It's easy to see how the 2024 NFL season went sideways so quickly for the Miami Dolphins. The injury to Tua Tagovailoa was the catalyst to collapse, and if they are going to win in 2025, things need to change.
Blaming the entire season on Tagovailoa's concussion wouldn't be smart. The Dolphins barely beat a bad Jacksonville Jaguars team to open the season. Opposing defenses consistently stopped Tyreek Hill from making big plays with or without Tagovailoa behind center.
Overall, the entire season was filled with mistakes that can't be repeated if the Dolphins have any reasonable hopes of making the playoffs in 2025.
Changes the Miami Dolphins need to make during the 2025 offseason
1. Improve tackling
It was a regular theme regardless of the team Miami was playing. Missed tackles crippled the defense all year. While some players, like Jordyn Brooks, Zach Seiler, and Calais Campbell, thrived all year, others seemed to have forgotten how to tackle. It is what cost David Long Jr., his job midway through the season.
The Dolphins will play a much tougher schedule next year and at least five times they will face a playoff team. Miami needs to be more consistent defensively and that starts with tackling.
Anthony Weaver has turned a lot of heads for fielding a top-10 defense by the end of the season but tackling remains a problem that can't continue.
2. Find more reliable and consistent offensive linemen
If it sounds like a broken record, it's because it is. The Dolphins and "offensive line" don't go well together. It has been nearly a decade since Miami last fielded a top offensive line unit. Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has said it is time for the line to be addressed, but when and how he will fix it is a question.
Miami could lose both starting guards from last year if Liam Eichenberg and Robert Jones both hit free agency. Neither would be a massive loss to the offense but replacing them will be a lot tougher than one would think.
Regardless, it has to happen. Miami can't effectively run the ball with line issues and protecting Tagovailoa is a problem as well.
3. Tua Tagovailoa has to take better care of himself during games
The Dolphins are not built to win without Tagovailoa as the quarterback. Miami head coach Mike McDaniel won't change his offense when he does go down, and that creates issues with continuity. The Dolphins system is built around Tagovailoa's strengths but availability is as important as ability. Maybe more.
Tagovailoa has to take care of his body, and he needs to be smart when he is out of pocket. No amount of martial arts training can prevent dumb injuries.
He has to realize that he is not built like other quarterbacks who have the body mass to take hits. If Tagovailoa can't keep himself on the field, he has no use to the Dolphins.
4. Mike McDaniel needs to take the next step as a head coach
Heading into his fourth season as Miami's head coach, McDaniel needs to start coaching like he has been around through three full seasons. The Dolphins head coach consistently makes the same mistakes.
- Inability to consistently make in-game adjustments
- Inability to correctly assess a challenge situation
- Poor clock management skills
- Inability to get plays called in on time
- Lack of team discipline and accountability
For many coaches in the NFL, the last one is an end-all to their career. In Miami, McDaniel has said that he has to be better at finding ways to motivate the players and better ways to discipline them in order to get through to them. He has said fining them doesn't have the intended result.
That is a big problem to overcome. McDaniel has to be tougher with the players and he may not be able to abruptly change his personality or his approach in one season.