Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel entered Sunday’s game at Cleveland with a 2-0 record against the Browns, defeating them in 2022 and 2024. After an embarrassing 31-6 loss, McDaniel left Cleveland with a 2-1 record vs. them, and now questions get louder about how long he’ll remain Dolphins coach.

The Dolphins (1-6), reeling from a week-long controversy created by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and a season-long fatigue created by poor play, gave a regrettable effort during a sometimes rainy game at Cleveland.

The Dolphins looked awful. Their largely dink-and-dunk offense was hampered by dropped passes, the defense was haunted by numerous errors, special teams committed a turnover, and penalties (11 penalties, 103 yards) were constant. Oh, and tight end Darren Waller had no targets before leaving with a pectoral injury in the second quarter. This was ugly, and it’s yet another indication the era of general manager Chris Grier, McDaniel and Tagovailoa might be coming to an end.

Here’s what we learned:

McDaniel is now a .500 coach . . . or worse

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel saw his regular-season record fall to 29-29 (.500), and his overall record fall to 29-31 (.483), including his 0-2 record in the playoffs.

As a reminder, in the regular season Brian Flores was 24-25 (.490), Adam Gase was 23-25 (.479), Joe Philbin was 24-28 (.462) and Tony Sparano was 29-32 (.475). By season’s end, McDaniel could have a worse winning percentage than all but Philbin.

It’s generally accepted that McDaniel and Grier had more talent than all of the aforementioned coaches, and have had the best talent the Dolphins have amassed in two decades. Grier and McDaniel get credit for gathering the talent. But it could be argued the teams in the Grier-McDaniel era have underachieved and disappointed considering they’ve gone 1-7 vs. Buffalo, losing the past seven consecutive, and haven’t won a playoff game.

McDaniel entered the season 4-16 (.200) vs. playoff teams. McDaniel has gone 11-19 (.367) in his past 30 games, starting with that 28-27 Tennessee home loss in 2023, a time when the Dolphins had a 9-3 season record. — Chris Perkins

Grier is a below-.500 GM

Grier, who became full-time general manager in 2019 after taking over the draft in 2016, saw his regular-season record record fall to 53-54 (.495) after Sunday’s loss. Grier is also 0-2 in the playoffs, giving him an overall record of 53-56 (.486). Grier’s last stand might be drafting disappointing players this year — defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, the first-round pick, and right guard Jonah Savaiinaea, the second-round pick — and failing to shore up key areas such as offensive line and the secondary. It’s unclear if Grier will be in his current post nest season. If the Dolphins make a move midseason, a rarity in the NFL, perhaps assistant general manager Marvin Allen would take over.

Interim coach options

The Dolphins have a few options for an interim head coach on their staff, if it comes to that. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver has had a few head coach interviews around the league, but his unit has been pathetic this season. Still, players respect his voice and status as a former NFL player.  Offensive coordinator Frank Smith has also interviewed for a head coach job but his unit’s performance hasn’t been storing this year, either.

Running backs coach Eric Studesville, the Dolphins’ associate head coach, was interim coach for Denver in 2010. Quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell was an interim coach for Detroit in 2020 and Jacksonville in 2021. Tight ends coach Jon Embree is the assistant head coach and was head coach at Colorado (2011-12).

Tua tanks . . . Ewers enters

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was a focal point last week for saying teammates either didn’t attend player-led meetings or skipped them, was terrible Sunday. Tagovailoa had his second consecutive three-interception game, finishing 12 for 23 for 100 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions and a 24.1 passer rating.

Tagovailoa now has 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for the season.

Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, the seventh-round pick from Texas, entered the game in the fourth quarter. His first pass was almost interceptted by cornerback Myles Harden. Ewers ended 5 of 8 for 53 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and an 81.8 passer rating.

Run defense

Cleveland ended with 104 yards rushing on 33 carries, becoming the seventh consecutive team to rush for at least 100 yards against the Dolphins. The Dolphins, who entered as the league’s worst rushing defense at 168.5 yards per game, gave up 92 yards on 23 carries in the first half. Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins (25 carries, 84 yards) had 18 carries for 75 yards at halftime. 

The Dolphins showed some eight-man fronts early with safety Ashtyn Davis as the deep safety and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick down in the box as the eighth defender.

Inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks entered the game with a league-leading 66 tackles, but 29 (44 percent) came on gains of eight or more yards.

Defensive blunders lead to 10-3 deficit

Cleveland took a 10-3 lead largely on defensive miscues. The Browns went up, 3-0, in their first-quarter drive in which the Dolphins had an illegal contact penalty by cornerback Rasul Douglas that gave the Browns a first down on a third-and-14 incomplete pass, saw Douglas have a potential interception go through his hands and turn into a 16-yard completion by wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, and had a roughing the quarterback penalty against defensive tackle Zach Sieler give Cleveland  first down on a second and six incomplete pass.

The Browns went up, 10-3, in the second quarter after Fitzpatrick was called for pass interference, negating a potential interception by fellow Davis. That was one play before Judkins’ 46-yard touchdown run.

More blunders lead to 17-3 deficit

The Browns went ahead, 17-3, thanks to more Dolphins blunders. Kickoff returner Dee Eskridge lost a fumble in the second quarter, giving the Browns the ball at the Dolphins’ 46-yard line. They scored 10 plays later, aided by a roughing the passer penalty against outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips. The penalty came on a five-yard gain on second-and-10 from the Dolphins’ 35-yard line. At that point the Dolphins had five penalties for 59 yards. 

It should be noted that cornerback Jack Jones missed a tackle on Judkins’ three-yard touchdown run. 

Yet another blunder leads to 24-6 deficit

Yet another blunder gave Cleveland a 24-6 lead as American Heritage grad Tyson Campbell 34-yard interception return touchdown on the first play from scrimmage when running back De’Von Achane (82 yards rushing, 16 yards receiving) had a high pass from Tagovailoa glance off his hands. 

Offensive offseason gets worse

The Dolphins’ offseason offensive additions have been appalling. Sunday brought the surprising news that Ewers, the seventh-round pick from Texas, has supplanted veteran Zach Wilson, a “direct, calculated” target by Grier and McDaniel, as backup quarterback. Wilson was regarded as a major find for a team that’s struggled to acquire a backup behind Tagovailoa. 

Among other offseason offensive moves: right guard James Daniels, who was awarded a three-year, $24 million contract, the richest for the team this offseason, lasted just three plays before a pectoral injury sidelined him; Savaiinaea, the second-round pick, has been among the league’s worst at his position, according to ratings by Pro Football Focus; running back Alexander Mattison (neck) is out for the season; wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine hasn’t been a factor; tight end Pharoah Brown didn’t make the 53-man roster; rookie running back Ollie Gordon II, the sixth-round pick, hasn’t been a factor; right tackle Larry Borom has been solid as a backup fill-in starter; Waller has exceeded expectations; senior passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik’s contribution is tough to gauge.

Waller shut down again . . . and injured

Waller wasn’t targeted through the first two quarters, showing again he can be shut down for long stretches. Part of the reason for the shutdown was that Waller left the game in the second quarter with a pectoral injury.

Waller had two receptions for 12 yards and a touchdown last week against the Los Angeles Chargers. He had one target — a seven-yard touchdown reception — in the second half, meaning he was essentially shutdown for the second half. He played 41 snaps.

Two weeks ago in a 29-27 loss at Carolina, Waller had five receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown, all coming in the first half, meaning he was shutdown for the second half. He played 32 snaps. 

Three weeks ago in his debut, Waller had three receptions for 27 yards and two touchdowns in 16 snaps. He had two receptions for 18 yards and one touchdown in the first half.

Big play surfaces briefly

Achane had a 46-yard run in the first quarter, the third consecutive game with a play of 40 or more yards and an indication the big play could be back for an extended appearance.

Achane had a 49-yard run last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, and two weeks ago at Carolina wide receiver Jaylen Waddle had a 46-yard touchdown reception and Waller had a 34-yard reception. 

Prior to Carolina, the Dolphins’ offense had one play of 30 or more yards, a 47-yard pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill at Buffalo.

Tagovailoa tacked on to his loose-ball-security reality

With two fumbles and three interceptions (including a pick-six) on Sunday, that gave Tua Tagovailoa five fumbles (only one lost) and four interceptions (one a pick-six) and two net offensive points in his two games in rain (also, the 2022 34-3 drubbing at Tennessee). In the macro, it piled onto the data built after his second diagnosed concussion in 2022 against the Packers. Before that game, Tagovailoa had a combination of 20 interceptions and 16 fumbles in those 36 games, with only five of the mishandles unforced. But, then came the deluge after that fall against Green Bay. And in the 36 games since that trauma, Tagovailoa has piled up 25 fumbles, with a whopping 18 unforced, and 35 picks. — Steve Svekis

De’Von Achane shouldn’t be going anywhere

Listen, I am one of the charter members of the do-not-draft-a-running-back-in-the-first-round club. One who believes that, MOSTLY, they are interchangeable assets. However, I jump off that bandwagon, breaking both ankles, when it comes to De’Von Achane. It is the rarest of commodities, someone who can take a pass or handoff behind the line of scrimmage and roast a defense for huge yardage.

Through the first quarter in Cleveland which included No. 28 ripping off a 46-yard jaunt down the left sideline — aided by a phenomenal second-level block by beleaguered rookie guard Jonah Savaiinaea, Achane had authored 10 runs or catches of at least 40 yards in a mere 519 touches. Think of any current NFL star back (Jahmyr Gibbs? Saquon Barkley? Jonathan Taylor? Derrick Henry? Bijan Robinson? Christian McCaffrey?) … none of them has the incredible frequency of a mere 51.9 runs/receptions per 40-yard play, with Barkley’s 61.9 touches per the closest rate.

And, it isn’t just that flash and sizzle. Achane also succeeds on huge plays in the nitty-gritty. The Dolphins absolutely should have been shut out in Indianapolis to open the season, but, down 30-0 on a fourth-and-goal from the 11, the Dolphins play-callers were apparently at wit’s end and had Tagovailoa dump a pass to Achane almost 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Achane broke three tackles to allow Miami to avoid the ignominy of a season-starting goose egg. Then, at Carolina a couple weeks ago on a third-and-goal from the 10 and Miami up 3-0, Tagovailoa lobbed a pass to the right side of the end zone and the phenom elevated over Panthers linebacker Trevin Wallace and stunningly deadened his feet for a toe-tap TD that any All-Pro wideout would be proud of. Short of a stunning offer of, like, a first- and a second-round pick, Achane can’t go anywhere.

A brutal Dolphins flag-fest early set the tone

In the first third of the game (20:36), the Dolphins greased the skids for the Browns to grab their early 17-3 lead with five penalties for 59 yards, and also had a 5-yard offsides penalty declined by Cleveland. And, none of those penalties were against the offense.

Meanwhile, the pluses and, lesser pluses, of Waddle

Jaylen Waddle entered the Browns quagmire with a reception of at least 45 yards in each of his past three games with Mike McDaniel as coach, Tagovailoa as quarterback and Tyreek Hill not suited up. One interesting aspect of his game that is less impressive has been his percentage of snaps. In is 68 games heading into Week 7, Waddle had played in 3,372 snaps, which equates to 49.6 snaps a game and 73.9% of the offense’s plays since the 2021 season opener. By comparison, his former Alabama teammate at wide receiver who was also picked in the top 10 of the 2021 draft, the Eagles’ DeVonta Smith has piled up 4,175 snaps in his 69 pre-Week 7 games (60.5 snaps a game), 87.4 of the Eagles’ plays.

Dueling jaunts not seen in a Dolphins game in seven years

The last time a Dolphins game featured a run by a back on each team that went for at least 46 yards, the exact number of yardage picked up by Achane and Quinshon Judkins for their long runs in Cleveland on Sunday, was on Oct. 21, 2018 at Hard Rock Stadium when the Dolphins’ Kenyan Drake ripped off a 54-yard touchdown and the Detroit Lions’ Kerryon Johnson roared for 71 yards, from his 9 to the Miami 20.

What was Jaelan Phillips seeing out there?

A case can be made the game was over, with Cleveland up 24-6 in the third quarter, but still … Browns tight end Blake Whiteheart, on a third-down play, fumbled the ball before covering up. He could have still gotten up and gained the first down. However, it appeared that Jaelan Phillips, perhaps assuming the ball would be ruled an incomplete pass, tried to avoid making contact with Whiteheart. Phillips clipped him with his lower leg, ending the play and bringing up a punt, but it wasn’t intentional.

Why do the Dolphins continue to throw long-distance laterals?

The Dolphins, with more frequency than most teams, swing tosses wide to players such as Achane and Hill that are technically laterals. Makes no sense. Making that a live ball adds a wholly unnecessary layer of danger onto the play.

Challenges have been a nagging challenge for Mike McDaniel

Among the areas where Mike McDaniel has lagged behind his peers under the headset has been in the implementation of challenge video-review system. He has a weak 20% overturn rate, hitting on 4 of 20 red flags. How have past Dolphins coaches done? Brian Flores had a 42.1% hit rate (9 of 21), as did his predecessor, Adam Gase. In his 12-game interim stint in 2015, Dan Campbell was 3 for 3. From 2012-15, Joe Philbin was 10 for 21 (.476), including 9 for his final 17. Todd Bowles’ 2011 season-closing three game stint as interim coach involved no challenges, while Tony Sparano went from 2008-11 with excellent results, converting 8 of 15 (53.3%). In his doomed 2007, Cam Cameron hit on half of his four flag tosses. In his two seasons, Nick Saban only was right a third of the time (4 of 12). In replacing Dave Wannstedt in 2004, Jim Bates hit on 2 of 3. Wannstedt was 11 of 33 (33.3%), and, in the system’s first year of usage in 1999, Jimmy Johnson was 2 of 7 (28.6). Here is a listing of the NFL’s current coaches, in order of success percentage:

Brian Daboll, Giants (4th): 13 of 18 (72.2%), 4 of 5 this year;

Shane Steichen, Colts (3rd): 6 of 10 (60.0%), 3 of 4 this year;

Jonathan Gannon, Cardinals (3rd): 3 of 5 (60.0%), none this year;

Kevin O’Connell, Vikings (4th): 13 of 22 (59.1%), 1 of 1 this year;

Nick Sirianni, Eagles (5th): 10 of 18 (55.6%), 0 of 2 this year;

Kyle Shanahan, 49ers (9th): 24 of 45 (53.3%), 1 of 2 this year;

Mike Vrabel, Patriots (7th): 16 of 30 (53.3%), 2 of 4 this year;

Andy Reid, Chiefs (27th): 74 of 148 (50.0%), 1 of 1 this year;

Kevin Stefanski, Browns (6th): 10 of 20 (50.0%), 1 of 1 this year;

Mike McCoy, Titans (5th): 7 of 14 (50.0%), none this year;

Liam Coen, Jaguars (1st): 1 of 2 (50.0%), 1 of 2 this year;

Dave Canales, Panthers (2nd): 1 of 2 (50.0%), none this year;

Sean McVay, Rams (9th): 19 of 40 (47.5%), 1 of 2 this year;

Bowles, Buccaneers (9th): 13 of 28 (46.4%), none this year;

Pete Carroll, Raiders (19th): 53 of 118 (44.9%), 0 of 1 this year;

Zac Taylor, Bengals (7th): 18 of 41 (43.9%), 2 of 2 this year;

Sean Payton, Broncos (18th): 63 of 144 (43.8%), 2 of 3 this year;

Matt LaFleur, Packers (7th): 20 of 46 (43.5%), 2 of 3 this year;

Campbell, Lions (6th): 9 of 21 (42.9%); 0 of 1 this year;

Mike Tomlin, Steelers (19th): 41 of 96 (42.7%), none this year;

John Harbaugh, Ravens (18th): 55 of 131 (42.0%), none this year;

Dan Quinn, Commanders (8th): 13 of 31 (41.9%), 1 of 3 this year;

Raheem Morris, Falcons (6th): 15 of 37 (40.5%); 3 of 4 this year;

Jim Harbaugh. Chargers (6th): 13 of 39 (33.3%), 1 of 1 this year;

Sean McDermott, Bills (9th NFL season): 11 of 38 overturned (28.9%), 0 of 0 this year;

DeMeco Ryans, Texans (3rd): 2 of 7 (28.6%), none this year;

Mike McDaniel, Dolphins (4th): 4 of 20 (20.0%), 0 of 1 this year;

Aaron Glenn, Jets (1st): None;

Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys (1st): None;

Ben Johnson, Bears (1st); 0 of 1 (0.0%), 0 of 1 this year;

Mike Macdonald, Seahawks (2nd): 0 of 1 (0.0%), none this year;

Kellen Moore, Saints (1st): 0 of 1 (0.0%), 0 of 1 this year.

On deck: Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Sunday, 1 p.m.

As mentioned before in this space, the Dolphins close out an unlucky bit of first-half scheduling, with their game against the Falcons being inside of their dome. Like with the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte and the Browns in Cleveland, the Falcons have been a superior-performing unit under the circumstances where they will face the Dolphins, in this case being indoors. Atlanta enters the Dolphins matchup 3-1 in a dome, with its offense averaging 25.0 points and 390.5 yards a game with only two turnovers. Meanwhile, the Falcons defense in its four indoor games has allowed only 260.8 yards a game and gotten opponents to spit up seven turnovers.

Originally Published: October 19, 2025 at 4:32 PM EDT