Mike McDaniel’s 2025 Challenges

Much has been said this off-season about General Manager Chris Grier and what he needs to accomplish in 2025.

Let’s change gears and focus on Coach Mike McDaniel.

Mike McDaniel’s challenges for the 2025 season are formidable.

McDaniel must conquer most of these obstacles to survive the 2025 season.

I will go through McDaniel’s challenges in no particular order:

1. The Miami Dolphins must beat teams with a winning record.

During McDaniel’s tenure as head coach, the Dolphins have typically beaten the worst teams in the league but are woefully unprepared when playing playoff-caliber teams.

2. McDaniel must make in-game adjustments to his offense.

When shut down, McDaniel and his coaching staff must adjust the offense. Utilizing the same plays throughout the game that failed to work in the first half shows an inability to adapt.

3. McDaniel must make better decisions in the face of challenges.

I am uncertain what the issue is here, but either the spotter in the booth is entirely incompetent, or McDaniel is listening to the wrong voices on the sideline, or it could be that McDaniel is just plain stubborn.

4. The Dolphins must reach the playoffs and win at least one game.

Twenty-five years is long enough for a playoff drought. The Dolphins must be significantly more successful in the latter part of their schedule when the games genuinely count. This is the only way the team can earn a game on their home turf.

5. McDaniel must make better play calls when faced with short-yardage situations.

This is a two-fold problem. First, the team desperately needs a bigger running back who can break a tackle and gain those one or two yards. Hopefully, the Dolphins’ sixth-round draft choice, running back Ollie Gordon II, can fill that void.

Secondly, McDaniel needs to call plays that fit the situation; in other words, avoid a toss sweep when facing a third or fourth and one.

The best offenses execute their bread-and-butter plays in short yardage despite the defense’s awareness of what play the offense will run.

6. Clock management must improve when making play calls and communicating those calls to Tua, especially at the end of the half and the game.

McDaniel struggles with quickly executing play calls, allowing Tua to survey the defense and adjust as needed.

McDaniel also needs someone to assist him in managing the clock and using timeouts.

If Mike McDaniel fails the daunting challenges above—and this is not an exhaustive list—we may be looking at a new head coach for 2026.