Let’s Get Serious: Mike McDaniel Needs To Explain

Mike McDaniel may be safe for at least one more year, but Stephen Ross and the Miami Dolphins organization need to demand more from him. While we’ve seen McDaniel evolve as a head coach—whether by benching captains after repeated offenses or by expanding the offense beyond simply getting Tyreek Hill to 2,000 yards—this fanbase cannot afford to remain complacent.

At the same time, we’ve seen McDaniel continue to fall short in key moments, particularly against playoff teams and veteran head coaches. If ownership is serious about winning a Super Bowl, they need McDaniel to address the following questions (at a minimum):

1. Why hasn’t the playcalling been simplified?
   It’s been three years, and we still see an unnecessary delay of game penalties, sometimes directly following timeouts. With the complexity of the play calls continuing to haunt us—especially on the road—will you take an active role in simplifying things, not just for the quarterbacks, but for the offense as a whole?
2. Will there be any changes to the challenge review process?
   Of the 16 challenges you’ve called, only four have been overturned. Given that we often play in close games, those timeouts are invaluable. Will you reconsider your approach to the challenge process moving forward?
3. Why do we continue to run our smallest backs on short-yardage plays?
   Jeff Wilson Jr. consistently fights for tough yards, yet instead of using him to impose our will, we hope that our below-average guards won’t get pushed back at the line of scrimmage. Why is this the case?
4. Would you consider giving up playcalling to focus on game-time decisions?
   When your play calling works, it’s exciting, but it has not been consistently successful—especially against top-tier teams. As a result, we’ve seen a more vanilla offense with quick screen plays. With so many weapons at your disposal, we shouldn’t be this one-dimensional. Would you consider delegating play calling so that you can focus on making more impactful decisions during the game?
5. What do you believe is our Achilles’ heel against playoff teams?
   It seems to come down to not starting fast offensively and failing to play complementary football. Are these the main issues, or are there deeper problems, such as a lack of talent on the roster?
6. Will you retain Danny Crossman as Special Teams Coordinator?
   Aside from Jason Sanders and some recent good returns from Malik Washington, the Miami Dolphins special teams unit has ranked among the bottom five for the last three years. Will you consider making a change?
7. Have you and Chris Grier reconsidered your stance on the importance of not only having quality starters on the offensive line but also sufficient depth?
   We’ve seen this team repeatedly get bullied at the line of scrimmage, which limits the plays we can call. Will you take action to improve the depth and overall strength of the offensive line?
8. How will you address the backup quarterback situation in 2025?
   While the team may not have been a Super Bowl contender this season, a solid backup quarterback could have helped us secure a playoff spot this year. How do you plan to address this position moving forward?
9. Do players run the team, or do the coaches?       With recent X posts from Tyreek Hill and other players commenting on the team’s culture, there seems to be a narrative that players have too much influence. Will you take steps to address this and reinforce the structure of the team?