NFL analyst offers blistering defense of Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel

Walter Sharp goes to bat for Mike McDaniel, weighs in on various critiques

In a multi-tweet breakdown, Walter Sharp of Sharp Football castigated those who criticize McDaniel.

“When Mike McDaniel‘s starting quarterback does not have a concussion, he’s 25-13. That ranks seventh best in the NFL. Better than the Packers, Rams, Steelers, etc etc. I am not going to condemn, or look poorly upon, a head coach because he goes 1-4 with Skyler Thompson, Teddy Bridgewater, Snoop Huntley, and Tim Boyle as his starting quarterbacks,” explained Sharp.

Sharp also attacked the criticisms around Tua Tagovailoa, attacking the discrepancy between those who say Tua is an average or poor quarterback and also say McDaniel is a poor head coach:

Since his appointment in 2022, McDaniel has gone 28-23 in the regular season with two playoff appearances, although he has no playoff wins or division titles. Last year’s 8-9 season was marred by several injuries, but was also considered a significant step back after the promise of his two opening years.

McDaniel is better than advertised, but has flaws, and the die may be cast

It does occasionally seem as though McDaniel receives more criticism than he appears to warrant, given his obvious talent as an offensive schemer and his overall record as a head coach. He’s restored some stability to the Dolphins, and they have tasted success that often eluded them in the prior decade. For example, their 2022 and 2023 playoff appearances broke a seven-year drought following the reigns of Brian Flores and Adam Gase, and even Gase’s 2016 appearance was the first in eight years.

However, using Tua’s availability as some get-out clause for McDaniel ignores the reality that McDaniel has consistently failed, along with Chris Grier, to put a team around him that protects him and avoids losing him for chunks of the season at a time, and potentially leaves the talented young quarterback an injury away from retirement.

No. 91: @MiamiDolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa pic.twitter.com/tbXDpL2pDU

— NFL (@NFL) July 4, 2025

There have also been doubts raised about his team’s ability to win the bigger games, given his poor record in the playoffs and also against teams with winning records.

No one can deny McDaniel’s ability to develop an offensive scheme and younger offensive players, as both Tua and Tyreek Hill have benefited from what has been an explosive and often fun-to-watch offense in Florida, but last season’s failure to launch amid a massive improvement by the team’s defense seems to have marked McDaniel’s card, and possibly Grier’s as well.

Recent acrimony with Tyreek Hill, as well as a number of talented players departing this offseason, gives this Miami season more of the feel of a rebuild and/or collapse rather than a McDaniel redemption run. While he’s a talented young coach, this offseason’s moves appear to have hung him out to dry, and absent a surprising resurgence this season against a tougher AFC East, it might be the last we see of him in a head coaching role, at least for now.

Some coaches are better coordinators than head coaches. Perhaps McDaniel is destined to be the next to carry that unfortunate tag. He will, however, have Tua to work with again this season, and it seems as though his career may just ride on it.