Mike McDaniel was the Miami Dolphins' most successful head coach since Dave Wannstedt from 2000–2004. If we can all agree that winning football games is the No. 1 objective of any NFL head coach, McDaniel's .515 winning percentage tops all six of his predecessors. His two playoff appearances also led the group. These are facts that cannot be toyed with or manipulated to make a point.
Hopefully we can all also agree that what McDaniel accomplished in south Florida wasn't good enough. Opinions were mixed on moving on, but it was McDaniel himself who said big changes were on the way should he retain his job. He was never given the opportunity to follow through on that, however.
McDaniel almost instantly became one of the most sought-after candidates on the market, turning down an interview for the head role in both Cleveland and Buffalo (one last solid for the Dolphins' faithful), while taking interviews for the Baltimore, Tennessee, Atlanta, and Las Vegas openings. There was also a clamoring for his services from multiple playoff teams seeking offensive coordinators, including the Chargers, Lions, and Eagles.
He ultimately landed with the Los Angeles Chargers and will now work to propel another 2020 draft pick to his supposed ceiling in Justin Herbert. Ironically, it is Herbert who became an unofficial rival of the Miami Dolphins' fanbase due to the incessant comparisons between him and the signal-caller selected one spot before him, Tua Tagovailoa.
With how things ultimately shook out in 2025, the debate's over. Whether Herbert, Jordan Love, or Jalen Hurts should've been the pick is water under the bridge at this point. The painful reality for all Dolphins fans is that Tua Tagovailoa's athletic abilities fell off a cliff at the ripe old age of... 27. Fortune did not favor the brave this time.
Mike McDaniel's greatest ability ended up dooming his tenure with the Miami Dolphins
When Los Angeles Chargers GM Joe Hortiz met with ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, he made some interesting comments that, when looked at through aqua-tinted lenses, seem to tell the story of how Mike McDaniel was a victim of his own success.
""Through the interview process in our OC search, Mike talked about, this is why we did this in Miami because this is the personnel we had,” Hortiz said. “Mike is a coach that will literally create his scheme, create his offense based on the players we have. And it’s not, you go out and find this specific player. His flexibility as an offensive coordinator and play-caller is one of the things that makes him great. And just knowing the offense, I think Justin [Herbert]’s going to take off in it.""Joe Hortiz
The casual reference to the personnel he had seems to point in one direction. This is where the uncomfortable truth comes out. Mike McDaniel was so adept at making things work with the NFL-head-coach version of having your hands tied behind your back at the quarterback position that when Tua's already questionable NFL traits regressed, McDaniel had backed himself into a corner.
Think about it. What NFL offensive coordinator can survive, let alone thrive, with a quarterback who has a weak arm (by NFL standards) and next to zero scrambling ability? As Xavien Howard said after Week 1, it was panic mode when the first read wasn't there for the Dolphins' QB. If McDaniel couldn't draw something up that could be completed immediately, the play was dead in the water. Did I mention that the same quarterback has an extremely hard time staying healthy, making every play call feel like Russian roulette? What a nightmare.
The man behind the controls for Tua Tagovailoa's league-leading passing season, the same guy who made it possible for Tua to sign a $212 million contract, was ultimately the one left holding the bag for hitching his wagon to a horse that wouldn't go. It's an unfortunate ending to what started so promisingly.
It shouldn't surprise Dolphins fans if the Chargers' offense reaches new heights this season. For the first time in his career, Mike McDaniel will have a quarterback who doesn't have severe limitations in his game.
It remains unclear whether McDaniel can fix Herbert's penchant for shrinking in the biggest moments, though. So in a way, Dolphins fans can cope by saying he just upgraded from Tua Tagovailoa to Ryan Tannehill. That's what we'll keep telling ourselves.