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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Miami Dolphins finished the 2025 NFL season 7–10, missing the playoffs for a second straight year after a campaign defined by a poor start (six losses in the first seven games), midseason roster upheaval, and growing public scrutiny of leadership and quarterback play.
That turbulence ultimately led to sweeping organizational change.
The Dolphins fired general manager Chris Grier on Oct. 31 and, on Thursday, dismissed head coach Mike McDaniel after four seasons, a 35–33 regular-season record, and two early playoff appearances followed by back-to-back underperformance.
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Ownership framed the move as a need for “comprehensive change” after the Dolphins regressed on both sides of the ball in 2025, despite having signed McDaniel to a three-year contract extension in August 2024 prior to the slide.
Shortly after the decision, former NFL safety and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark addressed the firing on "First Take," tying Miami’s current dysfunction to the franchise’s long-term investment in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
"Let's be real, we are here today with the Miami Dolphins as an organization because they drafted Tua Tagovailoa. Not because Tua Tagovailoa isn't talented. Not because he didn't deserve to be drafted there, but because of the injuries, because of some of what we've seen since he got his money," Clark said.
"You brought in Mike McDaniel, somebody who would empower him, somebody who would put him in the best place to succeed. And now you're having people saying he's not a leader of men, where the only reason Tua Tagovailoa became who he became was because of him."
"Now that Tua Tagovailoa is no longer a starting-caliber quarterback, because the injuries have taken their toll, and because physically he can no longer do it at a high level, that's why Mike McDaniel is out. Not because he's not a good leader of men, not because he's not a good football coach, but because he was tied to a quarterback that can no longer do it."
In 14 appearances during the 2025 season, Tagovailoa completed 260 of 384 passes (67.7%) for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and a career-high 15 interceptions, posting an 88.5 passer rating, his lowest mark since his rookie 2020 campaign.
The season represented a clear decline from his 2023 peak, when he threw for 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns on 69.3% passing, leading Miami to an 11–6 record and earning Pro Bowl honors in McDaniel’s second year as head coach.
Late in the 2025 season, Tagovailoa was benched, with rookie Quinn Ewers starting in his place down the stretch, and he later publicly signaled openness to a fresh start elsewhere.
Complicating matters, Tagovailoa signed a four-year extension in July 2024 worth $212.4 million, including up to $167.2 million guaranteed and an average annual value of $53.1 million, financial commitments that significantly limit Miami’s flexibility.
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Tagovailoa’s medical history has also been central to the debate, including a season-ending dislocated hip and pelvic fracture suffered at Alabama in 2019, along with multiple diagnosed concussions and head-injury episodes during his NFL career, most notably between 2022 and 2024.
Analysts and team officials have openly discussed how those injuries, and the cumulative recovery process, may have affected his mobility, decision-making, and overall availability, factors frequently cited as context for both his on-field struggles and the organization’s approach to managing him.
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