Secretary of State Marco Rubio took to social media Thursday to joke about the Miami Dolphins’ coaching vacancy, but in the wake of the unprecedented attack and takeover of Venezuela – which Rubio played an “outsized role” in – one Democratic lawmaker was having none of it.
On Thursday, news broke that Mike McDaniel, the head coach for the Miami Dolphins, was fired after a string of losses, and Rubio – a longtime fan of the team – joked that he would not be filling McDaniel’s position.
“I do not normally respond to online rumors but feel the need to do so at this moment,” Rubio wrote Thursday in a social media post on X.
“I will not be a candidate for the currently vacant [head coach] and [general manager] positions with the Miami Dolphins. While you never know what the future may bring right now my focus must remain on global events and also the precious archives of the United States of America.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), now a candidate for California governor, offered a swift and biting response to Rubio’s joke amid the global instability he helped create through his long-standing efforts to topple leftist governments in Latin America.
“You’re not tall enough to be the ball boy,” Swalwell wrote in response to Rubio’s joke, a stinging reference to Rubio’s height of 5’9.
Swalwell is not the only well-known figure to take a jab at Rubio over his height, with Rubio’s current boss, President Donald Trump, having nicknamed his current secretary of state “little Marco” during the 2016 presidential campaign when they were political rivals.
“He’s always calling me ‘little Marco;’ I’ll admit that he’s taller than me, he’s like 6’2, which is why I don’t understand why his hands are the size of somebody who’s 5’2,” Rubio said at a 2016 campaign rally during his bid for president. “And you know what they say about men with small hands! You can’t trust them!”
You’re not tall enough to be the ball boy.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 9, 2026