Miami Dolphins: McDaniel won’t be fired, but should he really be safe?

The Miami Dolphins have a rookie head coach that fans have been in love with since he first showed up in south Florida but should he really be safe?

Personally, I don’t think Mike McDaniel’s job should be in trouble, even with a loss next week. A six-game losing streak would be hard to fathom but Miami needs some continuity here and changing coaches again, should come with an overhaul of key positions as well and that isn’t going to happen either.

Miami got off to a fast start but matched the opening three-game win streak with a three-game losing streak. They then ran off a 5-game winning streak only to now lose five in a row as well.

The Dolphins are a mess and far removed from the team that McDaniel was giving out game balls to everyone. Truth is, he has made a lot of mistakes. The question is are they rookie mistakes or something more?

Another potential first-time rookie head coach, Brian Daboll, has taken his Giants team to the postseason in his first season. You could argue he did so with far less talent in a tough division where all of the teams are fighting for position.

McDaniel has been horrible with his challenge flags, losing yet another one on Sunday. He has been horrible with in-game and half-time adjustments, and since losing to the 49ers, his offense has been stagnant against teams that really shouldn’t have been problems for Miami.

Fans want to win and they are done with the year-in and year-out end-of-season collapse. Stephen Ross wants to win as well and while McDaniel may be his coach now, he was not his first choice to lead the team. That was Sean Payton. Does he try to dip back into that well? Would it really surprise you if he did?

Ross knows his time as an owner is not going to last long. His age is catching up because Father Time is still unbeaten. Another loss next week against the Jets and Ross is waiting yet another season to return to the postseason where he has only been once as a full-time owner.

With so many questions surrounding this team, if McDaniel does survive Ross’ emotional decisions, he will need to get a lot fixed. He will need to hire new coaches on the defense and special teams and reevaluate his own as well.

McDaniel, as most coaches do, has an ego. He is a rookie HC calling his own plays and Miami fans to remember the last time a “genius” came to Miami and did the same. The difference, Adam Gase made it to the playoffs in his first year.

The season is far from over and win over the Jets and a loss by the Bills should be enough to get Miami into the postseason and who knows what could happen then. Will it be enough to save his job? Truth be told, it shouldn’t have any weight on his job security at all.