If the Miami Dolphins are going to succeed this season, it’ll come down to two people: Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa.
Ironically, those two could also be the reason for their downfall.
Confidence in the Dolphins heading into the 2025 season isn’t exactly soaring — at least not outside of Miami Gardens. With notable talent lost from last year’s roster and an underwhelming finish to the 2024 campaign, the pressure is rising in South Florida for McDaniel and Tagovailoa to finally deliver.
If they can’t, both could be gone by the end of the season.
“The Miami Dolphins feel like an organization that’s teetering with its current regime,” CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan wrote. “Mike McDaniel has one of the hottest seats in the NFL entering the 2025 season, and questions surrounding Tua Tagovailoa’s availability every week continue to fester. (Not to mention his play later in the season in colder weather.) All of this could come to a head as soon as this season, but what if the Dolphins brass decides to give this group one more season, especially if they tread water this year?”
Sullivan presents a scenario where, instead of moving on from both McDaniel and Tagovailoa immediately, the Dolphins wait until 2026 — setting themselves up to potentially draft Arch Manning.
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Manning’s grandfather, Archie, recently said he believes Arch will return to Texas next year rather than declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. But if Miami were to clean house, a new coach might want to bring in his own quarterback — and Arch could be a prime target.
“If they decided to move off of McDaniel at that juncture as well, the lure of getting Manning as your quarterback to develop would make the Dolphins arguably the most desirable job that cycle,” Sullivan added.
Financially, the Dolphins would also benefit. Tagovailoa has no guaranteed money in the final two years of his deal — 2027 and 2028 — meaning Miami could clear major cap space. According to Over the Cap, cutting ties would save them $36.6 million in 2027 and $57.4 million in 2028.