Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is in his third season leading the team from the sidelines, but conflicting buzz recently surfaced regarding his job security with the franchise.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano indicated on Wednesday that some folks in NFL circles are wondering if Miami will cut ties with McDaniel if the Dolphins’ season comes to an end in disappointing fashion.
“Again, this is outside speculation from people I’m talking to around the league, rather than anything that definitely will or should happen,” Graziano wrote. “But some have their eye on Miami and wonder whether there’s a change if things end badly this season, though Mike McDaniel did sign an extension in August.”
Conversely, NFL insider James Palmer hinted at the notion that McDaniel is not likely to lose his job.
“Asked around, asked somebody down there who said, ‘I would be stunned,'” Palmer said on the subject of McDaniel potentially getting fired. “… He’s much safer than maybe some of the rumors are out there, to my understanding.”
It’s hard to deny that the Dolphins have not lived up to preseason expectations through 13 games played in the 2024 regular season. After Miami finished above the .500 mark in each of McDaniel’s first two seasons (and even in the two seasons prior), the team is in danger of ending this campaign with more losses than wins.
In addition, Miami finished in a tie for the best record of any team in the AFC East division a season ago but almost certainly won’t do the same this season. The Dolphins would have to win out while the 10-3 Buffalo Bills would have to lose every one of their last four contests in order for the teams to end up with identical records. Even then, the Bills would still be division champs.
But Miami’s offensive numbers with a healthy Tagovailoa on the field speak for themselves. He was sidelined for quite a bit earlier on in the season after he suffered a concussion against the Bills, but the team’s offensive attack has been clicking on all cylinders ever since he made his return against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 27.
The Dolphins haven’t scored fewer than 17 points in a single contest since then. For perspective, Miami mustered under 17 points in every one of its four outings sans Tagovailoa and totaled a season-low three points against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 22.
The fact that the Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game and have struggled to win in cold temperatures with McDaniel in charge are valid criticisms of him, but injury luck and backup quarterback issues have maybe played a bigger part in Miami’s disappointing 2024 campaign than anything else.
Hence, one can see the logic behind Palmer’s report that McDaniel isn’t expected to be fired.
