A lot of Miami Dolphins fans were convinced that the loss to the Buffalo Bills would be Mike McDaniel’s final act in Miami. But here we are, five weeks in, and somehow, he’s still standing. Barely. Sitting at 1-4, with the only win coming against the 0-5 Jets. There have been reports about McDaniel being on thin ice for a while now, but owner Stephen Ross has failed to pull the plug yet. Well, maybe he should.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler gave the latest on The Rich Eisen Show, and the tone wasn’t exactly comforting for McDaniel. “His seat is moderately hot, I would say,” Fowler said. “I think the ownership there likes McDaniel a lot. Don’t expect anything at this moment, this week. I feel like they wanna give him a little bit of time.”

“But there are a lot of factors that go into that. One of which is, is your time getting better, is it lifeless, are seats in the stands empty? If they have home games that are pretty ugly and the fans start to turn on the team, that’s when Stephen Ross could make a move. The owner has his sons involved in the process. They could be a factor here in the future of Miami,” he added.

Well, if “lifeless” is a metric, then Miami’s already in trouble. You only have to look at last week’s collapse against the Carolina Panthers. The Dolpins blew a 17-point lead, and McDaniel looked like a man running out of answers. He was tactically outclassed.

The defense, meanwhile, was an absolute disaster. Miami got gashed for 239 rushing yards, 206 of those courtesy of backup running back Rico Dowdle. That’s nearly as many yards as Miami’s entire offense produced (a measly 248). When your opponent’s RB2 single-handedly outgains your entire team, it’s bad.

Fans have already made up their minds. They even pooled in money to hoist a “FIRE (Chris) GRIER FIRE MCDANIEL”banner during the game against the New England Patriots.

Fowler remarked that Ross really likes McDaniel. But even he’d reach a breaking point soon. And let’s not forget, Ross isn’t the only one calling shots anymore. His sons are now involved in the decision-making process, and they might not feel the same way about McDaniel. That brings up the next question: if Mike McDaniel does get the axe, who steps in?

Dolphins could look in-house for Mike McDaniel’s replacement

Mid-season firings are never clean. Bringing in an outside hire midyear is chaos. The new HC has to learn the roster, the system, and the personalities. It’s a logistical nightmare. Which means, if the Dolphins are smart, they’ll look in-house. And the obvious candidate is defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.

Weaver’s name has already popped up in a few circles as a potential interim, and honestly, it makes perfect sense. In his first season running the defense, he turned the Dolphins into one of the league’s most efficient units: fourth in total yards allowed, fifth in first downs allowed, and sixth in third/fourth down stops. And most importantly, the players love him.

“He’s a fun coach to play under. He really established an exciting culture and allows us a lot of room to just grow within it, so I’m enjoying myself a lot,”safety Jevon Holland said last year. That’s the kind of quote you want about your next head coach, not your defensive coordinator.

Even Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated chimed in before the Bills game, saying, “Anthony Weaver is beloved inside the building and is seen as a future head coach.” Well, the future might be about to show up early. And next week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers might give us a lot of the answers we’re looking for.