Can Mike McDaniel Save His Job? Dolphins Face Must-Win vs. Ravens

Most people probably think the Miami Dolphins should have already fired head coach Mike McDaniel.

That’s not to say McDaniel is a bad coach. It’s entirely possible, maybe even likely, that he goes onto success elsewhere if things don’t work out in his first head coaching gig.

But the Dolphins’ 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago to fall to 1-6 on the season felt like the death knell for his tenure as he dropped to 9-15 over the last two seasons. McDaniel led Miami to the playoffs in his first two seasons.

Despite the tailspin, the Dolphins made the decision not to move on — at least not yet.

They retained McDaniel, and his team responded with a stunning 34-10 win at the Atlanta Falcons which wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated.

In a stark change from his 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions through the first seven games, Tua Tagavailoa, who the fanbase has been similarly done with, diced up what had been one of the best defenses in the league. He finished with a season-high four touchdowns and no turnovers.

One could apply an asterisk given who the Falcons were without quarterback Michael Penix Jr., leading receiver Drake London and standout linebacker Divine Deablo.

But the Dolphins are also without star receiver Tyreek Hill, who sustained a dislocated knee in Miami’s first win of the season. Plus, the Dolphins aren’t exactly in a place to be criticizing how they record wins given how bad things have been to start this season.

“The formula was that we were prepared for the opponent that we were playing that week and prepared to do our assignments collectively and focused on the ways not to beat ourselves,” McDaniel said Monday of the win.

The question entering Thursday’s home game against the Baltimore Ravens (2-5)? Was that a last gasp of McDaniel’s tenure with the Dolphins or something that could turn the tide of the season to potentially save his job?

Although the Ravens have a similarly bad record, their path there has been tremendously different. Baltimore’s two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, turning a two-game losing streak into a four-game losing streak which was finally snapped Sunday against Chicago.

Unfortunately for Miami, all signs point to Jackson returning this week against the Dolphins, which will make their pursuit of a winning streak as 7 1/2-point home underdogs much tougher.

In Miami’s favor is the fact that home teams are 6-2 on Thursdays so far this season. The travel that is added onto what is already a much shorter week can be a stress on the road teams.

The Ravens’ defense has also struggled and been quite banged up early this season. Baltimore allowed 33 total points the last two weeks, but was tagged for 37 or more points in four of its first five games. The team ranks 28th in total defense (379.6 yards per game allowed) and 30th in scoring defense (30.0 points per game).

That presents the potential chance for the offense to keep rolling off the momentum it found last week.

With the Dolphins already quite buried in the AFC East behind 6-2 New England and 5-2 Buffalo, which plays at Miami next week, Thursday’s game feels like a must-win to have any chance of clawing out of this and saving McDaniel’s job.