Coach Mike McDaniel? General manager Chris Grier? Or both?
Or neither?
It’s a different feel from recent years for the Miami Dolphins entering the 2025 season.
After missing the playoffs last season, it’s one where a lot of the conversation surrounding the team is about whether the leaders of the football side of the organization will survive through the year or if a new rebuild on the horizon.
The hype train of McDaniel’s unique player-friendly, always-having-fun coaching style combined with a roster that was built for a win-now window of the past few seasons has come and gone.
It’s time for results for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000, the NFL’s longest active drought.
That much was made clear when owner Steve Ross, while announcing he would bring back McDaniel and Grier after last season’s finale, said in his statement the status quo was unacceptable.
It’s understood by Grier and McDaniel.
“Those expectations have been honest from Day 1,” Grier said at the end of last season of constant conversations he has with Ross. “It’s nothing that was new or unexpected. He wants to win more than anyone and we want to win for him.”
From the roster-building perspective for Grier, it only gets tougher as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is now getting paid the big quarterback bucks on his second contract. Grier no longer has the freedom to throw major money at any position of need as Tagovailoa’s extension kicks in while wide receiver Tyreek Hill is also on the books. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a move that netted the Dolphins a return of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
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But aside from that, there weren’t major win-now splashes in the offseason. The team’s highest-paid free agent contract went to guard James Daniels. The biggest-name free agent addition is probably backup quarterback Zach Wilson, who will try to revive his career if he gets a chance in a situation where Tagovailoa is hurt.
The roster management has had to shift back to building through the draft, and the Dolphins will likely need their top two picks of the past two drafts — edge rusher Chop Robinson and left tackle Patrick Paul in 2024, and 2025 rookies, defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and offensive guard Jonah Savaiinaea — to contribute immediately.
On the coaching side, McDaniel knows, as quickly as his name is celebrated, it can just as quickly be smeared — and vice-versa — in this profession.
He welcomes the pressure, comparing it to how Philadelphia seemed to feel about Eagles coach Nick Sirianni before he turned the team around to win the past Super Bowl.
“Nick Sirianni, I want to be on that hot seat he was on last year,” McDaniel said this offseason. “This is the fastest-changing world in sports. Nick Sirianni was on the hottest seat.”
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At the forefront of what he can do to save his job since last year has been to rebuild the culture in the locker room.
Player tardiness was too rampant in 2024 for the team to function properly. Some of the roster turnover ahead of this season can be attributed to players who were detrimental to the culture.
But consummate professionals like left tackle Terron Armstead, defensive tackle Calais Campbell and tight end Jonnu Smith were also lost in the shuffle. Leadership, especially from captains like Armstead and Campbell, will have to come from new sources: Tagovailoa, fullback Alec Ingold, defensive tackle Zach Sieler, linebacker Jordyn Brooks and Fitzpatrick are all viable candidates to fill that leadership void.
As far as the Xs and Os go for McDaniel, he must find a way to reignite the connection of Tagovailoa with Hill and fellow wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
For one, he needs his starting quarterback consistently healthy to make that happen. But when the Dolphins are at full strength, they also need to be running the football effectively to get opposing defenses out of the two-high deep safety looks that curtail Hill and Waddle from working downfield.
An emphasis on upgrading the interior of the offensive line with new guards Daniels and Savaiinaea could help, especially if Paul is as advertised the way he stood out in training camp.
Speedy running back De’Von Achane should also get some help in short-yardage situations from Jaylen Wright entering his second season and rookie Ollie Gordon II, as Miami lost potent rusher Alexander Mattison for the year in the preseason.
McDaniel also seems to have the right man for the job to lead his defense in coordinator Anthony Weaver, who goes into his second season in the role while receiving head coaching interest the past two offseasons.
A dominant defensive front and pass rush will look to assist a questionable secondary around Fitzpatrick.
On paper, the 2025 season may be McDaniel’s toughest task yet as a head coach, but if he has indeed grown over his four years in the role, he can prove worthy of keeping the job.
But any shortcomings for the Dolphins this season, and the fate of he and Grier lies strictly in Ross’ hands.
More season preview content
Sun Sentinel staff predictions for 2025 Dolphins — and the Super Bowl
Chris Perkins: Dolphins’ offense, in Year 4 under McDaniel and Tua, should be strong in 2025
Five Miami Dolphins players to watch during the 2025 season
If Bills run the AFC East, Dolphins look to hold off Pats, earn wild-card spot in 2025
Season outlook: Dolphins enter pressure-packed 2025 after disappointing 2024
