MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel stated he might be a part of the crew’s interview course of for its subsequent basic supervisor and can stay the pinnacle coach till he is informed in any other case.
McDaniel spent a lot of the 2025 season among the many favorites to lose their job, after Miami misplaced seven of its first 9 video games, however rebounded with a four-game profitable streak to return inside a recreation of a .500 file. The Dolphins (7-10) nonetheless completed with a shedding file for the second consecutive season, which McDaniel referred to as a “failure.”
When requested about his job safety, the fourth-year coach stated it is “my understanding I am the coach of the Miami Dolphins till informed in any other case,” and added that he’ll communicate with crew proprietor Stephen Ross about methods to transfer ahead efficiently.
“We’re getting collectively later within the week to debate what must be mentioned,” McDaniel stated Monday. “We each share the sentiment that we’re not the place we need to be, and on this enterprise, it’s a must to have a plan of motion to enhance that play. I feel these discussions are crucial and wholesome, and I feel the fan base is relying on that to happen.
“We’re not simply dismissing this season as, ‘Oops, we’ll attempt once more.’ No — you are making an attempt to assault issues, management your controllables and the underside line of ‘We have to enhance this soccer crew now,’ and set forth a plan to do this.”
A supply informed ESPN the crew believed in McDaniel all through the Dolphins’ struggles and instructed their points had been quarterback-related. McDaniel benched starter Tua Tagovailoa after a Week 15 loss in favor of rookie seventh-round choose Quinn Ewers.
Tagovailoa completed the season along with his fewest passing yards since 2021 and a career-high 15 interceptions.
McDaniel confirmed there might be a quarterback competitors in 2026, and the crew might be diligent to find its starter — whether or not which means bringing in a brand new quarterback or turning to 1 already on its roster.
Whereas McDaniel stated he would not foresee an entire rebuild in 2026, he and the Dolphins nonetheless have a troublesome offseason forward.
Tagovailoa and broad receiver Tyreek Hill, who missed all however 4 video games this season with a dislocated knee, signify a mixed $108.2 million cap hit in 2026. Buying and selling each gamers with out consuming the majority of their wage might be troublesome and releasing them outright would end in an infinite lifeless cap hit — nevertheless it’s unlikely for each gamers to return in 2026 on their present contracts.
McDaniel stated it is going to be Hill’s determination whether or not he desires to proceed his profession, and that the crew would proceed to “assist his rehabilitation and have constant trustworthy conversations when he is able to have them.”
The Dolphins are at the moment projected to be $6.4 million over the wage cap coming into subsequent season however personal 5 picks within the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL draft. McDaniel confused the significance of constructing via the draft, as Miami did with its 2025 class.
“I feel that 7-10 just isn’t adequate — 1-6 is definitely not adequate, however the response that you just noticed with our soccer got here from someplace,” McDaniel stated. “It is our jobs to determine precisely the elements of the answer and construct upon that and nothing else. So, I do not see an entire rebuild. What I see is a crew that should make sensible selections and compound these sensible selections in order that the curiosity might be conveyed.”
The Dolphins and basic supervisor Chris Grier parted methods on Oct. 31. Champ Kelly has been serving because the crew’s interim GM. Three of the reported candidates to change into the Dolphins’ new basic supervisor are executives with the San Francisco 49ers (Josh Williams, Tariq Ahmad and RJ Gillen) and overlapped with McDaniel throughout his time with the franchise.
