Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver Reportedly Seen as a Future HC amid Mike McDaniel Hot Seat

The Miami Dolphins are 0-2, head coach Mike McDaniel could be on the hot seat and planes are flying above the stadium calling for his firing.

It's safe to say the 2025 season is not going the way McDaniel hoped, and having a highly regarded defensive coordinator in the building could be working against him.

"Another thing that's lingering here is the fact that his defensive coordinator, Anthony Weaver, is beloved inside that building and is seen by a lot of people as a future head coach," Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported Monday during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show (2:50 mark).

"So if there comes a point where this really goes the wrong way, could Stephen Ross say I want to take a look at Anthony Weaver as my head coach? I think it could eventually get there."

The logic basically goes that Ross, who is the Dolphins owner, may preemptively make a move to promote Weaver if he is afraid another team is going to take him, which would mean the end of McDaniel's tenure as the head coach.

It was a tenure that started off with back-to-back playoff appearances in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, although Miami missed the playoffs in 2024 and looks like it could be one of the worst teams in the league in 2025.

The Dolphins also haven't won a playoff game since the 2000 season, and fans are surely growing impatient. 

Weaver has never been a head coach, but he has plenty of experience in various defensive roles for the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens and Dolphins.

This is his second season as the defensive coordinator for Miami after he was the defensive line coach and associate head coach for the Ravens in 2022 and 2023.

His experience is notable as a head-coaching candidate, especially since things might go from bad to worse for the Dolphins with Thursday's road game against the Bills. A blowout loss in that one could make McDaniel's seat hotter, which could lead to more attention to Weaver.

And that attention may eventually turn into an opportunity to prove himself as an interim coach.