A Three-Legged Stool

A Three-Legged Stool

Despite a win against the lowly Washington Commanders in Madrid, it became increasingly evident that the Miami Dolphins remain in dire straits when considering the future of the franchise.

There are three fundamental characteristics of a championship team that need to be in place for any chance of success.

A General Manager who leads the construction of the roster and can recognize talent through the draft and free agency.

A Head Coach who manages his players with discipline and can make critical decisions during difficult game situations.

And a quarterback who has the skills necessary to compete in today’s NFL.

These three foundational pieces must work together as a single unit under the direction of an owner who is committed to winning, regardless of his loyalty to certain people.

For the Miami Dolphins, owner Stephen Ross, to his credit, made a change in one of these foundational pieces, namely, by firing General Manager Chris Grier.

Unfortunately, the indication for the future is that this team may be moving forward in 2026 with both other foundational pieces remaining the same, namely Coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Whether Ross views this as a byproduct of the terrible financial decisions made by Grier that Ross is now stuck with, or whether it is a result of unquestioning loyalty, remains a question.

Yet, it is painfully evident that McDaniel is way over his head as a head coach and continues to make baffling decisions at the most inopportune times during game situations.

How is it possible for McDaniel to waste time outs because he cannot get the play in on time, or with McDaniel being so stubborn and bull-headed that he chooses to forego a field goal with less than two minutes remaining in a game?

And it is also painfully evident that our quarterback is severely limited in his skill set and cannot effectively compete in the modern NFL.

For the Miami Dolphins to begin a proper reset, all three legs of the stool need to be replaced: the GM, the Coach, and the quarterback.

Until that happens, we will unfortunately continue to live out the definition of insanity.