"Here's a question for Dolphins owner Stephen Ross: What are you hoping to achieve in 2026 if you bring back the duo of coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa? That's not asked in an angry or smart-alecky tone. It's asked in a neutral, businesslike tone. The Dolphins can't make ex-general manager Chris Grier the fall guy for everything that failed. The general manager's job is to collect talent, and Grier gave McDaniel the best talent this franchise had in two decades."
"McDaniel, who has a 31-30 (.508) regular-season record, wasn't able to win. Going a step further, Tua wasn't able to lead the team to significant wins. So I ask Ross: what would be the point, aside from finances, of bringing the McDaniel-Tua duo back? I was thinking about coach-QB duos the other day. It occurred to me that the McDaniel-Tua era, now in Year 4, resembles Minnesota's four-year stretch of coach Mike Zimmer and quarterback Kirk Cousins (2018-21) in its mediocrity."
"The Vikings went 33-31-1 (.515) in the regular season and made one playoff appearance. In other words, they had one good year, the 10-6 season of 2019, but otherwise were .500ish. It's kind of the same as the McDaniel-Tua Dolphins. Yes, they've made two playoff appearances. But the similarity is they've had one good year, that being the 11-6 season of 2023, and the others are .500ish."
The ownership decision about returning coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in 2026 raises questions about concrete goals beyond financial considerations. General manager Chris Grier assembled top-level roster talent, yet the McDaniel-Tua era has produced modest regular-season results and no playoff victories through four years. McDaniel's 31-30 regular-season record and Tua's inability to deliver significant postseason wins are central concerns. The McDaniel-Tua tenure resembles the Zimmer-Cousins Vikings stretch of mediocrity, which yielded one good season but overall .500ish records and ultimately led to coaching change. Returning the duo risks extending the playoff-win drought further.
Read at Sun Sentinel
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