After beginning the 2025 NFL season by losing six of their first seven games and ultimately winding up 2-7 through their first nine tilts, the Miami Dolphins seemed all but certain to fire head coach Mike McDaniel. To many, in fact, his pink slip was a matter of when, not if. Some even believed he could receive the boot without making it through Miami’s entire 17-game schedule.
Fast forward a few weeks, and the Dolphins are barely recognizable from the team that vomited all over the gridiron to open the season. Sure, they are no longer a team that warrants a bet on Super Bowl futures. They are almost certainly going to miss the playoffs.
Still, at this writing, the Dolphins have won four of five games, including three straight. While later-season streaks can be noisy, the look and feel of this Miami squad suggests they have turned a corner. And if the Dolphins can finish the schedule without completely imploding, Mike McDaniel may just get an opportunity to come back for his fifth season at the helm.
Things Clicking on the Field for the Miami Dolphins
It would be easy to write off the Dolphins’ resurgence as a mirage if it wasn’t so convincing on every level. They are getting much better performances basically across the board. If nothing else, their efforts in a close-call victory over the Washington Commanders (Week 11) and a spirited defeat of the Buffalo Bills (Week 10), prove that the team has not quit on McDaniel.
As The Athletic’s J.J. Bailey writes of Miami’s recent efforts:
“The Dolphins are 4-1 over their last five games, including a 30-13 trouncing of the Buffalo Bills. In that stretch, De’Von Achane has surged, running for 120 or more yards in three straight games after hitting that mark just once in the nine games prior. Jaylen Waddle has become a true WR1 in Tyreek Hill’s absence, and most importantly, the team has shown no signs of quitting under McDaniel.”
Make no mistake, issues within the organization still persist. The Dolphins have to figure out their front office situation over the offseason. Their recent string of winning has not exactly featured a murderer’s row of opponents, either. It also has not helped them climb the advanced-metric pecking order.
According to Pro-Football Reference’s Simple Rating System, which weights strength of schedule and point differential to rank every NFL team, Miami is the 26th-best squad in the league. This, of course, accounts for their early-season abominations, but those are part of the 2025 Dolphins’ story, too. Plus, it’s not like this stretch has seen them suddenly solve their problems at quarterback with Tua Tagovailoa.
The Biggest Obstacle to Mike McDaniel Remaining with the Dolphins
Aside from the Dolphins’ obvious struggles out of the gate, the primary catalyst for presuming McDaniel would be sent packing was the team’s firing of general manager Chris Grier. Even as Miami maintained McDaniel would finish out the season, you got the sense anything could happen. The Dolphins were that dysfunctional, both on and off the field.
Continuing to close the season on a high note would go a long way toward providing McDaniel with a modicum of job security. Yet, short of the Dolphins’ making an improbable run to the AFC playoffs, he will never be considered entirely safe.
Installing new lead executives usually mark imminent changes. We are not just talking about the coaching staff, either. Freshly minted general managers like to leave their mark on every facet of the organization, from the coaching staff and players, to the scouting departments and training staffs.
Granted, there is always the chance that ownership stipulates McDaniel be brought back. But attaching a head coach to an NFL front office gig may turn off some candidates. At the very least, it may delay the inevitable dismissal of him, as his new boss waits to leave their imprint on the team.
Every so often, this awkwardness can be avoided. A new GM takes over, keeps the current head coach and things work out. Could McDaniels be one of those exceptions? If the Dolphins keep playing the way they are, he’ll at least deserve the chance to try.
