A Loss Sunday to the Browns May Bring the First Firing in Miami

Originally posted on Dolphins Talk | By Mike Oliva | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 12:26 PM ET

A Loss Sunday to the Browns May Bring the First Firing in Miami

Miami Dolphins fans are constantly checking their cell phones for the alert that Mike McDaniel or Chris Grier has been fired.

Who knows when this will happen?

Regarding Grier, it may not happen at all, as many are speculating that he will be given a new title and be reassigned in the front office in a new role.

Nevertheless, a loss to a Browns team that, like Miami, has only one win this season, may spell doom for Mike McDaniel.

Miami, with a 1-5 record this season, isn’t good.

The fact that his starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, is throwing teammates under the bus at press conferences isn’t good.

Yes, the same Tua that Mike McDaniel picked up the phone and called Stephen Ross on last August to help get Tua’s contract situation done.

Then throw in the fact that the Browns are starting a rookie quarterback in Dillon Gabriel, and if he were to get his first win as an NFL starting quarterback vs Miami, yeah, that is a bad look as the kids say for Mike McDaniel as well.

Over the last two weeks, Miami has given away late 4th quarter leads to the Carolina Panthers and the LA Chargers. If they back up those two collopases with a road win vs an equally bad Browns team, that may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in the eyes of Mr. Stephen Ross.

The Dolphins shouldn’t look down on the Browns or feel they are a better team and organization; they aren’t.

These two organizations are currently at the bottom of the NFL totem poll.

But a bad loss this weekend, one where Cleveland dominates and wins by more than two scores, or even a loss in which it is like watching paint dry, and its a final score of say 17-10 or something like that where Miami struggles to move the ball and score points, yeah that may be the last day Mike McDaniel is on the job for the Miami Dolphins.

I still think any firing with McDaniel will take place at the Bye week after the Spain game, but things are really toxic right now in South Florida.

Dolphins fans are frustrated and angry, which is a bad combination.

They just watched their starting quarterback, in his building, throw three interceptions and lose a game to the guy who was selected one spot after him at the same position.

The team is 1-5, going nowhere.

We are hearing the same complaints as last year about players showing up late or missing player-only meetings. Granted, it’s not mandated team meetings, but the general fan sees no difference.

The “fixing the culture” narrative that Grier, McDaniel, and numerous Dolphins players promoted all offseason seems to be nothing but poppycock.

Now, an ugly or bad loss to a Cleveland Browns team starting a rookie quarterback, yeah, that may get the owner to make the first move on a firing.

I don’t know what to expect from this Dolphins team on Sunday in Cleveland after all of the drama since Sunday’s loss to LA, but if this team comes out flat, or doesn’t play hard, or has a sloppy performance, that will speak volumes about where things are at right now under Mike McDaniel.

This article first appeared on Dolphins Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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