The Miami Dolphins in the Mike McDaniel era are the epitomization of what an old-time fan might consider a "soft" team. They don't tackle well, play terribly in cold weather, and struggle at the line of scrimmage against worse opponents. These trademarks of both McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa put a hard ceiling on this team's potential.
Miami's Week 7 duel against the Cleveland Browns is the epitomization of all of these traits in the worst way, as heavy rain and wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour led to a heavy dose of Quinshon Judkins on the ground. With two first-half touchdowns and Tagovailoa's passes dying in the wind, Cleveland was bullying Miami.
Things were made even worse early in the second half. Tagovailoa, who has completed just five passes until that point, threw a pick-six that, for all intents and purposes, put this game out of reach at 24-6. Losing to a one-win Cleveland team in this manner is the epitome of embarrassment.
McDaniel was on shaky ground already, but this performance against a coach in Kevin Stefanski that is also on the hot seat might be all ownership needs to see. This style of football, especially in cold weather, is not going to win.
Dolphins' struggles in cold weather under Mike McDaniel show up in pitiful game vs. Browns
Tagovailoa's historic struggles in cold weather look even worse in this game, as he is losing to another diminutive left-handed quarterback from Hawaii in Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel isn't being asked to do much, but he is still piloting this Browns offense well.
Miami's defense was facing a team that hadn't scored more than 17 points in any game all season long, and the inclement weather made it so that the offense would revolve almost entirely around Judkins. Even knowing that before going into the game, this defense looked utterly helpless.
Now that the seal on firing head coaches has been broken with the Tennessee Titans choosing to part ways with head coach Brian Callahan, the idea of moving off McDaniel amid the team's 1-5 start to the season and pathetic capitulation against an inferior opponent may be well-received by the fanbase.
Miami can lose, but they can't look as inept as they have for most of this game and still expect McDaniel to be the guy who is going to get this team turned around. A bad loss against Cleveland might be the final straw that breaks the camel's back and forces a regime change.