Why new Dolphins GM could be married to Mike McDaniel, Tua Tagovailoa through 2026

A Miami Dolphins side that began November at 2-7 notched four straight wins to add itself to the playoff picture ahead of Week 15. 

Nevertheless, the futures of Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa remain up in the air after the club and general manager Chris Grier "mutually" agreed to part ways on Oct. 31.

For his latest mailbag, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared how the Dolphins following in the footsteps of the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams could result in both McDaniel and Tagovailoa sticking around through at least the offseason. 

Will Dolphins have "three-headed monster" running the show in 2026?

"My understanding is that cap chief Brandon Shore has already taken a bigger role in the (Dolphins) organization, as part of a three-headed monster that Mike Disner has in Detroit or Tony Pastoors has in Los Angeles," Breer explained. "In that setup, you have a head coach, GM and cap/analytics chief reporting to the owner. So a new GM (or incumbent Champ Kelly, if he wins the job) would be coming in with Shore working alongside him as a resource, and a head coach who realistically gets a year to evaluate. Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa has one more year of guaranteed money left, with the flexibility to draft another quarterback in 2026 or wait for what could be a strong class in ‘27."

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross reportedly wants to avoid having to press a figurative reset button this winter, and McDaniel has supported Tagovailoa ever since the former took the Miami gig in 2022. Meanwhile, the Dolphins will head into this weekend trailing the 6-7 Kansas City Chiefs, the 6-7 Baltimore Ravens, the 8-5 Indianapolis Colts and the 8-5 Houston Texans in the battle for the AFC's final wild-card playoff berth. 

As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Miami as a 3.5-point road underdog for its upcoming "Monday Night Football" game at the 7-6 Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Are Dolphins a collapse away from blowing things up?

"You have a playoff coach and a playoff quarterback on hand, and you get a year to test-drive them," Breer added about a candidate accepting the Dolphins' general manager job. "Then you either go forward with one, the other, or both, or blow it up and bring in your own guys in 2027 (barring a collapse from the Dolphins down the stretch this year that might create another set of decisions for the team)."

Breer's final point indicates neither McDaniel nor Tagovailoa is guaranteed anything regarding the Dolphins' future beyond Week 18. One wonders how Ross would react if Miami finished the season at 6-11.