Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has made it known that he wants a reason to keep Mike McDaniel as the head coach of the team in 2026.
It would make some sense, but not for the financial ramifications of his own wallet. Ross has to decide on McDaniel and interim general manager Champ Kelly's future, but they also have to realize that the quarterback is a setback.
McDaniel can't win with Tua Tagovailoa, and Monday's loss proved that. When the Dolphins needed to get down the field quickly, the Miami quarterback buckled. The problem? Once a team becomes one-dimensional, defenses are no longer stressed.
For McDaniel, that is the bigger problem. His rushing attack can work well with a competent passing attack, but he doesn't have that. Once Tagovailoa threw his first interception of the game, he was in his own head the rest of it.
Miami Dolphins are weeks away from possibly making franchise-changing decisions
Keeping McDaniel as the head coach may not be the worst thing Ross could do, but if he does, he can't play this game a year from now.
McDaniel's career is currently tied to the quarterback, and while you can fire the head coach and the general manager, you can't simply do the same with the quarterback.
The problem, however, is that keeping Tagovailoa will also put pressure on another GM and head coach.
No NFL team is going to trade for him, the Dolphins can't cut him, it's unfair to saddle McDaniel with him, and the one person responsible for him being on the roster to begin with, along with the big contract, is no longer with the team.
Ross may run it back for one more year, but if he is smart, the move that needs to be made is deciding first on what he will do with the GM spot. Then he needs to let that person decide what to do with the coach and quarterback. The Dolphins will not win consistently like this.
If Miami wants to keep McDaniel, they have to find another quarterback that he can rely on. Otherwise, they will be asking the same questions after the 2026 season.