{"id":658109,"date":"2026-01-06T09:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T09:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/658109\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T09:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T09:53:12","slug":"dolphins-message-to-gm-candidates-raises-concern-about-mike-mcdaniel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/658109\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolphins\u2019 message to GM candidates raises concern about Mike McDaniel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dolphins\u2019 message to GM candidates raises concern about Mike McDaniel<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Miami Dolphins<\/a> wrapped up the 2025 NFL regular season with more questions than answers, even as head coach Mike McDaniel remains in place heading into the offseason.<\/p>\n

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McDaniel survived the league\u2019s dreaded Black Monday<\/a>, but that alone hasn\u2019t quieted speculation about his future. The Dolphins are now navigating an offseason without a general manager, and the timing of that search has only added to the uncertainty surrounding the coaching staff.<\/p>\n

That uncertainty was highlighted this week by longtime Dolphins reporter Barry Jackson, who shed light on what potential front-office candidates are \u2014 and aren\u2019t \u2014 being told.<\/p>\n

\u201cPer source with direct knowledge, multiple Dolphins\u2019 GM candidates have NOT been told if McDaniel is returning,\u201d Jackson posted on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The report lands after a season in which McDaniel spent much of the year on the hot seat. Miami opened the regular season 1-6, a brutal start that immediately placed the head coach under scrutiny. While the Dolphins managed to rally by winning five of their next six games, the late surge proved unsustainable.<\/p>\n

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Miami closed the season by losing three of its final four games, finishing 7-10. It marked McDaniel\u2019s second losing season in four years and his worst record to date. His overall mark now sits at 35-33 with two playoff appearances \u2014 respectable, but increasingly underwhelming given expectations.<\/p>\n

One of the most telling moments came during that final stretch, when the Dolphins fell 28-15 to the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>. Shortly after, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched, a move that reflected the organization\u2019s growing frustration and lack of direction as the season slipped away.<\/p>\n

The instability extends beyond the sideline. On October 31, Miami parted ways with general manager Chris Grier. According to ESPN<\/a>, the Dolphins labeled the move a mutual decision less than 24 hours after a 28-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> dropped the team to 2-7.<\/p>\n

McDaniel may still be standing now, but Jackson\u2019s report suggests his future could be intertwined with who ultimately takes over the Dolphins\u2019 front office. For a coach who survived the season, the offseason may prove even more revealing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dolphins\u2019 message to GM candidates raises concern about Mike McDaniel originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[66241,117,16464,217,7,216,251,2087,4836,6,57,3235,3452],"class_list":["post-658109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami-dolphins","tag-2025-nfl-regular-season","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-barry-jackson","tag-dolphins","tag-football","tag-miami","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-miamidolphins","tag-mike-mcdaniel","tag-nfl","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-the-dolphins","tag-tua-tagovailoa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115847548521175107","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}