In The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent is famous for saying, “The night is darkest just before the dawn.” When I think about all the negative energy surrounding the Miami Dolphins, stemming from bad contract restructurings, a poor culture with no accountability, and the retention of Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel, I am reminded of Dent’s prophetic words in the movie.
From Tua Tagovailoa getting a guaranteed contract and then confirming for the world he cannot stay healthy or come through in the clutch to watching Vic Fangio get jettisoned out of Miami only to build the league’s best defense in Philadelphia that befuddled Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl, or Tyreek Hill quitting on the team midgame and being a constant negative distraction—there is very little hope and good vibes in the fan base. We have reached the darkness.
In that vein, I would also argue that we are approaching the dawn in Miami Gardens. Entering the 2025 free-agency and draft periods, McDaniel and Grier will face intense pressure and scrutiny to deliver playoff success.
And if they fail, they will be shown the door and the next rebuild will commence. So when you think about it, 2025 will either bring us some degree of playoff success, or we start over with a new general manager, head coach, and, likely, a new quarterback of their choosing.
The fan base will likely be more polarized than before, with each side knowing the stakes of failure and success. Some fans will root for success, while others may be quietly or openly rooting for a disaster season if they have concluded that McDaniel, Grier, and Tua are not part of the solution for success going forward.
Based on this premise, the season promises to be entertaining but may not be for the faint of heart. I can see one possible scenario involving a competitive playoff run where we are on the edge of our seats and lose in a heartbreaker in January 2026. Alternatively, I can see another story involving complete dysfunction, resulting in McDaniel being fired before returning from Spain, Grier being shown the door at the end of the season, and Tua being potentially released or traded.
So Dolfans, stay resilient and hopeful—the Dawn is coming soon! (That is, unless the 2025 season outcome falls somewhere in the middle, causing another year of inaction and ineptitude.) 😊
With Raheem Mostert’s Release It’s Jaylen Wright’s Time to Shine
We need Jon Gruden as coach and bring in a better GM. If over paid players can’t deliver trade them or cutt them.
When is Steven Ross finally going to wake up! Extending Chris Greer, after he has failed so many times was ridiculous. Keeping McDaniel as coach after he has shown zero growth and has lost the locker room falls right in line with his other failures. Quit trying to make splash moves and build from the trenches. Additionally, Tua should have been on a prove it 5th year option instead of strapping us with this huge contract that he can’t live up too. Tyreek needs to be shown the road and certainly not made a team captain. Someone wake me up for this nightmare!
I’ve seen WAY too many seasons where I’ve been told this exact same thing, only for everything to stay the same afterwards. The writer of this article is projecting his own wish fulfillment fantasy. Ross never makes changes until it’s years too late to make a difference, which is why this team keeps staying the same even when people get fired 2-3 seasons after everybody knows they should have. THIS season was supposed to be the “playoffs or else” one. How’d that work out?