Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel could be on the hot seat per Craig Carton

At the start of the 2024 season, it’s safe to say that Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is not on the hot seat. If someone asked me how hot the seat is for McDaniel right now. I’d answer, “What’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold!”

Nevertheless, head coaches are not impervious to getting the boot no matter how great they’ve been. Just ask Bill Belichick. When we look at Mike McDaniel, his success, no matter how unfair, is measured against former head coach Brian Flores.

Flores, as we know, was a great defensive coach who got his head coaching start in the “Tank for Tua” year and then proceeded to have two solid seasons record-wise. The offense was abysmal, and the coaching staff was mediocre at best. The defense carried the team under his close watch, along with some flashes from young Tua Tagovailoa.

Flores, however, made no friends with the front office and ultimately got the boot due to a power struggle with general manager Chris Grier. Although I agree with the decision, it is understandable to argue that Flores’s firing was a bit premature due to the results on the field.

In the NFL, winning is everything, and outside of the tank year, his record was 19-14. Averaged out, that’s 9-7 or 10-6 every year. Fast forward to 2024, current head coach Mike McDaniel is 20-14 and 0-2 in the playoffs. One of those losses had Skylar Thompson at quarterback, and the other was against the dynasty of this generation in Kansas City in the coldest game I’ve ever witnessed.

Most reasonable fans would chalk both of those losses to bad luck and injuries, but how long do you give Mike McDaniel before playoff success is the new standard to keeping your job similar to what the Dallas Cowboys are going through right now with their head coach Mike McCarthy.

FS1’s Craig Carton alluded to this the other day on his show, and it’s a worthy discussion because head coaches don’t get forever and a day to win playoff games.

Relationships are Key

As I answered earlier, Mike McDaniel’s seat is ice cold as of now, and it’s more than just his record as to why. McDaniel has a great relationship with the front office and is more than happy with the collaborative approach Grier has cultivated in Miami.

Grier has always listened to his head coach about personnel, even Brian Flores, who was aiming to become the next Bill Belichick, being coach and GM, with Grier eventually being the odd man out. McDaniel does not have those aspirations, and his relationship with Grier is simpatico. It’s easy to give a coach a longer leash because you like him, and what’s not to like about Mike McDaniel? I’ll wait.

Not only does McDaniel have an extremely positive relationship with the front office, he has a similar connection with the media.

He stays longer than expected, answering all questions honestly and openly from what I’ve seen. He consistently makes the media laugh and can switch between playful and serious when the time calls. There aren’t many coaches that have the same type of relationship with the media that he does.

Just like it’s hard to fire a guy you like, it’s just as hard to write poorly about someone you like. I’ve never even met the guy, and it’s hard for me to write anything bad about him, even if it’s deserved.

You have to stay unbiased and criticize bad decision-making, but you subconsciously sugarcoat it. It may seem like a homer take, but relationships are key in the brutal business of the NFL.

Selling Tickets Secures Jobs

On top of McDaniel’s likable personality, he’s revolutionized the Miami Dolphins offense, and it’s become an offense that teams will emulate. The way he exploits weaknesses in defenses with pre-snap motion is something the NFL has never seen. He’s made it so his star receivers get free releases off the line, and leads to home-run plays Dolphins fans have enjoyed on Sundays for the last two years.

The offensive philosophy doesn’t hold up all of the time, as we’ve seen in cold-weather games late in the year, but the ability to generate those home-run plays at any point puts fans in the stands and keeps them at the edge of their seat.

2023 was the second year of the McDaniel offense, and it’s been worth the price of admission. Here’s where the Dolphins ranked per Omar Kelly:

“Dolphins finished the 2023 season ranked first in the NFL in offensive yards (401.3) per game, sixth in rushing yards (135.8), first in yards per carry (5.1), second in red zone efficiency (65.5%), and second in scoring offense (29.2 ppg).”

When you take the totality of the offense generated in Mike McDaniel’s first two seasons, paired with the relationships he’s developed with the front office and media, it’s hard to think he’s on any sort of hot seat.

That’s even with some of the gaffs he’s had with third and short play calling, coaching hires, or plays challenged. That gets swept under the rug of the growing pains of a new head coach, but no coach gets an ever-extending leash in the NFL, especially with no playoff wins. That’s just the nature of the business.

Right now, that seat is cold, but if the Dolphins don’t win a playoff game again this year, that seat will heat up faster than a propane grill on the fourth of July. Like they say, all is fair in love and football.

Let us know in the comments how hot the seat could be for Mike McDaniel if the Dolphins don’t win a playoff game this year.