The aftermath

The biggest headline from Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel’s post-game press conference related to his staunch refusal to not consider thinking about his job security. McDaniel said something else of interest when discussing the three-interception performance from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

McDaniel was asked this question: “What will your conversation be with Tua after this game?”

Read the full answer, as transcribed and distributed by the Dolphins.

“Yeah it will be tape-driven, I will have to take a look at the tape but before watching the tape, I don’t want to overconclude anything,” McDaniel said. “I think, when you turn the ball over, you know, it is the number one indicator of wins and losses, and it negatively affects the team. I think there’s multiple factors in those turnovers, I know at least one or two of them were extremely preventable from Tua and he knows that just wasn’t good enough. We’ll watch the tape and change our style of play if we [have] to.

“Everything is on the table, when you go to a game you fully know you have the capability to win and get handed a very, very humbling loss. There’s no if and or buts about it, guys need to be professionals and step up to the plate, and every person on our team, if you’re saying it’s me, it’s you. I told the team, that’s what I have to subscribe to and we will be diligent in our cleanup of this game and the opponent for next week, because you’re not just going to win games and our team, you know, we say we want to win games so we have to do the things necessary to win games. Until that happens, we will lose games.”

Everything is on the table. Those are the words McDaniel used.

What’s on the table? “Everything.” What isn’t? “Nothing.”

One key thing isn’t on the table — not owing Tagovailoa $54 million fully guaranteed in 2026. But, as is always the case with fully-guaranteed contracts, the team has to pay the player; it does not have to play him.

While McDaniel said nothing specific to suggest he’s thinking about benching Tua for Quinn Ewers or Zach Wilson, McDaniel undeniably said, “Everything is on the table.”

Of course, even if McDaniel is thinking about holding the starting quarterback accountable for his mistakes by putting him on the bench, there’s one specific thing on the table for McDaniel that could make that irrelevant. As soon as today.

 

Ian Rapoport of NFL media reports that no changes are expected “at this time” from owner Stephen Ross. As explained on Sunday’s Football Night in America, Ross intended before the season began to give coach Mike McDaniel and G.M. Chris Grier the full year before making decisions about the future.

Sunday’s 31-6 loss to the previously 1-5 Browns becomes the low point in a lost season for the Dolphins. With Ross taking heavy flak from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and with a customer base potentially on the verge of revolt or (even worse) full-blown apathy, it’s going to be hard to justify doing nothing. With a Week 8 game at Atlanta followed by a short-week visit from the Ravens, it’s likely that no changes will be made until after the Thursday night contest against Baltimore. If then.

Remember this — Ross allegedly offered former head coach Brian Flores $100,000 for each game he lost in 2019. (Ross called it a joke; we’re still searching for the punchline.) Once it’s clear that the playoffs are a pipe dream at best, being bad can be very good. The worse the Dolphins do, the higher they’ll select in the 2026 draft. And so some owners may decide that, sometimes, it makes sense to just take your lumps.

Regardless, Ross will now be taking them, along with his team.

If things don’t turn around quickly, the stadium could become a ghost town on game days. And Ross will learn (again), that the only thing better than being rich and famous is being rich.