The Miami Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel last week, and Darren Waller almost found himself right in the thick of it.

“I was at the scene of the crime, bro. I think I was the last person to see him before he got fired,” the Dolphins tight end said in a recent appearance on Johnny Manziel’s podcast.

Waller said he was in his exit interview with McDaniel discussing possibilities for the 2026 season before owner Stephen Ross “kicked the door open” roughly 10 minutes into their discussion.

“He comes in and, like, joins the conversation,” Waller said. “We’re just all talking, reflecting on the year, and Stephen Ross was like, ‘Love to have you back next year.’ Then the conversation kind of just hits a lull.”

Waller said Ross was then giving him a specific look, which Manziel understood.

“It’s time for you to get the hell out,” Manziel said laughing.

“I looked at Mike, and he said we’d finish the conversation later … I go out of the meeting, get a massage, check my phone and see he was fired. I’m like, ‘This s— is cold.’”

Ross cited a need for “comprehensive change” after the team missed the playoffs for a second straight year with a 7-10 finish this season. 

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The Dolphins made back-to-back playoff appearances in McDaniel’s first two seasons as head coach but were eliminated both times in the first round. The following season, they were eliminated after suffering an unexpected loss to the New York Jets in the team’s season finale. 

McDaniel’s final season in Miami was tumultuous, highlighted by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa‘s struggles and his eventual benching in the final three games of the season.  

As one of his last major moves as head coach, McDaniel said this week that the Dolphins would hold a quarterback competition for the 2026 season, a decision Tagovailoa seemed to welcome this week when he confirmed he was open to a “fresh start” somewhere else.

In addition to replacing their head coach and finding a reliable candidate for the quarterback position, the Dolphins will be looking for longtime general manager Chris Grier’s replacement after he was fired mid-season. 

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

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The gasps from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena — a mix of shock from Lakers fans and anticipation from fans rooting for the local hero — grew each time LaMelo Ball pulled up from seemingly more and more audacious spots on the court. The Charlotte Hornets star guard held three fingers to his bicep each time he splashed a shot through the net. He stared up into the packed stands to meet the eyes of his hometown crowd.

The former Chino Hills star ignited the Hornets to a 135-117 win over the Lakers on Thursday with 30 points and 11 assists. After a quiet three points in the first half, Ball erupted for 27 points after halftime, including making eight three-pointers on 12 attempts in the second half that gave the L.A. crowd flashbacks of the brace-faced freshman on Chino Hills’ famous undefeated team.

“We all know LaMelo,” Lakers guard Marcus Smart said. “He’s been playing like that since he was in high school. To us, they’re some crazy shots, but to him, those are his shots.”

Ball, now 10 years removed from the 35-0, national championship season with the Huskies, still plays with the looseness of the freshman who was hooping with his older brothers. But the 24-year-old is now starting to own the maturity of a six-year NBA veteran.

“He’s always been an explosive scorer, explosive passer, but now he knows how to win games when it comes down to, what, two possessions, one possession,” said Hornets guard Miles Bridges, who had 25 points, including five baskets assisted by Ball. “He knows how to make the right play and win the game.”

Ball, who is averaging 20.4 points, 7.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds, has a career-high plus-2.8 rating this season. Ball’s traditional stats are modest compared to some of his stat-stuffing early seasons when he averaged more than 30 points and eight rebounds in each of his first two years in the NBA, but he is playing more efficiently than ever in some ways. He has a 120.8 offensive rating and a 42.2% assist percentage, which estimates the percentage of a player’s teammates’ field goals they assist while on the court. His assist percentage trails only Denver superstar Nikola Jokic.

“We’ve always marveled at his shot making, but the thing that I think continues to just impress me, the thing that continues to help our team get better and better is that he’s trusting the pass,” said Hornets coach Charles Lee, who called Ball the team’s emotional leader. “I think that he’s really maximizing everyone around him. He’s making them better. … And then he just does what Melo does: He’s a shot-maker.”

Ball hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the third quarter. With his confidence growing, he started pulling up earlier in the shot clock. He danced with Lakers center Deandre Ayton, driving toward the lane on the 7-footer to only pivot back and drain another three. Fading away out of the corner of the court and almost into the laps of his teammates on the Hornets bench, Ball hit a rainbow three over Smart’s outstretched hand.

“I was really just playing for real,” Ball said.

Ball did not play in the Lakers’ first game against the Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., because of an ankle injury. In November, the Lakers held off a fourth-quarter surge from the Hornets, who showed how dangerous they can be. Young and athletic, with eager drivers and knock-down shooters, the Hornets can be one of the NBA’s most dangerous offensive teams. In the 15 games since Ball returned from a three-game absence because of an ankle injury, Charlotte has the top-ranked offense in the league. The Hornets hung 150 points against Utah. They blew out the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Our coaching staff and the guys in the locker room, we all knew that they got our full respect and attention pregame,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And I thought we fought. Just another team that has a hot shooting night.”

The Lakers, who next play consecutive games at Portland on Saturday and at home against Toronto on Sunday, have lost four out of the last five. They are 25th in opponent three-point shooting, allowing teams to shoot 37.3% from deep.

The Trump administration has revealed various “major sporting events” in addition to the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in which athletes and coaches will be exempt from a broad visa ban on nearly 40 countries, allowing them to travel to the U.S. to compete.

In a cable sent Wednesday to all U.S. embassies and consulates, the State Department said athletes, coaches and support staff for the World Cup, the Olympics and events endorsed or run by a lengthy list of collegiate and professional sporting leagues and associations would be excluded from the full and partial travel bans subject to citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority.

But foreign spectators, media and corporate sponsors who wish to attend the events would still be impacted by the ban unless they qualify for another exemption.

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“Only a small subset of travelers for the World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics, and other major sporting events will qualify for the exception,” the message said.

The federal government has issued several immigration and travel bans as well as other visa restrictions as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb immigration, although the administration still wants athletes, coaches and fans to be able to attend major sporting events in the U.S.

Trump’s proclamation last month banning the issuance of visas to the 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority had included an exception for athletes and staff competing in some sporting events such as the World Cup and the Olympics, and a decision on the other sporting events that would be covered would be made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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The events covered, according to the cable, include all competitions and qualifying events for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games and Parapan American Games; events hosted, sanctioned or recognized by a U.S. National Governing Body; all competitions and qualifying events for the Special Olympics; and official events and competitions hosted or endorsed by FIFA or its confederations.

Official events and competitions hosted by the International Military Sports Council, the International University Sports Federation and the National Collegiate Athletic Association as well as those hosted or endorsed by U.S. professional sports leagues such as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Little League, National Hockey League, Professional Women’s Hockey League, NASCAR, Formula 1, the Professional Golf Association, Ladies Professional Golf Association, LIV Golf, Major League Rugby, Major League Soccer, World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship and All Elite Wrestling are also covered under the exemption.

Other events and leagues could be added to the list in the future, the cable said.

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Under the new visa restrictions, a full travel ban covers citizens of Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and individuals holding Palestinian Authority–issued passports.

A partial ban applies to citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Togo, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.