Mike McDaniel’s future in Miami looked bleak a few weeks ago, but a blowout win over the Bills and a gritty overtime victory against the Commanders have at least reopened the conversation. Owner Stephen Ross is known to still believe in McDaniel’s offensive mind and would prefer continuity if the locker room keeps responding and results keep trending up.
The equation is simple enough: if the Dolphins keep winning and look competitive, there is a realistic path for McDaniel to remain on the sideline in 2026.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler framed it as a “plausible scenario” rather than the most likely one. He noted that the Dolphins are still playing hard for McDaniel instead of tuning him out, which is often the beginning of the end for a coach.
From the league’s point of view, if a team wants an offensive-minded hire, McDaniel still stacks up favorably against much of this year’s candidate pool. That is why, even with the possibility of a full reset in Miami, he has made the decision far less straightforward than it looked at 2-6.
Dan Graziano added important context by pointing out that McDaniel has already authored a similar turnaround. Last season, Miami also crawled out of a 2-6 hole by winning six of eight to get back into the playoff picture.
For ownership, that matters: it shows he can hold together a locker room when things are ugly, not just when the offense is flying and everyone is happy. That resilience is a key part of the case in his favor, even if it does not guarantee anything in January.
Of course, the margin for error is tiny. Miami is 4-7, the schedule still has landmines, and another spiral would likely end the debate quickly. But as long as the Dolphins stay competitive, McDaniel continues to get buy-in, and the offense looks like it has a direction, the “clean house and start over” scenario stops being automatic and turns into a choice Ross actually has to think about.
