The Miami Dolphins may be headed for a massive shakeup. After losing in disastrous fashion in Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season, the Phins waved their playoff dreams goodbye. Now, Mike McDaniel raised concerns about Tua Tagovailoa’s job with a blunt comment.
“Everything is on the table,” McDaniel admitted on a potential change at the starting quarterback position, via insider Tom Pelissero.
Although Quinn Ewers and Zach Wilson have been far from proving reliable, Tagovailoa’s inconsistency and his woes late in the season have caused the Dolphins to lost their patience. With nothing left to play for in the NFL, fans wonder what wrong could come out of having another player start at quarterback. Now, it seems McDaniel may be considering such a move as well.
Tagovailoa has seemingly lost the city
Week 15’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers might be the straw that broke the camel’s back in Miami. The Dolphins have now been eliminated from playoff contention with three games left on the schedule. After a horrible showing by the starting quarterback and eyebrow-raising decisions from the head coach, fans in South Florida have had enough.
Tua Tagovailoa at MetLife Stadium on December 07, 2025
Moving on from McDaniel before the 2025 NFL season ends seems illogical, and there is no realistic scenario in which Miami can part ways with Tagovailoa’s $212 million contract. However, just because Tagovailoa must remain on the roster doesn’t mean the Dolphins are obliged to start him. Fans are now calling for the team to hold a genuine competition for the starting job.
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Mike McDaniel makes something clear to Dolphins fans asking for Tua Tagovailoa to be benched after Steelers loss
Ownership may approve such a decision
Asked whether owner Stephen Ross and the rest of the front office would give their blessing to McDaniel to start a quarterback not named Tua—without it coming back to bite him and cost him his job—the head coach delivered a stern message.
“[Stephen Ross] wants to win games and is disappointed when we don’t. My job is to do the best thing for the football team. A lot of times, it’s doing the hard thing,” McDaniel stated. “It’s always what gives us the best chance to win the game.”
Can McDaniel keep his job?
The writing may be on the wall for McDaniel after failing to make the postseason in consecutive years. However, by benching Tua, he may be earning some respect from the fan base. Moreover, he could show a firm pulse to make hard decisions when the tide gets rough.
What’s done is done—the Phins can’t go back and annul the massive contract handed to the Hawaiian QB—but they can attempt to right their wrongs by searching for alternatives rather than accepting their fate and rolling with Tagovailoa out of obligation.
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