Mike McDaniel is one win away from jumping ahead of Nick Saban in Miami Dolphins win history
Where will Mike McDaniel's career land when all is said and done with the Miami Dolphins? It might be fun to speculate but he continues to climb the ranks.
By Brian Miller
Mike McDaniel is doing something that no other head coach has ever done in the history of the Miami Dolphins. He is winning while having fun doing it.
McDaniel is the exact opposite of Don Shula, the NFL's best head coach in history (his record proves it). He isn't a disciplinarian and he isn't demanding. He holds his players accountable but makes his players hold themselves accountable. He treats them like men.
Clearly, the McDaniel era is already head and shoulders above the previous Brian Flores years but where does he rank right now in terms of wins and losses as he hits the halfway point of his second season?
McDaniel in a year and a half has already eclipsed six former Dolphins head coaches. Cam Cameron has been eclipsed by everyone including all of the interim HCs, Todd Bowles, Jim Bates, and Dan Campbell. He has also passed the Dolphins' first franchise HC, George Wilson.
Right now, McDaniel needs one more victory to start clearing out some of the post-Shula HCs.
Next up? Nick Saban. In Saban's two years with the Dolphins, he managed only 15 career wins. McDaniel has 15 wins in 25 games compared to Saban's 15 wins in 32 games.
Wilson also won 15 games in his career with the Dolphins but he also lost 39 games. Saban at least only lost 17 albeit in fewer seasons.
Who will McDaniel eclipse next? Here is a look at the coaches ahead of him in Miami Dolphins history.
Coach | Games | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
Mike McDaniel | 25 | 15 | 10 |
Adam Gase | 48 | 23 | 25 |
Joe Philbin | 52 | 24 | 28 |
Brian Flores | 49 | 24 | 25 |
Tony Sparano | 61 | 29 | 32 |
Jimmy Johnson | 64 | 36 | 28 |
Dave Wannstedt | 73 | 42 | 31 |
Don Shula | 392 | 257 | 133 |
Realistically, if the Miami Dolphins continue to play at their current level, there is no reason to believe that McDaniel won't pass every head coach up to Jimmy Johnson by the end of next season. McDaniel would need 14 wins combined over the next 24 games. To pass Johnson, he would need 21 games and that should come sometime during the 2025 season but he could mathematically pass him next year.
By the end of 2025, after having coached in 68 regular season games, McDaniel could also mathematically pass Dave Wannstedt for number two overall. He needs 27 more wins to take over the number 2 spot in Dolphins history.
A lot needs to go Miami's way and McDaniel would have to do what Miami head coaches have failed to do over the last two decades. He needs to remain the Dolphins head coach for more than a few years.
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