Mike McDaniel’s time as Miami Dolphins head coach is coming to an end, believes Sky Sports NFL’s Jeff Reinebold.
The struggling Dolphins slumped to 1-6 and hit a new low on Sunday as they suffered a 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 100 yards and three interceptions before being benched for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers.
Miami’s collapse has fuelled question marks over the future of McDaniel, who is in his fourth season with the team and yet to win a playoff game.
“How deep will the cuts go? I’m a big believer in body language and I’m watching the game yesterday [Sunday] and McDaniel looks like a drowned rat on the sideline,” said Reinebold on Inside the Huddle. “He’s got a hood pulled over his head. It’s cold. Everything about his body language said, ‘I do not even want to be here’.
“And then even more of an indictment, his rookie quarterback who he put in the game to replace Tua was so bad, comes over to the sidelines and McDaniel doesn’t even respond to him. The kid walked right past him and didn’t know who he was. And I’m thinking to myself: ‘Are you going to coach this kid?’
“He looked like he wanted to be out of there. When you know it’s coming, you know it’s coming and he knows it’s coming.
McDaniel had announced himself as one of the NFL’s hottest offensive masterminds upon arriving from his post as San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator in 2022.
He pulled the strings to an explosive offense that spearheaded a Tagovailoa and Tyreek-Hill-led side towards the playoffs, channelling his own unique interpretation of the Shanahan-cultivated system to reignite Miami’s long-awaited return to Championship hope.
Miami would lose to the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in back-to-back Wild Card exits, before missing out on the postseason with an 8-9 record last season. Queries over the future of both McDaniel and Tagovailoa had arose then, but the alarm bells have never been louder than they currently are.
“McDaniel needs to get away and process this whole thing,” said Reinebold. “There have been some bad ends to guys. Head coaching opportunities are not his career because he’s going to have a career in football if he chooses to have a career in football.
“He just looks completely lost when he goes to the podium after the game, it is obvious that he’s lost his football team, he’s lost his quarterback. All of the relationships that you need to build to be a successful head coach, the head coach and quarterback is probably the most fundamental one and the most important one.
“I thought Tua quit, he just capitulated. And that was an ugly experience. It needs to change and it needs to change fast.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights from the Week 7 match between Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers
Tagovailoa admitted after Sunday’s defeat he was “not proud” of where he was at as quarterback of the Dolphins, having now thrown 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions with a passer rating of just 82.8 so far this season .
Of the two, it is the quarterback whose job security feels safer than that of McDaniel after signing a four-year $212.4m contract extension in 2024.
“Mike McDaniel’s gone,” said Sky Sports NFL’s Neil Reynolds. “That’s going to happen. That’s irreversible right now. My bigger question is what do they do moving forward at quarterback? Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions, one out of his own end zone, which was just the most careless pick you’ll ever see.
“And that’s not the first time this season. But he’s one of those $50m-per-year quarterbacks and he’s guaranteed no matter what happens. He’s guaranteed $54m next year by the Dolphins who are officially in freefall.
“Sometimes I often wonder, and we all wonder, what’s the point? Why do you have an interim head coach? Why do you do it now in October or why do you do it at the end of September?
“The end is near and it’s just dragging. It looks worse and worse for the franchise and the spiral gets more and more profound. They just got to rip the band-aid off right now.”
Watch the 2025 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every London and European game as well as every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LX; Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
