What’s Next For The Dolphins?

Originally posted on Dolphins Talk | By Brian Marr | Last updated Nov 7, 2025 7:37 PM ET

The trade deadline has come and gone, with the Miami Dolphins only moving former first-round pick Jaelan Phillips. The most difficult part about Phillips being moved wasn’t the team throwing in the towel on developing him into a superstar, but his comments to the Philadelphia media. When meeting with the media on Thursday, Phillips made it clear that he is thrilled with the trade.

“I thought I was excited at Day 1,” he said. “Talk to me now, like this is literally the greatest thing that’s happened in my whole life probably.”

You never want to hear that a player is excited to leave your team, but you really don’t want to hear them say it’s the greatest thing that’s happened in their entire life. Such is the 2025 Miami Dolphins fan experience.

With Phillips being move,d many expected other players to be dealt. I even wrote about who was most likely to be moved. No further trades would be made, and the comments surrounding the inactivity around the deadline give us a clearer understanding of what to expect going forward. The biggest revelation is that it seems as if Mike McDaniel will be in Miami for the long haul. As Dolphins beat writer for ESPN, Marcel Louis-Jacques reported on X.

“Mike McDaniel, Champ Kelly, and Brandon Shore collaborated yesterday to make final personnel decisions for the Dolphins at the trade deadline. “We’re all in agreement for the moves we did and didn’t make.”

If owner Stephen Ross believed that McDaniel was not the guy moving forward, it is unlikely that he would be involved in the personal decisions. To me, this reads as a vote of confidence for the fourth-year head coach. Though that could change should the season go off of the rails even further over the final eight weeks.

The remaining schedule is not terribly imposing, this weekend they get the Bills at home, a likely loss though the Dolphins played them close in their previous match up. Then they get three winnable games against the Commanders, Saints, and Jets. The Steelers game is another likely loss but the Bengals can be beaten. The Buccaneers probably walk away with a win, then the final game of the season is against the New England Patriots, which is always a bit of a toss-up. I can easily see Miami getting anywhere from 3-5 wins which may be enough for McDaniel to get one more chance.

If you’re not convinced, though, I have some good news: the team has declared they are committed to winning down the stretch by removing a Pop-A-Shot basketball hoop from their locker room. If that doesn’t scream winning culture, I don’t know what does. I’m kidding, of course, these kinds of moves are more performative than anything and rarely result in much aside from headlines on slow news days.

You can follow me on YouTube @WickedGoodEverything and X @TheFakeBMarr

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

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