The Miami Dolphins held a press conference to wrap up their disastrous season. At the podium was none other than head coach Mike McDaniel, who spoke as if he knew he was in no danger of losing his job. Over the past few days, coaches such as Raheem Morris, Kevin Stefanski, Pete Carroll, and Jonathan Gannon were all fired. Given what transpired this season, it seemed like the right move would be for McDaniel to join that crew.
Instead, the Dolphins continue to show their incompetence by all but confirming they are staying firm at head coach. NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport also reported that McDaniel is likely safe going into the 2026 season.
Miami has become notably worse under McDaniel, and owner Stephen Ross’ decision to stay loyal to him is head-scratching for multiple reasons.
In the third quarter of games, the Dolphins were outscored 130-27. The humiliation doesn’t end there, as Miami went nine consecutive games without scoring a single point in the third. This screams that McDaniel has his team unprepared to play football coming out of halftime. In the last three weeks, the Dolphins played two terrible defenses in the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although Miami split those games, the offense could not move the ball at all in the second half.
Even in the finale, fans might point to playing a superior New England Patriots game without De’Von Achane, Jaylen Waddle, and Darren Waller. Those same three players played the previous two games, so that excuse does not apply in those instances. Waddle missed some of the Tampa Bay game due to injury, but he ended up coming back into the game.
Granted, Miami decided to play rookie Quinn Ewers to close the year, but no matter who the quarterback is, McDaniel’s playcalling holds back the team. On top of that, McDaniel made it known that Ewers gives the best chance for the Dolphins to win football games.
Since McDaniel took over, Miami has had the worst conversion percentage in the league in short-yardage situations. This is astonishing given that he has shown he can get creative with run schemes and play calling.
Four seasons of not fixing a major issue magnifies how McDaniel cannot find counters to what defenses are throwing, and it has hindered the team from succeeding.
In the McDaniel era, part of the reason for the letdowns was due to Tua Tagovailoa’s constant injury history. He, however, played the entire 2023 season and led the league in passing yards. The Dolphins seemed in control of the AFC East and needed one win in their last two games to win the division. This was a feat that was last accomplished back in 2008 when the wildcat offense was a thing.
Against the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills, Miami had a chance to prove itself as a top contender. Instead, the Dolphins lost both games and were bounced in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs in blowout fashion, 26-7.
Miami never got close to reaching that high again, and every year since has followed the same pattern. Following slow starts, the Dolphins would get hot in the middle of the season and would suddenly be in the wild-card hunt.
Nevertheless, when the rubber met the road, and it was time to win, Miami did what it does best and failed to get the job done. In 2024, the Dolphins lost to the Houston Texans and were recently drubbed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football, ending their playoff hopes.
The evidence is right in front of everyone’s face that a McDaniel coached team cannot execute when it matters most. With those who put the blame solely on Tagovailoa, the same criticism should be made at the coach who vouched for him to get an extension.
What makes this all but more confusing is that Ross has fired coaches who were underperforming. Similar to Tagovailoa, McDaniel has also shown a major drop-off from when he started in Miami to now. With the Dolphins firing former general manager Chris Grier and seemingly moving on from Tagovailoa, McDaniel will oddly be the one to survive. From Rapoport’s most recent update, it seems as if Ross is blaming the failures more on the roster than on the head coach.
Taking that approach is flat-out wrong. Miami looks terrible without Tagovailoa, and the roster has seen changes during the McDaniel era. Is the construction perfect? Of course not, but does he need the Pro Bowl roster to finally put it together?
Miami should just move on from the McDaniel-Grier-Tagovailoa era. Instead, they are making absolutely no sense by keeping McDaniel. Hopefully, there’s a change of heart and the new general manager will decide to bring in someone new. Unfortunately, that probably will not happen. It’s the Dolphins though, and sadly, this is what fans should expect from a team whose last playoff win came in 2000.
Update: Miami announced on that they have fired McDaniel. The Dolphins will now have to find a new head coach as they are currently looking for their next general manager.
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