Examining the Alternate Scenario Where Ewers Would Have Been Dolphins QB in 2026

Quinn Ewers as the Dolphins’ 2026 starter? That seemed like a real possibility for a brief time
following the end of last season.

During an appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast with former NBA players Matt Barnes
and Stephen Jackson, former Dolphins tight end Darren Waller shared details from his
exit meeting with Mike McDaniel shortly before the coach’s firing.

"He was like, man, like, I'm excited about next season, we definitely want you back," Waller said, "like talking about like how he's gonna like give the keys to Queen Ewers, like brings people in to compete with him, and like all these plans that he had, maybe like some coaching staff changes."

Of course, little did McDaniel know at the time there indeed would be coaching staff changes, except that they would start with him being fired.

Waller's comments offer an interesting look into a version of the Dolphins that may have existed
briefly before the organization pivoted in an entirely different direction following McDaniel’s
departure.

More importantly, Waller’s account raises serious questions about where things stood internally
with Tua Tagovailoa near the end of McDaniel’s tenure in Miami.

Earlier in McDaniel’s time with the Dolphins, the organization built an offense specifically around
Tagovailoa’s strengths. Timing, anticipation, rhythm and quick processing became defining
elements of the system, helping produce some of the most efficient stretches of Tagovailoa’s
career.

But by the end of last season, it had become increasingly clear Miami was approaching a
crossroads at quarterback.

That crossroads became unavoidable late in the 2025 season when Tagovailoa was
benched in favor of Ewers, a move that would have seemed almost unthinkable earlier in
McDaniel’s tenure given how heavily the offense had been built around Tua’s strengths.

EWERS' WORK LATE LAST SEASON

Ewers appeared in four games for Miami, making three starts while going 1-2. He
completed 66 percent of his passes for 622 yards with three touchdowns and three
interceptions.

The results were mixed, but there were still flashes of why McDaniel may have been intrigued
by his long-term upside. Ewers brought more second-read ability and off-platform creativity to
the position, even if inconsistency and inexperience were still evident at times.

If Waller’s account is accurate, this doesn’t sound like a coaching staff merely evaluating
options or exploring competition at quarterback. It sounds like McDaniel already had mentally
moved toward a future beyond Tagovailoa.

You typically don’t sit down during an exit meeting and begin outlining a long-term vision
centered around another quarterback unless your belief in the current one has fundamentally
changed.

The timing of the conversation also makes the situation even stranger in hindsight.

According to Waller, the discussion happened during his exit meeting with McDaniel shortly
before the coach’s firing, part of what now sounds like an increasingly chaotic and bizarre
ending to McDaniel’s tenure in Miami.

Waller also repeated his account of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross interrupting the meeting, another detail that only adds to how unusual the situation appeared behind the scenes during McDaniel’s final
days with the organization.

McDaniel’s firing already felt abrupt at the time considering how aggressively Miami had built
both its roster and offensive identity around his vision. Waller’s account only adds to the strange
timing surrounding the situation, particularly if McDaniel was simultaneously discussing a post-
Tua future while unknowingly nearing the end of his own tenure with the organization.

As drastic as many of Miami’s moves have been since then — firing McDaniel, moving on from
Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb, and trading both Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jaylen Waddle —
Waller’s comments reinforce just how necessary a full organizational reset may have become.

If anything, the idea of pivoting from Tagovailoa to Ewers would have represented more of a
continuation of Miami’s previous philosophy than a true organizational reset.

It still would have represented another attempt to win primarily through speed and spacing
rather than fundamentally reshaping the physical identity and culture of the roster itself.
Instead, the Dolphins appear to have concluded the entire foundation of the roster needed to
change.

Under Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan, the focus has shifted toward rebuilding the roster from
the ground up with greater emphasis on physicality, toughness, depth and overall culture rather
than continuing to rely primarily on offensive firepower to carry the organization.

That philosophical shift also was reflected in Miami’s decision to sign Malik Willis earlier this
offseason, a move that effectively reshaped the direction of the quarterback room under the new
regime.

Rather than entering 2026 as the clear future starter McDaniel may have once envisioned,
Ewers now appears more likely to compete for a backup role behind Willis as the Dolphins
continue building a very different version of the roster under Hafley and Sullivan.

Whether that approach ultimately works remains to be seen, but Waller’s comments provide a
fascinating snapshot of a very different version of the Dolphins that nearly existed.

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