Was McDaniel an 'underrated' head coach?
Patrick Daugherty and Denny Carter react to the Dolphins firing Mike McDaniel, debating if he deserved it, detailing why he "can do a lot with good quarterback play" and sharing how he helped Tua Tagovailoa get paid.
Video Transcript
The NFL head coaching ranks got an eighth vacancy on Thursday.
Denny Carter, after the Dolphins left Mike McDaniel twisting in the wind for four days.
Um, he's out.
We don't know who's going to be in.
Four seasons for Mike McDaniel, quote-unquote, only 35-33.
A guy who took a lot of flak, you know.
Is he an offensive coordinator stuck in a head Coach's body type thing, Denny?
We kind of, at the end, thought he was maybe a bit underrated.
Do you agree with that?
Hmm.
What do you think Mike McDaniel's future is?
Like in the NFL?
I mean, no doubt things fell apart in 2025.
Internally, it seemed like, as a team, the Dolphins were not exactly getting along.
At the start of the season, I think we saw that with Tyreek Hill.
Most poignantly, but if you look at his resume, Mike McDaniel over those four seasons; it's not half bad.
From 2022 to 2024, so I'm cutting out '25 here, the Dolphins were eighth in offensive success rate and sixth in drop-back success rate.
I mean, look, he made Tua a legit starting quarterback.
And that's not easy to do with a guy who is so limited physically.
I think Mike McDaniel can do a lot with good quarterback play.
Of the eight head coaches fired this year, three could immediately get new jobs.
Kevin Stefanski, John Harbaugh, and I would throw Mike McDaniel into that group.
McDaniel and Harbaugh kind of thickening a crop that I did not think looked very good.
It's going to be a really, really fascinating coaching cycle this year.
