For Miami Dolphins fans, Mike McDaniel embodied the kid who grew up to chase his NFL dream, knowing he would never play a single practice snap at this level. He, as I have said before, is all of us.
Liking McDaniel doesn't take away from the fact that he isn't a good head coach. In fact, he is that first-round draft pick who shows flashes of what he can become, but never finds the consistency to actually reach his potential.
Darren Waller was on the Glory Daze podcast with Johnny Manziel and spoke about his final meeting with the former Dolphins HC, right before he was fired. The bombshell was significant, but there was more in that segment that many fans have glossed over.
Mike McDaniel wanted to bring back Darren Waller with the Miami Dolphins in 2026 is evidence that he doesn't get it
Waller said that McDaniel told him he wanted him back next year. McDaniel isn't the type of coach who would lie to a player, even in an exit interview. Chances are, McDaniel wanted him back, and that is part of a larger problem.
🎥 Darren Waller reveals Stephen Ross walked into his exit meeting with Mike McDaniel to fire McDaniel: "I was at the scene of the crime... Stephen Ross just standing there just looking at me." (@glorydazepod) #PhinsUp pic.twitter.com/LbbzrTld3y
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) January 15, 2026
If there is one thing many fans, and some in the media, have said over the last four years, it's that McDaniel wants to be friends with his players. It is true to a large degree. When he arrived in Miami, he wanted to hang out with them. At times away from the game.
McDaniel also didn't hold his players accountable either. He let his captains do that. The problem? The head coach needed to as well. It wasn't until Miami's losing stretch continued and the pressure of keeping his job percolated into his weekly interviews.
McDaniel spent the entire 2025 season making excuses as to why Waller wasn't playing. Why was he not activated off the IR, or why was he not practicing? When he was in the game, he made an impact, at least in the first games. Waller put up four touchdowns in his first three games with Miami in 2025, then three straight games with only three catches and no scores.
Against the Steelers on MNF, Waller had his best statistical game of the season. Seven catches, 66 yards, and two scores. The problem? Most of his yards and both of his scores came later in the 4th quarter with Miami down 28-3.
Waller was a good football player, but he is older and less consistent now. The fact that McDaniel would want him back, given the injury concerns alone, reminds us that McDaniel isn't ready to be the kind of head coach that can separate himself from his affliction for a player. It's why he will make a great OC, the hard work will be handled by someone else.
McDaniel is gone, and maybe he gets a new HC job this cycle. The Waller interview may play out as a "poor Mike McDaniel" segment, but in reality, it also highlights one of the reasons he needed to be fired.