The Miami Dolphins’ firing of head coach Mike McDaniel ends a four-year tenue that began with optimism and ended with the team once again starting over.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross announced Thursday that McDaniel was “relieved of his duties as head coach,” adding that the organization is “in need of comprehensive change.”
But just four short years ago, McDaniel came to Miami with the franchise hopeful they’d found the coach of the future.
Arrival
McDaniel came to South Florida with an impressive offensive resume that included a Super Bowl run with the Atlanta Falcons and a near-Super Bowl appearance with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Yale graduate, who played wide receiver for the Bulldogs, has been coaching in the NFL since 2005, spending time with organizations including the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Washington Commanders and Cleveland Browns.
McDaniel was an offensive assistant with the Falcons in 2016 when the team advanced to Super Bowl LI before moving on the San Francisco, where he spent five seasons and was named offensive coordinator in 2021.
He was hired by the Dolphins in February 2022 after the team had fired former head coach Brian Flores.
McDaniel was 38 when he became the 14th head coach in the history of the Dolphins and was heralded by Ross as “innovative” and someone who “works outside the box.”
The season before he was hired, the Dolphins went 9-8 in a roller-coaster campaign that featured a seven-game losing streak followed by a seven-game winning streak.
Second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa struggled at times and Miami ranked 22nd in the league in scoring that season.
Taking Over
In his first game as head coach, the Dolphins beat the New England Patriots 20-7 en route to a 9-8 record and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2016.
The Dolphins then lost a heartbreaker of a wild-card playoff game to the Buffalo Bills in which Miami came back from a 17-0 deficit to lose 34-31.
Perhaps the biggest story line of the season was Tagovailoa having to enter concussion protocol three times after taking multiple heavy hits.
The next season saw the Dolphins finish with an impressive 11-6 record but lose to the Kansas City Chiefs 26-7 in a frigid AFC Wild Card matchup.
It was the last time McDaniel led the Dolphins to the playoffs.
But with McDaniel tailoring Miami’s offense to his strengths, Tagovailoa led the NFL’s top offense in 2023, throwing for a league-best 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns.
In 2024, the Dolphins finished 8-9 during a season that began with star wide receiver Tyreek Hill being detained by police during a controversial encounter outside Hard Rock Stadium.
Tagovailoa suffered his third diagnosed NFL concussion during the season and sat out for six weeks before returning.
Miami missed the postseason in 2024 after being eliminated by the Jets in the regular-season finale.
Hill took himself out of the regular-season finale and later told reporters “I’m out,” expressing frustration with not making the playoffs for the first time in his career.
He later apologized, walked back those comments and stated his commitment to the Dolphins. But his actions seemed to reflect behind the scenes culture issues with the Dolphins in 2024, which included instances of players repeatedly showing up late to meetings.
McDaniel, Grier and veteran players said during the offseason that many of those issues had been addressed, and they commended the new team camaraderie that they hoped would help them get off to a fast start in 2025.
Disappointing Finish
This past season, the Dolphins went 7-10 and their postseason hopes ended with a loss to Pittsburgh in Week 15, ensuring that their 25-year playoff-win drought — the longest streak in the NFL — would continue.
Tagovailoa, who signed a four-year, $212.4 million extension in July 2024, was benched in December for the final three games, with rookie Quinn Ewers taking over as QB.
Earlier in the season, on Oct. 31, Miami parted ways with longtime general manager Chris Grier, and began its search for a new general manager this week.
McDaniel won 20 of his first 33 games but he finishes with a 35-33 record as head coach.
“Eventually, like everybody else in this league, you’re not entitled to this position,” McDaniel said Monday. “If I’m not able to win regular-season games, playoff games and Super Bowls, eventually the job won’t be mine.”
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