Should Dolphins fire Mike McDaniel?

Nine games into the 2025 season, Mike McDaniel’s job security was in question. Now as we are entering the end of the season that question seems unavoidable.

McDaniel opened the year with a 2 and 7 record that put the Dolphins in an early hole. Then came the surge. Four straight wins. A statement blowout of the Bills in Week 10. Momentum. Belief. A path back to relevance. 

It looked like McDaniel had finally steadied the ship and earned himself breathing room with owner Stephen Ross.

Then Monday night happened and everything unraveled.

The Dolphins were outcoached, outplayed and overwhelmed by the Steelers. The third quarter was a disaster that spiraled into one of the ugliest stretches of McDaniel’s tenure. Miami entered the fourth quarter down 25 points and instead of fighting to reassert control, 

McDaniel’s body language and decision making told a different story. It looked like a coach who had lost his grip on the moment.

That is the part that should concern Ross the most.

The moment that changed the conversation

Losses happen. Blowouts happen. Even bad stretches happen. What cannot happen is a coach looking like he has checked out while his season still hangs in the balance.

The Dolphins still had a chance to even their record with a win over Pittsburgh. The stakes were real. The opportunity was right there. 

Instead, Miami delivered one of its most lifeless quarters of the year and McDaniel did little to stop the bleeding.

That sends a message whether he meant it to or not. It tells players that urgency is optional. It tells the locker room that accountability has limits. It tells ownership that when pressure spikes, the response might disappear.

McDaniel’s strength has always been his creativity and connection with players. But leadership is tested when things go sideways. 

Monday night looked less like a bad game plan and more like a coach overwhelmed by the moment.

Why Stephen Ross has a real decision to make

Ross is not judging McDaniel on vibes or press conferences. He is judging him on direction. The Dolphins have talent. They have speed. They have playmakers. What they lack is consistency when adversity hits.

The four game win streak bought McDaniel time. It created hope. But Monday’s collapse reopened every doubt that existed during the 2 and 7 start. 

It raised questions about in game management, emotional control and the ability to steer the team through pressure packed moments.

This is not about one loss. It is about how that loss looked and what it revealed.

If Ross believes McDaniel quit on the moment, the answer becomes simple. Coaches cannot quit before their teams do. And on Monday night, it looked like the Dolphins did not just lose a game. They lost faith in the direction they were being led.