The Miami Dolphins are on the heels of their worst season since head coach Mike McDaniel took over the team. After McDaniel coached the Dolphins to playoff appearances in each of his first two seasons in Miami, the team ended the 2024 season with an 8-9 record and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Dolphins insider Omar Kelly seems to believe that if the 2025 season plays out in a similar fashion and the squad misses the playoffs for a second season in a row, McDaniel will no longer be Miami’s head coach moving forward.
Absolutely not https://t.co/PyJDfhdH50
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) March 6, 2025
McDaniel was hired as a replacement for previous head coach Brian Flores, who last led the Dolphins in the 2021 campaign.
When gauging McDaniel’s tenure in Miami, one thing clearly missing from his resume is playoff success. The Dolphins have made multiple playoff appearances under McDaniel but have yet to pick up a single playoff victory.
In McDaniel’s maiden season with the Dolphins, Miami lost to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs by a score of 34-31. Then in his second campaign, the Dolphins were thoroughly outplayed by the Kansas City Chiefs in a playoff bout.
As such, the Dolphins are still trying break their lengthy drought of being winless in the playoffs. Miami’s last playoff win came all the way back in the 2000 season over the Indianapolis Colts.
While there are plenty of valid criticisms to make regarding the job McDaniel has done leading the Dolphins, whether or not the team can stave off the injury bug might prove to be the biggest deciding factor in if it makes the playoffs next season.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — a player whose importance doesn’t need to be explained — spent a good chunk of the 2024 season in and out of the lineup thanks to head and hip injuries. He suited up in just 11 of the Dolphins’ 17 contests.
In light of Kelly’s take, hopefully the Dolphins will make the playoffs next season for the sake of McDaniel’s job security. If Miami does indeed qualify, it will mark the team’s third appearance in four seasons.
