Mike McDaniel Firing: Joe Rose Calls Out Tua Tagovailoa For Putting Dolphins HC on the Hot Seat

Anytime that there’s a hint of dissension amongst the ranks, that typically results in major issues for leadership, especially when you’re talking about the NFL. If you need an example, look no further than the Miami Dolphins.

A mixture of uninspired play calling, poor quarterback play, and worse locker room morale has resulted in the players and the coaching staff pointing fingers at one another through the media. Now, it’s to the point that their head coach, Mike McDaniel, as well as their QB1 in Tua Tagovailoa, both figure to be on the hot seat.

There’s plenty of blame to go around in Miami right now, but according to a former member of the team and current radio host, Joe Rose, the bulk of it should be placed on Tagovailoa first and foremost, even if McDaniel was the one who advocated for his four-year $212.4-million contract. “Mike McDaniel went to bat hard for Tua,” Rose recalled during his latest broadcast on 104.3 WQAM Sports.

“So it’s like, okay, you wanted him. You said he was a franchise quarterback; he’s the guy. Now we’ve got to see it. We haven’t seen it. We didn’t see it last year; he missed six games,” Rose added.

“We haven’t seen it in even a healthy guy who’s playing a lot more carefully, to put it nicely… He’s not playing at a high enough level. He doesn’t look like the guy from 2023. He doesn’t look like and throw the ball the same way, he just doesn’t,” he concluded, giving a reality check to Tua who got a solid backing from Mike.

After leading the league in passing yards in 2023, Tagovailoa’s production has steadily cratered. While part of that can absolutely be attributed to his untimely concussions, the reality of the situation is that he’s been good for just as many turnovers as he has been touchdowns in recent times.

Throughout his past 20 games, Tagovailoa has been sporting a 17:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. If it wasn’t for Geno Smith, he’d be the unchallenged front-runner for the interception title for the 2025 regular season.

Factor in the sheer amount of injuries that Miami has been plagued with, which includes a gruesome leg injury to Tyreek Hill, and it’s safe to say that there’s not much to look forward to in South Beach at this point. “I’ll give him credit, though,” Rose said about McDaniel. “I think Mike is always going to have a job as a coordinator.”

Although he did feel the need to clarify that “I’m still not convinced that works,” when referring to McDaniel’s player-friendly approach to scheming and coaching. And that speaks volumes to the fact that, unless he’s able to bring about a miraculous end to the Dolphins’ 24-year losing streak right now, McDaniel will almost certainly be packing his bags in a few months.