Report: Mike McDaniel to remain Dolphins head coach through the season after Chris Grier separation

The Miami Dolphins made their first chance amidst their start at 2-7 overall, with the franchise mutually parting ways with GM Chris Grier on Friday morning. However, nothing is reportedly imminent as far as a decision regarding their head coach in Mike McDaniel.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, McDaniel is not part of this morning’s move for Miami. He, per Schefter, will remain the Dolphins’ head coach for the remainder of this season.

“Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel will remain Miami’s head coach for the remainder of the season at least, per sources,” Schefter tweeted this morning.

This comes after Miami lost 28-6 to Baltimore at home last night on ‘Thursday Night Football.’ The Dolphins mustered just six points on a pair of first-half field goals, as they were shut out in the second half, which is even worse considering the state of the Ravens’ defense this season, as they’ve allowed 30 ppg. in their other seven games.

With that loss, Miami is off to an even worse start than it was a year ago. Then, the Dolphins opened at 2-6, with it being their worst start since their final season under Brian Flores in 2021.

That has Miami, albeit as the first game played in Week 9, with the second-worst record in the NFL behind a three-way tie for last with the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints. The defeat also dropped McDaniel to a record of 30-30 (.500) to this point of the fourth season in his tenure with the Dolphins. With the reactions by many of those at Hard Rock Stadium last night, it’s clear that McDaniel is definitely in a hot seat at this point, despite being seemingly likely to stay as head coach for at least two more months.

“I mean, personally, it’s, you know – you want to dictate terms, you want to fix stuff. And, yeah, it sucks. That sucks. All of that does,” McDaniel said postgame about the state of the Dolphins. “But, I think it’s a pretty consistent formula of, you know, fans enjoy winning. And so our expectations is that we have to do the work and do the right things for fans to enjoy the experience. And, unfortunately, we didn’t do that tonight, so we got to get back to work to give them something to cheer about.”

Speaking to the media this morning, McDaniel said his conversations with Stephen Ross have not changed to this point. However, Ross is making changes, with the decision this morning to move from their general manager in Grier.

McDaniel’s future remains uncertain, if not in doubt, at this point with this start to the season for the Dolphins. That said, in the present, it looks as though he’ll continue to be Miami’s head coach over its final eight games, with a decision, whatever it may be, more likely to come this offseason at this point in South Beach.