Change at the top kept rolling in Miami even after the cathartic win over Buffalo. The team dismissed co-directors of player personnel Adam Engroff and Anthony Hunt the morning after the upset, reshaping a department that had spanned multiple regimes.
Trade chatter around Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane bubbled in the lead-up, which irked Mike McDaniel, but the head coach reiterated both stars belong in Miami as the Dolphins try to turn one big Sunday into a late-season push.
HC Mike McDaniel then pulled back the curtain on a different kind of loyalty, crediting Dan Quinn for helping save his life and career.
“Dan holds a special place in my heart. He was there at ground zero when I became sober and supported me and gave me the opportunity to continue what I love to do. So for that, I’ll be forever indebted to him,” McDaniel said in a video from his news conference that Jordan Schultz posted on Twitter.
#Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel on what Dan Quinn has meant to his life and career:
“Dan holds a special place in my heart. He was there at ground zero when I became sober and supported me and gave me the opportunity to continue what I love to do. So for that, I’ll be forever… pic.twitter.com/7nYjgXNwIU
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) November 12, 2025
The admission reframed the week for the locker room, underscoring why McDaniel is so quick to defend his players publicly and why relationships still matter in a league obsessed with transactions.
From a football standpoint, the Bills' win finally matched the rhetoric with results. The defense, which has worn its fair share of criticism, tackled cleanly, limited run explosives, and forced Josh Allen into high-degree throws. That complementary template is the one piece Miami can replicate weekly, regardless of who fills the empty offices upstairs.
Personnel turnover does mean new eyes on the roster and the draft board, and that will matter in the spring. In the short term, continuity on the headset matters more. Keep the operation tidy, keep Tua on schedule, and keep the defense out of sudden-change hell.
There was a lighter-but-loud subplot, too. Tyreek Hill reacted to a viral photo that appeared to show McDaniel popping into a Buffalo-friendly bar, a wink at a fan base Miami just outplayed.
Whether the picture was truly McDaniel or not, the vibe made sense after a week of noise. The defense stood up, the offense finished drives, and the head coach, newly candid about the man who once stood by him, let the football do most of the talking.
