If Anthony Weaver stays with the Miami Dolphins for another year, one of the biggest questions heading into the 2025 season is what will happen if the team fails to make the playoffs.
There are a few thoughts on this subject matter and most of them revolve around the future of Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier. Both should be entering the season on the hot seat, but of the two, McDaniel may have a hotter seat.
There will be a lot of things happening between the end of the 2024 playoff season and the start of training camps in late July, but make no mistake, McDaniel is going to be under a microscope.
It's hard to imagine Stephen Ross firing McDaniel if the Dolphins miss the playoffs if the team wins 10 games in 2025. But with the regular season now 17 games long, it's not as uncommon for a 10-win team to miss the playoffs from time to time.
Circumstances will be taken into account before Ross makes a decision. That being said, will McDaniel make it to the end of the season? It might depend on the presence of Weaver.
Bold Miami Dolphins predictions if Anthony Weaver stays for the 2025 season
Bold Prediction No. 1
The Dolphins defense will be one of the best in the NFL
There is a lot to think about here. If Weaver is hired by the New Orleans Saints this offseason, where will the Dolphins turn to find a replacement?
McDaniel will enter the year with enough questions about his future that he may not draw interest from some coaches. Few coaches want to join a team and lose their job after one year.
But if Weaver is still coaching Miami's defense next season, they should be one of the best in the league. He did a great job with a lot less talent than he should have in 2025.
This offseason, the Dolphins will likely bolster the safety position and should get more physical through free agency. Jordyn Brooks proved how much Miami needed a physical linebacker, and in 2025, they need to increase their physicality even more.
If Weaver isn't Miami's defensive coordinator next season, the team is probably going to have big problems.
Bold Prediction No. 2
Mike McDaniel will not be Miami's head coach at the end of the year
This prediction is predicated on Weaver remaining as the defensive coordinator, but it is hard to see McDaniel finding success in 2025.
The Dolphins offense has potential, but we have seen over the last year and the end of 2023 that McDaniel struggles with adjustments and creativity when his game plan goes south.
If Miami starts the 2025 campaign off like they did at the beginning of the 2024 season, McDaniel may not be retained. Ross has fired a coach midway through the season and used an interim to take his place before, and that was when Joe Philbin was let go in 2015 and replaced by Dan Campbell.
In 2025, McDaniel could be out, and if he is, Weaver would likely be the interim. That would give Ross a few games to evaluate his coaching style as a head coach and also put Weaver in a position to become the next head coach of the Dolphins.
Weaver is getting a lot of interest around the league, and next year, he will likely get more if he misses out on becoming a head coach in this cycle. If Miami isn't winning and McDaniel remains part of that overall problem, Ross may not want to miss out on the opportunity to keep a coach other teams want.