Mike McDaniel hot seat: Dolphins owner Stephen Ross weighs in on Miami head coach

Ross signed McDaniel to a three-year extension in August 2024. Rapoport said that his sense is “nothing is imminent” regarding McDaniel being fired. However, that could change.

“My sense is nothing is imminent for the Dolphins on that front,” Rapoport said. “However, there’s a caveat: that can change. If fans suddenly stop showing up to the stadium or players stop playing for him, that can alter the situation.”

Mike McDaniel under pressure to turn things around quickly in Miami

McDaniel, 42, is 28-25 since taking over as head coach in 2022. He led the Dolphins to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023, bowing out of the playoffs in the AFC Wild Card Round each season. Last season, a season in which quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed six games due to injury, the Dolphins went 8-9, missing the postseason.

McDaniel’s offense, once one of the best in the NFL, slipped to below league average in 2024 and through two games this season, it’s been anything but a smooth operation. The Dolphins were soundly defeated, 33-8, by the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1. They followed that up with a 33-27 defeat to the New England Patriots in Week 2. Miami is 31st in points allowed per game.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Dolphins, who face off against one of the league’s best teams in the Bills on Thursday. McDaniel still believes his messages are getting through to his players.

“I think if I worry about my job security, I won’t be doing my job,” McDaniel said earlier this week. “And I think that inherently is against all things that I believe in. I’ve never felt entitled to this position, and it’s very important for me to spend all of my waking hours worrying about exactly how to do my job, and all the residual effects of that are there’s a lot of people affected.”