Is it almost sundown in the Sunshine State for Mike McDaniel?
Recent rumors suggest that the Miami Dolphins head coach’s seat is warming, but maybe not burning hot just yet. The 31-21 “Thursday Night Football” loss to the Buffalo Bills, though, moved the hands of the Miami doomsday clock closer to midnight.
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The Dolphins are now 0-3 on the 2025 season. With back-to-back losses in the AFC East, they’re slipping further from Super Bowl hopes that were pervasive earlier in McDaniel’s tenure.
Thursday night may have been a small step forward for the Dolphins, with a relatively competitive game with the AFC East leaders. Still, there are no moral victories in the NFL.
So, what’s the outlook for the Dolphins and Mike McDaniel after the “TNF” loss? Here’s how some of USA TODAY Sports’ NFL experts feel.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Dan Marino in action against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Pitt Stadium on Nov. 28, 1981. Marino would go on to a hall of fame career in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Dan Marino in action against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Pitt Stadium on Nov. 28, 1981. Marino would go on to a hall of fame career in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Dan Marino in a candid portrait during the 1982 season while at Pittsburgh.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Dan Marino carries the ball against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Pitt Stadium on Oct. 2, 1982.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino in action against the New England Patriots at Foxboro Stadium on Nov. 13, 1983. The Dolphins selected Marino with the No. 27 overall pick in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino in action against the New England Patriots at Foxboro Stadium on Nov. 13, 1983. Marino played 17 seasons in the NFL, all with the Dolphins.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula talks with quarterback Dan Marino during July training camp before the 1984 NFL season. Marino would go on to win the 1984 NFL MVP award.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino during July 1984 training camp at St. Thomas University. Marino would go on to win the 1984 NFL MVP award after posting career-highs of 48 touchdowns and 5,084 yards passing.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino competes against the Seattle Seahawks during the 1984 AFC Divisional Playoff game at the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29, 1984.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterbacks Dan Marino, Don Strock and coach Don Shula against the Seattle Seahawks during the 1984 AFC Divisional Playoff game at the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29, 1984.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino throws the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium on Jan. 20, 1985. The 49ers defeated the Dolphins, 38-16.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino on the field against the Cleveland Browns during the 1985 AFC Divisional Playoff Game at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 4, 1986. The Dolphins won 24-21.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
New England Patriots defensive end Smiley Creswell hits Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino in the AFC Championship Game at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 12, 1986. The Patriots defeated the Dolphins 31-14.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
New York Jets defensive end Marty Lyons tackles Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino at Giants Stadium on Sept. 21, 1986.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino walks a picket line during the 1987 NFL players strike outside Joe Robbie Stadium on Oct. 11, 1987, prior to a game in which the NFL used replacement players.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and Claire Marino walk the picket line outside Dolphins Stadium before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 11, 1987.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa Stadium on Oct. 30, 1988.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and Richmond Webb in action against the San Diego Chargers at Jack Murphy Stadium on Dec. 15, 1991.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino leave the field after the Dolphins defeated the Bills 37-10 at Rich Stadium on Oct. 4, 1992.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and receiver Fred Banks celebrate a touchdown against the Houston Oilers at Joe Robbie Stadium on Nov. 22, 1992.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Neil Smith hits Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino in the 1994 AFC wild-card playoff game at Joe Robbie Stadium on Dec. 31, 1994. The Dolphins defeated the Chiefs, 27-17.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino walks on the field with New York Jets quarterback Neil O’Donnell at Pro Player Stadium on Sept. 15, 1996.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino in action against the New York Jets at Pro Player Stadium on Nov. 9, 1997.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino pose for a photo during a flag football legends game during 2005 Pro Bowl week in Honolulu on Feb. 11, 2005.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and his son Dan pose with his bust after his enshrinement to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Fawcett Stadium on Aug. 7, 2005.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino throws a pass to former teammate Mark Clayton at the end of his speech after his enshrinement to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Fawcett Stadium on Aug. 7, 2005.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino throws the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, on March 9, 2013.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Dan Marino throws out a ceremonial first pitch before the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on Aug. 29, 2013.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Dan Marino is interviewed on radio row in preparation for Super Bowl XLVIII at the Sheraton Times Square on Jan. 29, 2014.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Dan Marino throws out the first pitch during MLB Opening Day between the Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies at Marlins Park on March 31, 2014, in Miami.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Former NFL quarterback Dan Marino, NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and NBA player Kevin Durant pose for the award for Best Record Breaker at the 2014 ESPY Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 16, 2014, in Los Angeles.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Dan Marino and Neil Reynolds at NFL on Regent Street on Sept. 27, 2014, in advance of the International Series game between the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders in London.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross with Don Shula and Dan Marino before a game at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Dec. 21, 2014.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Tom Brady of the New England Patriots talks with former Miami Dolphins quarterbacks Bob Griese and Dan Marino on the field before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on Jan. 3, 2016, in Miami Gardens, Florida.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre chats with former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Tom Benson Stadium on Aug. 6, 2016.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Marino and Jim Kelly talk before the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins Dec. 24, 2016, in Orchard Park, New York. Marino and Kelly were both selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal and former NFL player Dan Marino appear at the Fanatics Super Bowl Party on Feb. 3, 2018, in Minneapolis.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Philip Rivers of the Los Angeles Chargers greets Dan Marino on the sideline prior to the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 29, 2019, in Miami.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Dan Marino bangs the drum prior to the NHL game between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final at FLA Live Arena on June 8, 2023, in Sunrise, Florida.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino hugs wide receiver Tyreek Hill after the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Dec. 29, 2024.
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Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins legend, Hall of Fame quarterback
Former NFL player Dan Marino and the Miami Marlins mascot look on before a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on MLB Opening Day at loanDepot park on March 27, 2025, in Miami.
Dolphins still have some fight left
The Bills are far and away the best team in the AFC East. They are 3-0 for the second straight year and have won two consecutive games within the division. Josh Allen, James Cook and Buffalo’s offense is tough to stop. As long as the defense continues to be above average, the Bills will be a Super Bowl contender.
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The Dolphins are on the opposite end of the spectrum. At 0-3, the Dolphins find themselves in an early hole that’s going to be tough to overcome. Tua Tagovailoa was very conservative with the football and continues to make untimely mistakes. He had a bad interception late in the fourth quarter that was the game’s pivotal play.
The good news is Mike McDaniel’s team fought hard in Buffalo despite questions about the head coach’s job status. It’s easy for a team to check out when a coach is on the hot seat, but the Dolphins showed Thursday night that they still have some fight left. – Tyler Dragon, NFL insider
Mike McDaniel’s seat cooling?
The Bills didn’t look their best and it didn’t matter. They remain one of the teams to beat in the AFC, but the story is about the team in South Beach. With McDaniel’s seat seemingly on fire heading into Thursday night, the Dolphins showed plenty of fight and even had a chance to pull off the upset – despite a deeply flawed roster that’s also littered with injuries. If anything, this game likely cooled McDaniel’s seat for the time being as Miami’s real issues came to light. – Nick Brinkerhoff, NFL writer
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Dolphins still heading in the wrong direction
The Dolphins displayed great effort for their head coach, demonstrating that he still has support in the locker room, especially with impressive touchdown drives at the start and end of the first half. However, Buffalo is simply too strong. Miami’s defense allowed 33 points to the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots in its first two games so tonight was a slight improvement. The Dolphins don’t stand a chance against teams with a competent offense right now. Miami played hard but these teams are headed in opposite directions. – Tom Viera, NFL writer/editor
No moral victories for Miami
Sure, Dolphins fans can look at the scoreboard and say, “Well, they didn’t get blown out!” The scoreboard has a more important figure, though: 0-3. The Dolphins entered the 2025 season with boom-or-bust expectations, and through three games, Miami’s season is firmly in the “bust” section. Yeah, there’s plenty of season left, but only six teams in NFL history have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Don’t count Miami as the next – it simply doesn’t have enough, especially with questions being asked about the job security of Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa’s standing as a franchise quarterback. – Joe Rivera, NFL editor
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Instant reactions to the Dolphins’ loss to the Bills