MIAMI GARDENS — Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are a throwback duo. And I don’t mean that in a cool, old-school, good memory way. I mean that in a disappointing coach Joe Philbin-quarterback Ryan Tannehill way. In other words, jobs are still on the line for McDaniel and Tua, and fan frustration is the norm.
I know owner Steve Ross said he wants to be patient with McDaniel. We’ll see. McDaniel doesn’t seem to be out of imminent danger just yet. And Tua’s long-term job security is also might be teetering on the brink of disaster.
The turning point for McDaniel and Tua, who were 2-10 against playoff teams in 2023-24, was the listless, season-opening 33-8 loss at Indianapolis. Fans took a big bite of a reality sandwich, chewed on the future, and hated it. They finally faced the notion that, in a sense, the overhyped McDaniel-Tua duo, who produced the league’s No. 1 offense in 2023, and their talent-filled rosters haven’t come any closer to meeting expectations than the low-expectation Philbin-Tannehill duo and their limited-talent rosters.
Much more was expected of McDaniel and Tua, the flashier, more likeable, more promotable coach-quarterback duo, and they haven’t delivered. Worse, it appears they’ll never deliver.
In fact, if things don’t improve quickly for the McDaniel-Tua duo, meaning a couple of wins in the next five games, this isn’t just their last year together, these might be their last days together.
The next five games for the winless Dolphins (0-3) are against the New York Jets (0-3), at Carolina (1-2), against the Los Angeles Chargers (3-0), at Cleveland (1-2) and at Atlanta (1-2). Two wins gets them to 2-6 heading into the murderer’s row trio of Baltimore, Buffalo and Washington.
Anything less than a 2-6 record through eight games, and McDaniel, who will always be liked by his players, probably gets a no-confidence vote from his players.
They’ll stop believing in the message from a lame duck coach, and they’ll likely stop believing in the performance of their immobile quarterback. At that point, McDaniel and Tua, previously sacred cows, are done.
Add in general manager Chris Grier and make it a clean sweep, an idea I raised in February 2024 and re-visited in December.
The fact that the McDaniel-Tua union is barely better than Philbin-Tannehill is almost fireable on its face.
Consider the numbers: McDaniel, in his fourth season, has a 28-28 (.500) record with the Dolphins, including playoffs, while Philbin had a 24-28 (.462) record when he was fired early in the 2015 season after a 3 1/2-year run; Tannehill had a 42-46 (.477) record with Miami while Tua has a 38-27 (.585) record. Neither duo has been close to winning a playoff game.
I’ve got to admit, I didn’t see this error-filled 0-3 start coming. I picked this team to win nine games. I liked the 53-man roster. I thought for certain they were going to be mediocre. But as I also said, mediocre isn’t acceptable in Year 4 of the Grier-McDaniel-Tua era, even with the philosophical change from “win now” to “win with draftees and youth.”
Yes, I figured the Dolphins’ 2025 season would be a precursor to a rebuild. But I didn’t think the rebuild would be spurred on by an early-season collapse from McDaniel and Tua, and ineptitude on offense, defense and special teams.
Right now, at best, both McDaniel and Tua get wait-and-see status for the remainder of 2025. Neither deserves to be in their current positions in 2026.
Parting ways with McDaniel is easy enough. You just do it. You have little choice. There’s a dim future with McDaniel. His offense has been figured out since 2023, and there’s been no major change in response.
Parting ways with Tua, who got a four-year, $212 million extension with $167 million guaranteed in 2024, is a bit more troubling. If they cut Tua as a post-June 1 cut, he’d cost them $67 million in dead money that could be spread over the next two years.
There are similar examples out there. Denver took its pain with quarterback Russell Wilson by releasing him in 2024, less than two years after signing him to a massive five-year, $245 million contract with $165 million guaranteed. They took an $85 million salary cap hit in dead money.
Atlanta is taking its pain with Kirk Cousins. The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in 2024, and they drafted quarterback Michael Penix two months later. Now Penix is the starter while Cousins is the league’s most costly backup.
It’s a shame. After all the spending and drafting and scouting, the Dolphins, with McDaniel and Tua at the helm, aren’t anywhere near winning a playoff game. So basically, in Year 4 of the McDaniel-Tua union the Dolphins find themselves in roughly the same spot as they were under Philbin and Tannehill.
