Mike McDaniel is coaching for his NFL coaching career. Every win puts him a little closer to making the right impression on the Miami Dolphins owner. By now, everyone knows that Stephen Ross only wants a small reason to keep him around.
In order for McDaniel to win games, save his job, and continue to build his football team, he needs Tua Tagovailoa to step up and play like an NFL quarterback. He may be losing his patience. McDaniel is the last guy who will throw a player under the bus, but Tagovailoa needs to realize his head coach isn't going to stay quiet for long.
After another poor showing in Week 13, Tagovailoa managed to notch another win, but it wasn't enough to impress his coach. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
Mike McDaniel said the Dolphins are going to need to be successful in the passing game
McDaniel stepped around Tagovailoa's comments about players not showing up to "player-only" meetings. He benched him after a horrid interception earlier in the season. He has praised his desire to get better and has mentioned that he is trying to become a leader. On Sunday, he made another indirect statement that is not only loud but a clear message to his quarterback.
"At some point, we are going to have to execute in the near future because in the NFL, you have success in a phase or success in running the ball, and people will over-commit, and eventually you will need to pass to win. I think that will be a big thing that we will be working on this week. "Mike McDaniel
No, McDaniel didn't mention Tagovailoa by name, but it can't be clearer. The passing game is not very good right now, and the only one to blame is the quarterback. Tagovailoa missed several passes in the win over the Saints. Open players were left trying to adjust to his throws.
A quarterback who has been widely applauded for his consistency and accuracy has started to lose both. The Dolphins can't survive if their quarterback loses either one, let alone both. His accuracy was elite, but the last month has been pedestrian, and his coach seems to be growing tired of it. If McDaniel is kept on beyond this season, he may very well want to move on from Tua to help free himself of the QB's limitations.