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How Did We Get Here? McDaniel Era to End Soon?

Originally posted on Dolphins Talk | By David Bearman | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 10:19 AM ET

How Did We Get Here? McDaniel Era to End Soon?

Considering the current state of the Miami Dolphins, it’s hard to dial up the wayback machine and remember the good times under head coach Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins, but they weren’t that long ago. It was Christmas Eve, not even two full years ago, in 2023, when Jason Sanders cleared the uprights with a walk-off, game-winning FG to give Miami a 22-20 win over the 10-4 Cowboys. The win moved Miami to 11-4, a win over a winning team, and gave them control of their own destiny in the AFC.

That wasn’t a typo. The Dolphins, with wins in Weeks 17 and 18 in 2003, would clinch the top seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Mike McDaniel was in charge of a fun, high-flying offense that was averaging an absurd 30.9 points per game, the excitement was showcased on HBO’s Hard Knocks, and Dolphins fans everywhere were ready to end the 23-year playoff win drought. Miami had its Shula-Marino of the current era with McDaniel and Tua. At the time, I commented on a national radio show that said McDaniel could run for governor of Florida right now and win. Life was good.

We all know what happened next. Blown out by Ravens, home loss to Buffalo with AFC East title on the line, road playoff game to -30 degree Arrowhead to take on the Super Bowl Champions, a disappointing 2024 season, and now this. So what went wrong in just 22 games?

Teams Figured Out McDaniel’s Offense

Remember that high-flying offense that was averaging 30.9 points per game and 411.5 yards per game (both best in the NFL) through 15 games in 2023? Including 70 points and over 700 yards vs. the Broncos? Miami scored 30+ points eight times in those 15 games, also the most in the NFL. Tyreek Hill had eight games with 100+ yards receiving. Waddle added another 1,000 yards, and Raheem Mostert was unstoppable with 21 total TDs.

Yeah, well, teams started figuring it out. Starting with Baltimore in Week 17 when the No. 1 seed was on the line, teams started implementing a 2-high safety defense to not allow Hill or Waddle to beat them deep. Want to dink and dunk? Sure, go ahead. Run the ball? Sure, go ahead. Twenty-two games later, McDaniel has not figured that out. The offense is more horizontal than vertical. In 22 games, starting with the 56-19 loss to the Ravens (that should’ve been a sign, right), the Dolphins have averaged 318.8 yards per game (20th), 19.1 PPG (26th), and have three 30-point games, only more than the Patriots, Giants, Browns, and Jaguars. I could probably end the column right there. Oh, and by the way, we are going to pressure your offensive line, because it’s not as good as you think it is.

Personnel Decisions that Neglect Needs

Through the first 15 games of 2023, the Dolphins’ OL was pretty good, allowing 27 total sacks, which was 3rd-best in the NFL, only behind the Bills and Chiefs. Five of those sacks occurred in the Week 14 Monday night home meltdown vs. the Titans, where the Dolphins blew a 14-point lead in the last 2:40. That should have been a warning sign flashing deep, deep red. Miami’s OL allowed six sacks over the final three losses, setting the tone for the offseason.

The Dolphins did not address the offensive line in the 2024 offseason based on a better-than-expected 2023. This is the same offensive line that Tua Tagovailoa was constantly running from and that led to a few concussions. Miami lost Connor Williams and Robert Hunt from the 2023 squad, and Isaiah Wynn was starting the year on the PUP list. The best player, Terron Armstead, had yet to prove he could stay healthy all season. GM Chris Grier took it one step further at the end of training camp in August, laughing at the media when asked about it.

“Mike (McDaniel) and I just, we always kind of chuckle,” Grier said Wednesday. “I know you guys made a joke about me saying that you guys are more worried about (the offensive line) than we are. But internally, that’s how we feel about our group here as a team.”

Sure enough, the Dolphins have allowed 58 sacks since, 18th-most in the league and a far cry from “not being worried”.

Instead, Miami spent money bringing in WR Odell Beckham Jr. (9 catches, 55 yards, 0 TDs), Safety Jordan Poyer (0 INTs), and Shaq Barrett (never played). They drafted Patrick Paul in the 2nd round, who didn’t make much of an impact in his rookie season.

Fast forward to the 2025 offseason, and Grier/McDaniel decided to address the OL with a 2nd round pick in Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea and signed James Daniels, coming off a season-ending Achilles tear, who promptly got injured in the first quarter of his first game.

Ok, so addressed OL a few years late. You know the saying “The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting different results”?. Well, Miami allowed Xavien Howard to walk after 2023, traded Jevon Holland after 2024, allowed CB Jalen Ramsey (who they had given an extension to) to get so unhappy they had to trade him, and decided, well, secondary is not a need. Safties Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis were the answer at Safety, and Storm Duck and Jack Jones would suffice at CB. Miami did bring back S Minkah Fitzpatrick in a late summer trade with Pittsburgh, but it was his worst year as a pro.

Speaking of that trade with Pittsburgh, it also meant goodbye to Jonnu Smith, the lone bright spot in Miami’s 2024 offense and one of the few 2024 offseason moves that worked. 88 catches and 8 TDs led all Dolphins receivers, and instead of extending his 2-year deal, he was shipped to Pittsburgh. The answer? Bring in retired Darren Waller from the Giants. He has as many plays as I do.

The pattern of neglecting needs, signing injury-prone players, extending skill player contracts, and not addressing needs in the draft has been detrimental to the roster makeup of the Dolphins.

Untimely Mistakes

There isn’t an official database that tracks bonehead mistakes or ill-timed timeouts, but anyone who watches the Dolphins’ games is well aware there are glaring issues with getting the right play calls and personnel on the field. And this is not a 2025 problem. From the beginning of the McDaniel tenure, there have been communication issues with the play calling and personnel. He acknowledged it himself after the 2022 playoff loss, when a key 4th and 1 play on the last drive was pushed to 4th and 6th due to an improbable delay of game, but we all chalked it up to “rookie head coach”. Well, we are in year 4, and those issues are still there.

Let’s look at key moments from Sunday, moments where penalties and timeouts are heightened due to when they occurred in a 6-point loss.

Miami scored to pull within 15-13. McDaniel elects to go for two (which I disagreed with, btw) and there’s a false start. Now kick PAT.
Miami calls a timeout 53 seconds into the 2nd half. We will never know why, but 53 seconds earlier, they were in the locker room, game planning.
Miami gets a big first down into the Patriots’ red zone on the same drive, but illegal motion backs it up and settles for a field goal.
Second-to-last drive, down 3: delay of game on 1st and 10, followed by a false start. Now 1st and 20. A third-down sack leads to an INT and a FG for the Patriots
Last drive, down 6: Miami gets down to the Patriots 26, followed by a false start (1st and 15) and then a delay of the game. Miami elected not to call a TO and take the delay because they had wasted a TO 53 seconds into the half and needed to save the last one. So, 1st and 20 on the most important drive of the day. Two sacks later, it was over.

I didn’t need to give the play-by-play of one game’s mistakes, but it just points to a much larger problem Miami has had for the last four years that has not been corrected, and no longer can be blamed on a “rookie coach”. Miami had delay of game called on each of their last two possessions, just like they did in the postseason game in 2022.

We don’t even need to get into how the playcalling and decision-making have wasted both Hill and Waddle the last two seasons. That would take a book, not an article.

What’s Next?

We know the answer. Does Stephen Ross?

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

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