Who Is The First To Go In Miami, Tagovailoa or McDaniel?
It has been a disastrous start to the 2025 season for the Miami Dolphins. The team is 1-6, and the only reason they are not in last place in the AFC East is that the New York Jets have been historically bad at 0-7. Their offense is terrible. Their defense is just as bad. Their performance has left fans wondering whether the head coach and starting quarterback will survive the season. So, who gets the lion’s share of the blame for Miami’s poor start, head coach Mike McDaniel or starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa?
Tagovailoa’s Start To 2025
Tagovailoa’s problem in years past has mostly been injuries, not performance. This season, though, has been different. The sixth-year quarterback out of Alabama has thrown 11 touchdown passes, but he leads the NFL in interceptions with 10. Compared to last season, Tagovailoa is throwing for 73 fewer yards per game. His completion percentage has dropped by more than six percent, and his quarterback rating has dropped by 18.6 percent.
All that said, Tagovailoa’s line has not protected him well. The Dolphins’ 2020 first-rounder is averaging more than two sacks per game and is on pace for more sacks than in any other season of his career. Add to that, he has lost speedy deep threat Tyreek Hill to a season-ending ACL tear and tight end Darren Waller for at least four weeks with a pectoral strain. Waller leads Miami in receiving touchdowns with four in only four games.
Is McDaniel To Blame?
While the Dolphins’ QB1 has not played well, does the blame all fall on him? The offense as a whole is 25th in points, 29th in total yards, 29th in passing yards, 29th in rushing yards, and 29th in time of possession. Miami’s defense is 29th in points allowed, 26th in total yards allowed, 32nd in rushing yards allowed, 21st in sacks, and 29th in interceptions. There is a lot of blame to go around. When a team is failing in that many facets of the game at once, the lion’s share of the blame usually falls on the coaching staff and the front office.
Under McDaniel, the Dolphins finished second in the division each of his first three years and went to the playoffs twice. Both of those playoff runs resulted in wild-card losses. McDaniel’s coaching style has earned its share of criticism. Former NFL star Asante Samuel, whose son currently plays in the league, had this to say about McDaniel and Miami GM Chris Grier (courtesy of FinsXtra on X):
Samuel is not the only person around the league who feels that way. Sports talk radio talking heads have voiced similar sentiments for some time now. That kind of talk can undermine a team’s credibility in a hurry.
End Of My Miami Dolphins Rant
Tagovailoa has not played well, but I cannot pin this team’s sluggish play all on him. It starts from the top. If a team is soft in the front office and soft on the coaching staff, they will be soft on the field. Tagovailoa made the mistake of throwing his teammates under the bus for missing players-only meetings. That did not help matters any, but it showed the general apathy on the players’ part.
Miami is a mess right now, and benching or trading its starting quarterback won’t change that. If this team is going to be dismantled, ownership needs to start at the top with Grier and McDaniel. Injuries and poor play are one thing, but general apathy in a locker room is a cancer that will kill a team. McDaniel’s predictable play-calling and poor time management have been obvious throughout the poor start, as has his team’s inability to adapt in-game.
This team needs a rebuild. Whether Tagovailoa is the answer at quarterback remains to be seen, but with his contract, it will be difficult to trade or cut him. The Dolphins have no real backup plan either. If Miami thinks that Quinn Ewers or Zach Wilson is going to do better, they are dreaming. Remember, the Jets didn’t think Wilson was good enough to play there. It is time for majority owner Stephen Ross to cut his losses with Grier and McDaniel and start over. If he does it soon, this team could be back to being a mediocre wild-card team again by next season.
Lions’ Dan Campbell Strikes Down ESPN Aidan Hutchinson Report: ‘That’s Bogus’
Low blocks on defensive stars such as Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson are a fact of life in the NFL. Lions head coach Dan Campbell strongly suggested that while refuting a report from ESPN on Wednesday the Lions organization complained to the league about low blocks on Hutchinson.
“That’s bogus,” Campbell said. “That’s a bogus report. I don’t know where that came from. Nobody from here ever did that. That’s bull.”
The usually mild-mannered Campbell was obviously irritated about the mentioning of the report, which came from ESPN’s Adam Schefter prior to the Lions facing the
“The game is played a certain way, that’s the way it goes. It doesn’t matter whether we’re doing or somebody else is doing it to our guys. We know that, and we play accordingly.”
According to Schefter, the Lions sent video to the league office about low blocks on Hutchinson in Weeks 1 and 2. Detroit faced two division opponents in those games — the
Hutchinson has returned from a fractured tibia and fibula, which he sustained in October 2024.
“The Detroit Lions have taken notice, and they’ve asked the league office to monitor the plays against Aidan Hutchinson,” Schefter said during ESPN’s Week 3
Dan Campbell Strongly Refutes Aidan Hutchinson Report From ESPN
Clearly, Campbell wanted no part of Schefter’s report. The Lions head coach didn’t wait for the reporter Tuesday to finish his question before refuting the story.
According to Booher, Schefter’s report during the Lions-Ravens pregame show was a significant talking point on ESPN.
“He’s coming off the fractured tibia and fibula,” Schefter said. “If you watch his performance the first two games of the year, what stands out about that is the fact that it feels like opponents have been going low on him, so much so that the Lions have raised the issue with the league office. If you go back and look at the film from the first game, take a look at how Green Bay is coming at Aidan Hutchinson’s legs.”
During Schefter’s report, ESPN ran a couple highlights of plays where opponents blocked Hutchinson low. ESPN analyst and ex-NFL defensive lineman Marcus Spears argued he doesn’t like the low blocks on lineman.
But Spears called “the cut block” a “normal football play.” In so many words, Campbell did as well Tuesday.
Hutchinson Off to Another Tremendous Start
The 25-year-old didn’t have a great first game back from injury in Week 1. But since then, he has regained the form he had prior to his 2024 injury.
Through five games this season, Hutchinson has posted five sacks with 12 combined tackles and 12 quarterback hits. He’s also already tied a career-high with three forced fumbles.
Since the start of 2024, Hutchinson has 12.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hits and four forced fumbles in just 10 games.
Hutchinson made the Pro Bowl in his last full season during 2023. At his current pace, he’s going to compete for a spot on the NFL’s All-Pro team.
