The insiders can’t quite decide what’s real and what isn’t amid the Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel rumors but the latest update should have your attention

To quote the great Lee Corso: “NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND!”

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer

Dec 22, 2025 4:59 PM EST

The momentum this weekend appeared to be pushing the Miami Dolphins towards a consensus outcome for this season. Anywhere you looked or read, the intel was suggesting that the Dolphins were going to be walking away from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but that head coach Mike McDaniel‘s job was, barring a surprise, considered to be safe.

That, it appears, may not be the case. Perhaps a 45-21 shellacking at home against the Bengals changed things. Perhaps who is talking to who is pushing agendas here. But given what ESPN’s Adam Schefter had to say today about Mike McDaniel’s job status in Miami today while talking on The Pat McAfee Show, it would certainly appear as though everything is still on the table.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter cautions not to get too presumptive with Miami’s Mike McDaniel decision

“As for Mike McDaniel, I know people are saying he’s safe. I don’t think they’ve made any decisions there yet, about his future. He might be safe but he might not. I think that is still playing out in real time and nothing has been decided there. And we’ll see how that plays out over time. Nothing is decided there.” — ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Mike McDaniel’s job status

Whew. Schefter brought a little spice into this one. You know that saying of “it’s not what you say, but HOW you say it”? That’s the first thing that pops to me here with Schefter’s ‘well, actually’ of some of the other reports around the league. This intel flies in the face of some of the other reports over the weekend but given the gusto that Schefter puts into it, I’m inclined to think we ought to pump the brakes and let the next two weeks play out.

Especially amid the backdrop of the thumping this team got at the hands of a 4-win Bengals team in Week 16, plus another nationally televised embarrassment at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15. It wouldn’t be accurate to say there’s a “lot of ballgame left” on this front but that’s what makes Schefter’s push back that much more intriguing. We’re nearly out of time for this season. Will Mike McDaniel ultimately be out of his, too?

Miami Dolphins News

The latest report on Tua Tagovailoa and his 2026 future with the Dolphins doesn’t leave much to the imagination

Not a lot of room for misinterpretation on this report about Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins.

Kyle Crabbs