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The Miami Dolphins have looked awful in their first two games of the 2025 season, and their start has put head coach Mike McDaniel firmly on the hot seat.
The Dolphins lost to the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots and will enter their third game of the season against the Buffalo Bills with the second-worst point differential in the NFL at -31.
Former NFL star linebacker Shawne Merriman predicted that change would be coming to the Dolphins soon.
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Miami Dolphins linebacker K.J. Britt (3), offensive tackle Patrick Paul (52), wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) and offensive tackle Kion Smith (71) take the field against the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium Sept. 14, 2025. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
“That team is going to get dismantled here soon, and I think it’s going to start with the head coach, Mike McDaniel,” he told Fox News Digital. “I think they’re going to start (looking to) trade or let go of some of their most frustrated players. You have a frustrated Tyreek Hill. Tyreek Hill is a very, very key figure in your locker room.
“So, when you see him frustrated, and things like that happening … him being frustrated alone can trickle down to a lot of guys, and it could be a bad situation for him. And it could be a bad situation for the organization.”
Merriman also said he was far from impressed with McDaniel’s press conference after the loss to the Patriots.
McDaniel offered a bewildering quote when asked about the team’s failure to convert on third and fourth down on their final possession of the game.
“That’s kind of where the frustration lies for me is it wasn’t deciding that cost us, or a late play call, which that happens at times,” McDaniel said. “But this was not one of those times. I got the play call in, but I need to do a better job supervising the orchestration within our multiple personnel groups.
“To win games, you have to win the game and not lose the game, honestly. And that is how you lose the game. You’re moving the ball down the field, you’re first and 10 and then you find yourself at second and 20. That was critical.”
Merriman said it didn’t really inspire confidence.
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel enters the field before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium Aug. 23, 2025. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
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“I don’t know if Mike McDaniel is making it through the season,” he told Fox News Digital. “I’d hate to see anybody get fired. But just seeing what I’ve seen at his press conferences, and I’ve seen it before. And this happened with (former Chargers coach Brandon Staley).
“This is when you know if certain coaches are not ready to be in that position as a head coach by how they handle the worst adversity at a time. Some of the answers that Mike McDaniel is screaming ‘He’s not ready to be in that position just yet.’ Not because he can’t coach, but he’s a really good coordinator that doesn’t know how to run a team yet, and he needs to learn how to be in that position before he’s another head coach.”
Dolphins legend Dan Marino offered a sunnier outlook to Fox News Digital earlier in the week.
“I think it’s a group effort, obviously. Mike is a brilliant offensive mind. He’s proven that,” Marino said. “Yesterday (Sunday), it’s just at the end, like all the games in the NFL, come down to the fourth quarter. Almost all of them are like that, and you have to play all four quarters. We did, and we had a chance to win.
“The Dolphins, if (De’Von) Achane didn’t step out of bounds, I really feel like we would’ve won that game. That happened, there’s a couple mistakes, and next thing you know you lose the game. That’s why it’s so critical at the end, especially, to play mistake-free football. But Mike’s a very good football coach.”
Winning solves a lot of things in sports, and the Dolphins could turn the ship around with an upset victory over the Bills.
San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman (56) against the Baltimore Ravens at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego Sept. 20, 2009. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)
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However, the Dolphins are on a six-game losing streak against the Bills and haven’t beaten them since Sept. 25, 2022. It’s their one win against them since Dec. 2, 2018. Additionally, Miami hasn’t beaten the Bills in Buffalo since Christmas Eve 2016.
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