The Miami Dolphins may not have won on Thursday Night Football, but they managed to do enough to keep Mike McDaniel safe for at least another week.
Before Thursday night's game against the Buffalo Bills, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Stephen Ross doesn't want to fire McDaniel. However, he conceded that if things get worse, he may not have a choice. Looking at the season ahead, it may not get worse until the season is actually over.
The Dolphins' 0-3 start isn't going to last long. Fans realize the chances of Miami turning around its season are slim, but this team proved it can still play when it wants to, and that could keep McDaniel around all season.
Mike McDaniel isn't likely to get fired until after the Dolphins' season is over
Sure, the Dolphins were unprepared for the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 and were embarrassed. Against the New England Patriots, they played a challenging game, but communication issues and a late-game interception kept Miami winless. However, that wasn't the case against the Bills.
Miami played hard on both sides of the ball, but once again came up short of pulling off a shocking win. From a special teams mistake and an unnecessary roughness call to Tua Tagovailoa's interception, everything fell apart in the fourth quarter.
McDaniel's team may have lost, but they showed fight. Enough fight to believe they can tick off a bunch of wins in the coming weeks. Here's their upcoming schedule:
- Week 4: vs. New York Jets
- Week 5: at Carolina Panthers
- Week 6: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
- Week 7: at Cleveland Browns
- Week 8: at Atlanta Falcons
If they play like they did against the Bills, the Dolphins should be able to beat four of the five teams they play before facing the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9. If Miami pulls that off, it will improve to 4-4. It's not pretty, but it's enough for Ross to keep faith in a turnaround.
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The Dolphins' second-half schedule is tough, but the one key game to keep an eye on is the Washington game in Spain. After the Ravens, Miami will face the Bills in Week 10. A 4-6 record heading overseas, and a loss to the Commanders might be enough to make a change during the team's bye week.
Thursday night likely saved McDaniel's job, and the fact that Anthony Weaver's defense hasn't been impressive is not entirely his fault. The best course of action may be to keep McDaniel, and frankly, that is what will likely happen. Ross doesn't like change, and doing so now isn't going to impact the outcome of the season.
Since Ross became the owner of the Dolphins, he has been through two interim head coaches — Todd Bowles in 2011 and Dan Campbell in 2015. Neither coach made a mark on the season, and neither was retained. It's unlikely he will go through it again this year, not unless everything falls apart.
Against the Bills, the Dolphins showed fight, and at this point, that is what Ross needed to see.