Dolphins' Stephen Ross makes his decision on Mike McDaniel's future clear

The Miami Dolphins played a hard-fought football game in Week 16 against the San Francisco 49ers, and after the win, the team was riding that jubilation.

Head coach Mike McDaniel handed out game balls in the locker room. He mentioned Jason Sanders going 5-for-5 on field goals, and he noted De'Von Achane's 120 yards rushing and 70 yards receiving.

Then Dolphins owner Stephen Ross stepped in.

"We got one more game ball," Ross said. McDaniel quipped, "We do?" as he looked around the room. Ross threw the ball to his head coach as he said, "Mike McDaniel."

Stephen Ross leaves no doubt about Mike McDaniel's Dolphins future

This is how Ross puts to bed questions about a coach's standing. Ross has heard the outside noise about McDaniel's future and, in his own way, gave him the seal of approval for another season. The problem? Ross had done this before.

Ross has gone to lengths to show his support for his coaches. He once gave a game ball to Joe Philbin after a non-playoff-clinching win with a few weeks left in the season and did the same with Tony Sparano. Both were fired the following year.

He has also given coaches early contract extensions. While Sparano's extensions were more or less a form of apology for chasing Jim Harbaugh, his extension for Philbin came a season before he was fired.

On social media, fans had mixed feelings, with some saying, "I hate how much I love you," while others said, "Do these guys not realize they beat the 6-8 49ers?"

McDaniel is easy to like, but the negative comments are hard to overlook, and Ross clearly let the emotions get the best of him. The Dolphins didn't clinch a playoff berth and are still not at .500, making this a little more awkward than Ross had intended.

Regardless, Ross, in his own way, showed McDaniel that he has his support at least through next season, and with that vote of confidence, he probably will keep Chris Grier another year as well.

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