Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel lands on hot seat with early-season loss to bitter AFC rival

With the 2025 NFL schedules now released, teams like the Miami Dolphins can officially begin preparing for the season ahead.

After finishing 8-9 last year, it was a disappointing campaign for the Dolphins, who missed the playoffs for the first time under head coach Mike McDaniel. Now entering his fourth season, McDaniel faces a pivotal year — one where simply making the postseason may not be enough. Miami hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000, and expectations are mounting.

That pressure has placed McDaniel squarely among the coaches considered on the hot seat heading into 2025. CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell, while ranking the NFL’s Monday Night Football matchups, pointed to the Dolphins’ Week 4 game against the New York Jets as a potentially defining moment for McDaniel’s job security.

“Yes, it’s Week 4, but the loser of this early-season matchup could be feeling the heat at the bottom of the AFC East division standings,” Podell wrote. “Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel could feel his seat get hotter with a loss here following an 8-9 campaign in 2024 and a tumble down the division standings.”

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ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques echoed the urgency but noted that the Dolphins could find early momentum if they capitalize on a favorable start.

“The Dolphins have an opportunity to start hot in the first two months of the season, with six of their first eight games coming against teams that did not make the playoffs in 2024,” Louis-Jacques wrote. “Granted, neither did the Dolphins, but if they want to prove last season was an outlier, they could build confidence and momentum with their early-season slate. A potential problem: Five of those first eight games are on the road.”

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Miami’s issues on the road have lingered since 2020 — they haven’t posted a winning record away from home in that span. Under McDaniel, the Dolphins are 28-23 overall but just 10-16 on the road.

For McDaniel to avoid ending up on the wrong side of ownership’s patience, he’ll need a healthy season from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The former first-round pick battled multiple injuries in 2024, leaving Miami’s offense without rhythm — and their head coach without answers.