The Miami Dolphins’ season has taken an unexpected turn in recent weeks after a few key wins gave the team some much-needed breathing room. One of the figures under the spotlight was head coach Mike McDaniel, who — along with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — continues to lead the Dolphins both on and off the field.
During a recent press conference in Madrid ahead of the Dolphins’ game against the Washington Commanders at the Santiago Bernabeu, the quarterback was asked whether the team’s latest win over the Bills had, in any way, helped secure McDaniel’s job.
“You know, I understand the question,” Tagovailoa said. “I know there’s a lot of talk outside about certain individuals, certain people. But I think more so with last week’s game, I think it shows the togetherness of our team. And I don’t think it’s anyone playing for themselves. More so, it really is everyone playing for each other — everyone having to do their job, having the conviction to do their job, and each individual trusting that if I do my job, I’ve got to trust that this guy is going to do his job as well and not try to play hero ball where [it’s], alright, I don’t know if he’s going to do that, so I’m going to go out of my job, out of my way to maybe do his.
“Then when he does his and you don’t do yours, I think that’s where things fall apart where we’ve got to play with conviction, we just continue to stick together, play together, and I don’t think anyone’s worried about any of that external noise when it comes to that.
“When we play this game, we know what we sign up for. And we know this is a business as well. We want to play for each other. We’re going to do everything we can — we don’t prepare to go out there and think, hey we want to do bad, we want to lose this game. No, we go out there with our hearts, with our minds for war — like that’s what it is, essentially. So, yeah.”
A win that inspires
The Miami Dolphins finally delivered a statement win, dominating the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills 30-13 on Sunday. This crucial victory provides a massive sigh of relief for head coach Mike McDaniel, whose job security had been increasingly questioned amid a frustrating mid-season slump.
Led by a stellar defensive performance—which forced three turnovers—and a highlight-reel effort from running back De’Von Achane, the Dolphins not only snapped a losing streak against the Bills but also injected much-needed life and momentum back into their 2025 campaign. For McDaniel, the air is a little clearer in South Beach, for now.
Keeping the momentum
Fresh off their emphatic division win over the Bills, the Miami Dolphins head into this Sunday’s matchup against the struggling Washington Commanders with a singular focus: sustainability. Head coach Mike McDaniel stressed that the Week 10 victory only means something if the team can maintain that high level of intensity and execution.
With a favorable schedule ahead, starting with Washington’s porous defense, the Dolphins are under pressure to prove that the performance against Buffalo was a turning point, not an anomaly.