Mike McDaniel didn’t just bring offense to Miami; he brought hope. When the Dolphins hired him in 2022, they weren’t just banking on scheme. They were investing in vision. Tua Tagovailoa was broken, mentally, physically, and schematically. McDaniel fixed that. Built him back. In 2023, Tua led the entire NFL in passing yards (4,624), and Miami looked like a track team disguised as a football roster. But fast-forward to now, and that vision? Clouding. The playoff win drought, dating all the way back to 2000, still looms. And suddenly, McDaniel’s coaching future feels more fragile than flashy.

It started as a conversation, but now it’s a question with consequences. Is Mike McDaniel the coach to take the Dolphins the whole way? Matt Hasselbeck didn’t sensationalize during the June 30 episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, he just backed the firing calls. “At the end of the day I feel like he was hired though to get Tua back on track,” he said. “He did a pretty darn good job of that. I think they just need to take a next step.”

The heat isn’t about vibes anymore, it’s about results. And in the biggest one of all, the 2023 Wild Card in Kansas City, they lost by 26-7. Zero offensive rhythm. Tua looked cold, literally and figuratively. McDaniel’s schemes? Neutralized. That’s not a coincidence.

Hasselbeck pointed it out, “Those warm weather teams, they don’t perform at the end of the year the way that they did at the beginning of the year because they gotta go on the road and play somewhere like Buffalo or New England.” That’s not shade, that’s truth. And Miami’s brass knows it.

Now with Vic Fangio gone and the defense resetting under Anthony Weaver, everything falls heavier on McDaniel. This is his window. His moment. Because if the team underperforms again, especially in cold-weather playoff scenarios? The ground below him will move fast.

Is that fair? Maybe not. But fair has never been a factor in NFL head coach evaluations. It’s a results league. Tua’s breakout brought McDaniel credibility. But make no mistake: this is a contract year in spirit, if not officially. Because if Miami flops again, there will be louder voices than Hasselbeck asking the same question.

Mike McDaniel might be backward counting!

Mike McDaniel isn’t just on the hot seat; he’s sitting in the eye of the storm. After two years of flashy offensive numbers but zero playoff wins, the Miami Dolphins have suddenly turned into a pressure cooker. The latest signal? A wild, head-scratching trade that sent All-Pro corner Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh in exchange for Minkah Fitzpatrick. That’s a seismic locker-room shakeup, and it’s hard to ignore what it means: desperation.

Raheem Mostert certainly didn’t. The veteran running back, and former 49ers weapon under McDaniel, took to X shortly after the trade with a not-so-cryptic message, “Hot take: Be a Pro-bowler on the Dolphins, get treated like sh*t. Happy for my guys though! GO BALL OUT!!” That’s not just a frustrated player. That’s a mean jab. And when respected veterans start calling you out publicly, it rarely ends well.

McDaniel’s tenure in Miami was supposed to be a reboot, innovation, collaboration, and explosiveness. Instead, it’s turned into late-season collapses, injury excuses, and now a fractured locker room. Despite having one of the most talented rosters in football, the Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000. That failure now sits squarely on McDaniel’s shoulders.

If this season implodes, and early signs point that way, there’s every reason to believe Dolphins ownership will move on. McDaniel, once hailed as the Shanahan disciple to watch, could quickly find himself jobless. And if that happens? The NFL script practically writes itself: a return to San Francisco.