The Phinsider
The Miami Dolphins have fired head coach Mike McDaniel. The move comes after the 2025 season spun out of control. Miami makes the move after ending the season with a 7-10 record, including a 38-10 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 18 to close out the regular season.
The Dolphins started the season with a 1-6 record, stumbling their way out of the gate and falling flat by midseason. Things somewhat turned around in the second half of the year, including a four-game win streak by Miami, but in the end, it was not enough to satisfy the fan base or save McDaniel’s job.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report the move.
McDaniel led Miami to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons with the team, but the Dolphins lost each of their wild-card games, extending a drought of playoff wins that stretches back to 2000. Last year, Miami fell to 8-9 and missed the playoffs. Injuries have plagued Miami throughout McDaniel’s tenure, especially to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but even when the roster has been healthy, the Dolphins have struggled the last two years as the NFL caught up to McDaniel’s offensive schemes.
In 2023, Miami had the number one offense in the league and the number two scoring offense. Tagovailoa led the league with 4,624 passing yards and earned a selection to the Pro Bowl. Miami scored 70 points against the Denver Broncos in Week 3, and the team felt like it was having fun, was exciting, and had a strike-from-anywhere mentality.
The last two years, the team has felt completely out of sync, with no answers to adjustments from opposing teams. Two-high safeties shut down anything Miami wanted to do, and they never had an answer. This year, Miami is 27th in offense, which is still better than their 30th-ranked defense.
And the defense, especially the front seven, was supposed to be the strength of the roster entering the year.
Everything fell apart for Miami this year, and now they have decided to move on from McDaniel.
McDaniel finishes his tenure 35-33 in the regular season and 0-2 in the playoffs. The Dolphins ended this season 7-10.
Earlier in the week, McDaniel met with the media and was asked about his job security. He explained, “My understanding is that I’m the coach of the Miami Dolphins until told otherwise.” On Thursday, it appears he was told otherwise.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross released a statement about the move with McDaniel, stating:
After careful evaluation and extensive discussions since the season ended, I have made the decision that our organization is in need of comprehensive change. I informed Mike McDaniel this morning that he has been relieved of his duties as head coach. I love Mike and want to thank him for his hard work, commitment, and the energy he brought to our organization....
