Dolphins fire coach Mike McDaniel after second consecutive losing season

The Miami Dolphins will now be looking for a new head coach, along with searching for a permanent general manager.

The Dolphins fired coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday, pivoting from the first few days after the end of the season, after it appeared he was remaining at the helm when he addressed the media during a news conference Monday afternoon.

“After careful evaluation and extensive discussions since the season ended, I have made the decision that our organization is in need of comprehensive change,” Dolphins owner Steve Ross said in a statement Thursday. “I informed Mike McDaniel this morning that he has been relieved of his duties as head coach.

“I love Mike and want to thank him for his hard work, commitment, and the energy he brought to our organization. Mike is an incredibly creative football mind whose passion for the game and his players was evident every day. I wish him and his family the best moving forward.”

McDaniel ended with a 35-35 record, including 0-2 in the playoffs, as he wrapped up his fourth season at the helm and second consecutive losing season.

McDaniel released his own statement, via the Dolphins: “Coaching this team and being a part of this great franchise has been the honor of a lifetime. When I took this job, I had a vision of a team that was bonded together and played with passion and energy on the path to winning championships. I gave everything I had for that goal.

“I am disappointed, especially for the fans, that we did not have better results on the field, but I am grateful for every coach, player, and staff member who poured themselves into that vision alongside me. I’m grateful to Stephen Ross for the opportunity he gave me, a little known coach at the time when he hired me. Most of all I’m thankful to my wife Katie and daughter Ayla for their unending love and support. I love this game, the people and relationships that are part of it, and I will forever cherish my time in Miami.”

Whether the Baltimore Ravens’ decision Tuesday to fire John Harbaugh, who will surely be the most coveted available coach of the hiring cycle, influenced the decision to part with McDaniel will be speculated by many, but an ESPN report early Thursday said Miami hadn’t contacted Harbaugh and moving on from McDaniel was independent of the pending GM search.

The Dolphins never released a statement at the conclusion of the 2025 season, as they did at the end of 2024, affirming a commitment to McDaniel for the following season.

“I’m the coach of the Miami Dolphins until I’m told otherwise,” McDaniel said Monday.

Harbaugh is believed to be highly regarded within Dolphins ownership and top franchise decision-makers. In 2011, Ross pursued Harbaugh’s brother, Jim, while Tony Sparano was still the Dolphins coach.

The Dolphins are first expected to complete their search for a new GM, which is down to four finalists as of Thursday afternoon, before diving into bringing in a new coach.

McDaniel’s status was the source of speculation amid a 1-6 start that drew the ire of the fan base. But McDaniel then had his proverbial hot seat cool off after going on a 6-3 run entering Sunday’s loss in the season finale at New England.

The Dolphins join the Ravens, Giants, Titans, Falcons, Cardinals, Browns and Raiders as team’s with a head coaching vacancy. Miami and Atlanta are the two teams with GM openings, as well.

Ross was already looking for a new GM after moving on from Chris Grier on Oct. 31, the day after a 28-6 loss to Baltimore. That marked a second defeat by multiple scores in 11 days, as Miami was also mauled, 31-6, in an Oct. 19 loss at Cleveland. However, Grier was the only one to go at the time, while McDaniel finished out the season.

Miami’s 0-3 start to the season already offered the feeling that change was imminent, but national reports going into the Sept. 18 loss to the Buffalo Bills indicated Ross planned to be patient with McDaniel.

A victory against the New York Jets followed, but that only served to alleviate the downward spiral momentarily, especially with star wide receiver Tyreek Hill lost for the season with a significant knee injury.

In the ensuing weeks, the Dolphins blew a 17-point lead at Carolina, lost to the Los Angeles Chargers in the final seconds and suffered that significant setback in Cleveland.

The turnaround began thereafter, however. Once Grier was fired following the loss to Baltimore, Miami reeled off four consecutive wins to stave off elimination from postseason contention as long as possible before a Monday night defeat at Pittsburgh on Dec. 15. After that game, McDaniel benched quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers, giving him the final three starts, of which he won one.

McDaniel’s tenure involved an accumulation of failed expectations.

McDaniel inherited a roster ready to win before he coached his first game in 2022. The team that fired former coach Brian Flores after a 9-8 season in 2021 that followed a 10-6 campaign in 2020 added Pro Bowl players Hill and left tackle Terron Armstead. At the trade deadline, the Dolphins added standout edge rusher Bradley Chubb.

McDaniel’s first year started fast at 3-0, with wins over the Patriots, Ravens and Bills. With Tagovailoa missing time due to a concussion, a three-game losing streak followed. The Dolphins got to 8-3 going into December but fell flat late, dropping five games before finally sneaking into the postseason with an ugly 11-6 win over the Jets while without Tagovailoa for a second stint that season.

In 2023, after bringing in cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Miami was again riding high for the first three quarters of the season, this time pushing their record to 9-3. But the Dolphins blew a three-game lead over the Bills in the division with five weeks remaining, pushing them down to a wild-card team in the standings. They lost to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Chiefs in a frigid playoff game in Kansas City.

After Grier and McDaniel were in agreement to pay Tagovailoa a lucrative contract extension, the quarterback’s availability concerns resurfaced early in 2024. A third documented concussion led the team to place him on injured reserve to miss four games. In six total games Tagovailoa missed, the Dolphins went 2-4.

To open the current season, the Dolphins looked unprepared and uninspired Sept. 7 in a 33-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. They also lost at home to the Patriots, 33-27, before a Thursday night loss to the Bills Sept. 18. That turned out to be the first of two three-game losing streaks within the first seven games of the season.

Outside Dolphins facilities, McDaniel was believed to have questionable command of respect from the locker room, but that didn’t show during a stretch of six wins in nine games going into the season finale. The story of the previous year, though, a disappointing 2024 season that ended 8-9 without a playoff appearance, was that several players were constantly late, even as McDaniel continuously fined them.

Beyond that, communication issues on the field persisted into Year 4. It was seen once when the Dolphins went into Buffalo for a 2022 playoff loss with third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson leading the offense, but the same mishaps reared their ugly head at the end of the loss to the Patriots early in the season in the waning moments, with Tagovailoa at quarterback.

Other shortcomings for McDaniel included how he consistently got away from the run game in his offensive play-calling and his replay review challenge record, winning just four of his 21 challenges.

McDaniel also had his strong points.

He orchestrated the No. 1 offense in the league in 2023. He can be credited for initially turning the career of Tagovailoa around when he took him under his tutelage as a pivot from the tough coaching style of Flores.

Tagovailoa, after an uneven first two NFL seasons, made a Pro Bowl and had an instance of leading the league in passer rating, yards per attempt, passing yards and completion percentage between the past three seasons before falling off this season.

Aside from his results, McDaniel will forever be remembered for a unique, effervescent coaching demeanor that broke the mold of typical NFL coaching styles.

McDaniel was an assistant in the NFL on staffs for 15 seasons before landing the head role with Miami in 2022. Overcoming a bout with alcoholism that produced bumps in the road on his career trajectory, he was a rapid riser once he reached offensive coordinator ranks, only holding onto that role for one season, in 2021 with the San Francisco 49ers, before the Dolphins were the lone team to interview him in the 2022 hiring cycle, ultimately hiring him.