MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross expressed his frustration after his team’s 27-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers last Sunday. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel revealed that he met with Ross after the game, as is customary after each match. Both expressed their mutual dissatisfaction.
The Dolphins took a 17-0 lead at the start of the second quarter, but allowed Carolina to come back with a 27-7 run. Since McDaniel took over in 2022, the Dolphins held a 10-0 record in games where they led by three touchdowns at any point. With a 1-4 start to the season, the Dolphins are going through their worst stretch since 2019. Although the previous two coaches, Brian Flores and Adam Gase, were fired at the end of their third seasons, Ross made similar decisions with Joe Philbin after a 1-3 start in his fourth season, 2015, and with Tony Sparano after a 4-9 start in his fourth year, 2011. McDaniel insists that worrying about the security of his position would divert his attention from his work, something he is not willing to do. Faced with the accumulation of defeats, McDaniel confesses to being tired of talking about improvements, but acknowledges that the conversations will continue until the results on the field change.“I was really frustrated, just like me,” McDaniel commented on Monday. “We talked about the challenge ahead of us to prepare for the Chargers, and that was really it.”
Mike McDaniel, Dolphins coach
“It’s frustrating because there’s a lot of conversation, and we need to focus on action,” he stated. “I don’t think anyone wants to hear me talk about this as much as I don’t want to say it, but it doesn’t change the stark reality: things need to improve or you’ll keep getting the same results.”
Mike McDaniel, Dolphins coach
