Pressure Point: Dolphins should hire GM before deciding on McDaniel

Now that another Miami Dolphins season has been flushed and soon to be forgotten, attention turns to a momentous offseason.

First, the postmortem: A season prefaced by owner Steve Ross as no excuse for failure, ended Sunday as it began with a one-sided defeat on the road, 38-10 to the playoff-bound Patriots.

The final tally was 7-10 — a second consecutive season without a trip to the playoffs and 25 years since their last playoff win.

Where does this woebegone franchise go from here, regarding coach Mike McDaniel and hiring of the next general manager?

An indication could come quickly, depending on what Ross says — or doesn’t say — in the next few days.

Insider reports mostly point to McDaniel returning, an opinion not supported by many long-suffering Dolphins fans. Others suggest it’s a coin flip, which seems about right with this team’s record of decision making.

In my view, the season was an embarrassment and starting fresh with a new general manager and coaching staff is warranted.

https://t.co/9yV4QLMGSV pic.twitter.com/Xx3W06GHV7

— Austin Dobbins (@AustinDobbins13) January 4, 2026

Ross has failed Dolphins in leadership hiring

Ross, 85, has repeatedly screwed the pooch in steering the Dolphins since taking over controlling interest from H. Wayne Huizenga in 2009.

His expertise is in real estate and development, and he has excelled in expanding facilities in and around Hard Rock Stadium and bringing marquee events to South Florida. As steward of an NFL team, his instincts have been misplaced and he has steered the Dolphins franchise farther into the weeds that it was when he took over.

On the surface, Ross’ hiring of Hall of Fame quarterback and ESPN broadcaster Troy Aikman as a consultant in the process of hiring a general manager seems encouraging.

Yes, bring in perspective from outside the organization. Aikman is well connected in the NFL.

Seems like a good idea, but Ross has used consultants before, Bill Parcells and Mike Tannenbaum among them. Yet he has never gotten the leadership of the football operation right, in the front office or on the field.

But, sure, utilizing Aikman’s knowledge and relationships inside the league makes sense, might help.

What doesn’t make sense is the backdoor approach of seeking a general manager with a coach already in place. Logically, an experienced executive coming from outside the organization would want to, and likely insist on, choosing the coach. Unless that individual has previously worked with McDaniel and favors keeping him, which is possible.

“The Dolphins haven’t scored a third quarter point since before Halloween.”

Fire Mike McDaniel.

— sameolddolphins.bsky.social (@SameOldDolphins) January 4, 2026

Dolphins’ next GM should be involved in decision on coach

Ross has followed this dubious course before. In 2014, he hired Dennis Hickey to his first and only GM post to work with coach Joe Philbin and then-executive vice president Dawn Aponte. Two other candidates the Dolphins sought turned down the job, reportedly questioning the team’s power structure, and a third declined a final interview.

How did that work out? Philbin was fired early in 2015 and Hickey was out at the end of that season.

Fast forward a decade, and Ross is again looking for a GM who may have to work with another coach of dubious achievement.

That is to the dismay of Dolphins fans, who look at McDaniel’s record and question where he has taken the team that his failed predecessors this century haven’t.

In four seasons under McDaniel, the Dolphins are 35-35, including first-round playoff losses in the first two and no postseason appearances in the past two.

As for year 4, a run of five wins in six games doesn’t make up for losing six of the first seven, which doomed the season from the start.

Ross fired GM Chris Grier at midseason. Certainly, it was time to part ways with Grier, who succeeded Hickey in 2016 and will be remembered notoriously for selecting Tua Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Not to overlook the ridiculous contract Grier awarded (with Ross’ blessing) Tagovailoa, which will severely limit the next general manager’s maneuverability under the salary cap.

Nonetheless, a case could be made that Grier’s work over the past 12 months was more positive than McDaniel’s.

All eight of Grier’s 2025 draft picks are on the roster and contributed to varying degrees as rookies: quarterback Quinn Ewers (a seventh-round pick), defensive tackles Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers, guard Jonah Savaiinaea, cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., safety Dante Trader Jr. and running back Ollie Gordon II. The overall quality and future of the group is debatable, though; Savaiinaea has been one of the worst starters at any position in the NFL this season.

Reminder that Mike McDaniel since taking over the Dolphins has the worst 3rd & 1 and 4th & 1 conversion percentage in the NFL at 44%. Median is 61%. The next worst team is 51%.

When you are the worst (by far) for an entire 4 year stretch you cannot blame that on personnel.

— Chris Kouffman (@ckparrot) January 4, 2026

Dolphins treading water under McDaniel

Ross extended McDaniel’s contract through 2028 and is reportedly still enamored with the quirky coach.

McDaniel has been hailed as an offensive visionary, particularly during his first two seasons with the Dolphins. The past two, not so much, though the reputation has generally stuck with him.

I think his main strength is with the run game, though he never solved the Dolphins’ woes in short-yardage situations.

He coaxed two strong seasons out of Tagovailoa, whose perplexing decline this season led to his benching with three games to go and has likely ended his tenure with Miami.

However, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner’s video breakdown of the pass plays in Tagovailoa’s final start in a 28-15 loss to the Steelers are insightful.

Most interesting were Warner’s comments about the design of the pass patterns that receivers ran. On many of the plays the routes weren’t, in his opinion, structured in a way to put stress on the defense and provide Tua with an open receiver to throw to.

Warner explained how those plays could have been designed to achieve that objective.

Warner’s conclusions were more of an indictment of McDaniel’s play design than Tua’s play as quarterback.

Kurt Warner's StudyBall – Tua's Benched! https://t.co/urYRsydsqD

I was a huge Tua supporter and apologist and now I think he's done and he stinks.

But THIS film breakdown just made me wonder if everything I thought was true or not. Watch this, Dolphins fans.

— bb ⚡️ (@SultanofStacks) December 18, 2025

Veteran coaches may become available

One argument for retaining McDaniel is to see what he can do with a different quarterback. The three-week experiment with Ewers yielded some positive but was not decisive. A top priority for the new GM will be upgrading that position.

Whoever gets the job should also be involved in the decision on the head coach.

There’s no reason to make a quick jump to that conclusion. Especially before seeing who may become available. The list of available coaches could be lengthy and includes some intriguing names.

On Sunday, NFL insider Adam Schefter identified three prominent coaches who might get the ax: Raiders’ Pete Carroll, longtime Ravens coach John Harbaugh and the Browns’ Kevin Stefanski.

The next Dolphins general manager should have a voice in determining whether McDaniel should also be on that list.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for more than four decades. Follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @CraigDavisRuns.