Source: Fins TE coach to serve as HC in 2nd half

Miami Dolphins tight ends coach Jon Embree will take over head coaching duties for Mike McDaniel in the second half of Friday night’s preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a source confirmed to ESPN.

CBS Miami was the first to report, the Dolphins are using Friday’s game as a “practice run” for if McDaniel ever must miss a game.

McDaniel will still call the offensive plays, as he does regularly.

Embree and McDaniel have worked together since 2017, when both coached for the San Francisco 49ers. When McDaniel was hired by the Dolphins in 2022, he brought Embree with him as the team’s tight ends coach and assistant head coach. A sixth-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1987, Embree has coached since 1991 at the high school, collegiate and NFL levels. He has mainly coached tight ends in the NFL, having done so for the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, Buccaneers and 49ers prior to his arrival in south Florida.

He was also the University of Colorado‘s head coach for two seasons in 2011 and 2012.

Embree is the latest assistant coach to be given head coaching duties this preseason. Rams defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant coached the team’s 13-9 win over the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this month.