Mike McDaniel era finally ends as Dolphins move on after agonizing delay

The Mike McDaniel came to an unceremonious end with the Miami Dolphins several days after the team's Week 18 loss to the Patriots. Despite prior speculation that his job was safe, it started to change as the Dolphins continued to lose.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on Thursday that owner Stephen Ross decided to fire McDaniel after The move may not have been 100% expected, but it shouldn't be surprising either. His time with the Dolphins was as inconsistent as the games they won and lost. His play calling, at times on a genius level, often left fans questioning what he was doing.

McDaniel entered the season as a coach on the hot seat, but a mid-season win streak quelled most of that thinking. Throughout the season, Stephen Ross was reportedly all-in on his return.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross had little choice but to move on from Mike McDaniel

Turnover for the sake of making changes never works. The Dolphins know this all too well. During the Joe Robbie ownership era, only two head coaches were on the sideline: George Wilson and Don Shula.

Wayne Huizenga had the benefit of Shula, but then went through Jimmy Johnson, Dave Wannstedt, Nick Saban, Cam Cameron, and finally Tony Sparano when he hired Bill Parcells to run his football operations.

It hasn't been much better for Ross. Since purchasing the majority control of the team in 2009, Ross has gone through Sparano, Joe Philbin, Adam Gase, Brian Flores, and McDaniel. He will hire his fifth head coach in 16 years by the end of February at the latest.

McDaniel's time with Miami wasn't horribly bad despite how it ended. The biggest issues were the fact that he was unable to learn from his own mistakes, something he said aggravates him about players who don't learn from theirs.

Despite only four seasons with Miami, McDaniel will leave the team as the 4th highest-winning coach in team history, having surpassed Sparano this season.

Dolphins fans are not confident in Ross or the organization to find a replacement. McDaniel was the only coach hired by Ross who had a better than or equal to .500 record.

McDaniel isn't expected to be out of work long. Some believe he will get interviews during this year's head coaching cycle, but the chances of him landing another head coaching job so quickly are unlikely. He will, however, have OC opportunities for several teams this offseason.