordinator.

McDaniel was credited for his role in developing San Francisco’s creative running game that featured receiver Deebo Samuel as a running back at times, along with other wrinkles.

“Mike is awesome,” 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said recently. “He really is. He’s kind of that, I don’t want to say the mastermind behind everything, but he’s kind of that guy in the background that doesn’t say a whole ton to a lot of people, but his mind is always moving. The ideas that he comes up with are so fresh and new that it’s a cool guy to have on the staff.”

Bears

Chicago hired Richard Hightower as special teams coordinator under new coach Matt Eberflus. Hightower spent the past five seasons as San Francisco’s special teams coordinator and has 15 years of NFL coaching experience. He replaces Chris Tabor in Chicago, where Hightower was assistant special teams coach on John Fox’s staff in 2016.

Elsewhere

For those who can’t make it Sunday to SoFi Stadium for the Super Bowl, or don’t want to get a second mortgage to buy tickets on the secondary market, there is an option for getting a feel for the new venue.

A 1- to- 50 scale LEGO model of the indoor-outdoor stadium will make its debut next month at Miniland U. S. A., located at the LEGOLAND California Resort. The LEGO stadium structure will join such other Southern California attractions featured in LEGO form as Griffith Park Observatory, Hollywood Bowl and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

More than 30 feet long, 15 feet wide and over 4 feet tall, the new exhibit is planned to be the largest LEGO stadium in the world.