After an embarrassing 33-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel finds his job in serious jeopardy. Oddsmakers speculated about him being the most likely coach to be fired this season, but after Sunday’s vile performance, they can be no more sure. The loss was so demoralizing that McDaniel himself admitted, “It was embarrassing flat out, and in that there’s nowhere to hide.”

This isn’t the first time the Dolphins have faced disappointment under McDaniel, previously as well. Last season, the team finished with a mediocre 8-9 record and missed the playoffs. Many people expected owner Stephen Ross to make a change then, but he chose to keep both McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier. Ross did, however, issue a warning that suggested his patience was running thin. With the team’s concern starting the new season, now that warning feels more urgent than ever.

After the Dolphins’ significant Week 1 loss to the Colts, NFL insider Tom Pelissero was asked by Rich Eisen about the state of the team’s locker room and head coach Mike McDaniel’s status. Pelissero responded regarding McDaniel’s job security, saying, “I don’t know that we’re anywhere close to that point. I know how that organization feels about Mike McDaniel. There’s no doubt that they have had fairly unique challenges through the course of this offseason in terms of making multiple big trades, signing starting corners in August, and trading for Darren Waller, who has yet to play a snap and is ruled out again this week.” 

All eyes are on Coach Mike McDaniel as the Dolphins head into their Week 2 matchup against the New England Patriots. According to Pelissero, the upcoming game against the Patriots is a crossroads for the franchise. The team’s recent players-only meeting was a show of accountability, but now they must prove it on the field. A loss to the Patriots would be particularly damaging. As Pelissero points out, the Patriots are a team that has historically struggled in Miami and looked poor in their own season opener.

Losing this game would not only drop the Dolphins to a frustrating 0-2 record but would also set them up for a challenging road game against the Buffalo Bills, with the very real possibility of starting the season 0-3. This is where the consequences become severe. A 0-3 start, especially a home loss to a struggling rival, would likely trigger the first serious calls for a coaching change. 

Dolphins hold a players’ only meeting ahead of their week 2 game with the New England Patriots game

According to Tom Pelissero, one of the main reasons for the Miami Dolphins‘ loss was their lack of attention to detail and strategy. He noted that while Colts’ defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is new to Indianapolis, there are years of tape on him from his time in Cincinnati. Pelissero said that while Anarumo, who is “really good at his job,” threw some things at the Dolphins that caught them off guard, the team should have been able to function at a higher level. The coach has also stated this fact, saying, “the guys got caught up a little bit in the bells and whistles of Week One.”

Following their disappointing Week 1 loss to the Colts, the Dolphins held a “players-only meeting” to address their performance. Tom Pelissero’s interpretation of the meeting suggests that the players’ main motive was to achieve “mutual accountability”. This suggested that the players are taking ownership of their performance. 

Also backing up Tom Pelissero’s claims, Jordyn Brooks stated that the purpose of the meeting was to keep everyone “locked in” and prevent them from getting discouraged. He stated,  “When you lose like that, it’s easy for people to get discouraged and start looking and questioning maybe yourself or others, so making sure that we all lock back in and making sure that the belief is still there. You lose belief, you don’t have nothing. So making sure that everybody is still on the same page and come back next week stronger.”

Team’s head coach Mike McDaniel is aware of this player-led meeting, as he said on Friday, “I think the gravity of this one, in particular, it’s something that we’ve done in the offseason. It is a part of how we do things, based upon my beliefs, and what maximizes investment is ownership. So, I think it’s important that players feel they have the ability and the desire to do that. That fires me up.”

With their players and coach having taken accountability, the question remains: can the Dolphins overcome their shortcomings to beat the New England Patriots? The team will host the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, looking to rebound from a demoralizing Week 1 loss.

The Patriots, in their first game under new head coach Mike Vrabel, had a disappointing 20-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. This matchup presents an opportunity for both teams to get their seasons on track after a rocky start.