49ers to Receive 2 Compensatory Draft Picks After Mike McDaniel Hired as Dolphins HC

The lack of diversity among the NFL's head coaches has become a major headline following Brian Flores' lawsuit, but the San Francisco 49ers will receive two compensatory draft picks because of their role in helping Mike McDaniel, who is biracial, become a head coach.

The Miami Dolphins announced Sunday that they agreed to terms with McDaniel to be their next head coach.

Nick Wagoner of ESPN reported that means the 49ers will receive two compensatory third-round picks with one coming in each of the next two years as a result of the NFL's diversity development and hiring incentive program.

This is nothing new for the organization, as Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports reported the 49ers also received compensatory picks after the New York Jets hired head coach Robert Saleh and the Washington Commanders hired general manager Martin Mayhew.

McDaniel has been an assistant coach for the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Washington, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and 49ers in his career. He was San Francisco's run game coordinator from 2017 through 2020 before he was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2021 campaign.

The 49ers finished seventh in the league in yards per game this season and advanced to the NFC Championship Game.

It will be up to McDaniel to get the best out of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and help an offense that was just 25th in the league in yards per game improve ahead of the 2022 season if the Dolphins are going to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 campaign.

That it was the Dolphins who hired a biracial head coach is notable since they were the ones who fired Flores even after he led them to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2003.

Flores has since filed a lawsuit against the NFL and its teams alleging racism and discrimination in the hiring process.

One of the allegations from Flores says Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 for each loss during the 2019 season in a larger "tanking" effort that could have improved the team's position for the 2020 NFL draft.

Miami lost its first seven games that year but improved down the stretch on the way to a 5-11 record. Improvement as the season progressed was a theme under Flores considering the Dolphins started 1-7 this past season and finished with a winning record at 9-8.

McDaniel will look to build on the momentum created by that late run.