Mike McDaniel Should Not Return as the Dolphins Head Coach

There was once a time where the Miami Dolphins had the NFL’s best, most innovative offense. There was once a time where everyone wanted to play for Mike McDaniel and all those enjoyed his silly, goofy press conference answers. The outfits, the sprinting off the field into the locker room, and the joy that Miami’s head coach had.

But that time has long past and as the results don’t back up the character, Miami can’t afford to partially clean house again, it is time to clear the house completely. The stats back it up, the results back it up, and the lack of growth in four years back it up.

It was reported before Sunday’s blowout loss to the Bengals that Mike McDaniel was expected to return and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was not. And while the first half Sunday provided some hope, the Dolphins same issues persisted and the team ultimately quit on coach, the ultimate sign that change is necessary.

So, let’s look at these claims and find the evidence to back them up.

The Dolphins Can’t win in the Cold.

December and January have been where the Dolphins fall apart in the McDaniel era 7-13.

The Dolphins had lost 13 games in a row in games in sub 40 degrees dating back to 2016.

The Dolphins Can’t Beat Good Teams.

3-15 against teams above .500

Mike McDaniel Fails to make Halftime Adjustments.

4-23 when trailing at halftime

The Dolphins are always late out of the huddle.

There is no statistic I could find yet this is another fatal flaw. Miami constantly mismanages the clock and comes out of the huddle late forcing the Dolphins to take ill-advised timeouts/penalties.

Mike McDaniel Can’t win without Tua.

3-10 with QBs other than Tua

Mike McDaniel is Not Good at Challenging Plays

4-21 with replay challenges

These blatant flaws are just the surface, dig deeper and ask why was Jaelan Phillips playing so late in the blowout victory when he tore his Achillies, why couldn’t the Dolphins hold on to their late lead against the Titans, and why couldn’t the Dolphins adjust as the league began to figure out their offense.

Simply put it is coaching, the Dolphins have a talented roster and have for multiple seasons –albeit there have been flaws and injury troubles– but there was never a reason for two back-to-back losing seasons when the team believed their Super Bowl window was open.

While McDaniel could still be the coach next season, the Dolphins can’t continue the half measure wipeouts. Mike McDaniel needs to go, along with his staff, Grier can’t be the only one to blame for the failed rebuild.

While the Dolphins search for all the answers, the fans will be patiently waiting as Miami should look for the answer in the franchises 15th head coach.