Dolphins would be wise to stay the course
The Miami Dolphins head into Super Wild Card weekend with a banged up squad in a rematch from their Week 9 game against the Kansas City Chiefs and will face an additional foe in possible arctic temperatures with things getting down to frigid, record low temperatures of 0 degrees with a wind chill approaching -30.
The Dolphins sure won't be in South Florida anymore.
No matter the outcome, the Dolphins need to continue building with their current head coach, Mike McDaniel. Stories surfaced this past week with the suggestion that the second-year offensive genius may be on the hot seat with a Dolphins loss to the Chiefs.
It would be a monumental mistake on the part of Dolphins senior management to jettison McDaniel so soon. Sure, the Dolphins have not fared well against top-shelf competition, but their first-round opponent, the Chiefs, only have three wins against teams with records above .500 and only one victory versus a playoff team: the Dolphins.
Miami goes into KC missing more than eight starters and could also be without featured running back Raheem Mostert and star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. There is a breaking point for a team to be void of so much talent in meaningful games and it appears that McDaniel has to mitigate too many injuries, even for a team that has been resilient most of this season.
Yet, the main reason for the Dolphins to stick with McDaniel, no matter what, is quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. To this point in his career, the Dolphins QB has not shown that he can win the big game, but the dude was top five in his position for every important category: yards (1st), touchdowns (5th), completion percentage (5th), rating (5th) and completions (4th).
The Dolphins need stability and continuity. Since Miami drafted him fifth overall in the 2020 draft, Tagovailoa has had seven different offensive coordinators. He finally has a coach in McDaniel who believes in him and it takes time for some QBs to get to the Super Bowl.
Do some research on former Hall of Famers John Elway and Steve Young. The sub-zero bowl in Kansas City will be Tagovailoa's first exposure to the playoffs and his coach deserves more than just some credit for how he has performed this year.
McDaniel is an innovative, interesting person who has led the Dolphins to the playoffs in back-to-back campaigns. It's a franchise that hasn't posted a W in a postseason contest since 2000 and has only qualified for the playoffs four times in the last 15 years.
So, whether the Dolphins manage to get by the Chiefs or not, McDaniel should get a warm welcome back to Miami next season.
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