Miami Dolphins’ History Provides Signs About Pressure On Coach

Any NFL head coach entering his fourth year without a deep playoff run is on the hot seat. History shows it might be even more the case for the Miami Dolphins.

Last Four Dolphins Coaches Did Not Reach Fifth Season

Mike McDaniel is the fifth head coach (non-interim) to steer the Dolphins since Stephen M. Ross became the team’s managing owner in 2009. When the team announced they would retain McDaniel for the upcoming season, he became the third of those five coaches to return for a fourth season.

Both of the other two coaches to reach season four – Joe Philbin and Tony Sparano – were fired before completing their fourth season when the teams underperformed. That means no Dolphins coach has completed four seasons under Ross. The last person to guide the Dolphins for at least four seasons was Dave Wannstedt (2000-2004).

It is notable that none of the four coaches to precede McDaniel were replaced with a hot name. This is not the case of an owner chasing headlines. In fact, it is just the opposite, as Adam Gase (replaced Tony Sparano), Brian Flores (replaced Adam Gase), and Mike McDaniel (replaced Brian Flores) were hardly the subject of public bidding wars when the Dolphins hired them.

The Dolphins even passed on the opportunity to hire their two interim coaches (Dan Campbell and Todd Bowles) during that span. Both of those individuals had more head coaching success after leaving Miami than any of the coaches on this list.

Signs That McDaniel Might Break Dolphins’ Trend

McDaniel’s case – due to his performance – does make him a little different, as he easily has the best record of the five coaches. His two playoff appearances (even if resulting in first-round losses) are one more than all the other coaches since 2009 combined. Those are the positives, but he also probably had the biggest disappointment of a season (last season) and the highest expectations leading into the next season.

Dolphins Head Coaches Since 2009

The record and playoff appearances, likely with the hope of recapturing the offensive explosiveness of McDaniel’s first two seasons, earned the coach a fourth season. If history is any indication though, he should start off strong.