What McDaniel Had to Say About Ownership, Third-Quarter Blues

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel saw his team collapse again in the second half in their season-ending loss at New England

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel talks with a referee on the field during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

In the aftermath of the Miami Dolphins’ season-ending loss against the New England Patriots, Mike McDaniel remained consistent when asked about any conversations he’s had with team owner Stephen Ross.

McDaniel continues to refuse to reveal any details about what’s been said.

“I'll stay consistent with the conversations I've had with ownership,” McDaniel said after the 38-10 loss against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. “I won't opine on, but I think I'm operating the same, the same exact way that I always have, which is no one is entitled to anything. I take the job serious, and so I will aggressively attack the job tomorrow and like every day that that I have the job, because I think it's supremely important to not minimize your responsibility and what people need from you. So the I think realistically, I understand the question and appreciate it, but I'm going to keep my conversations with ownership to myself and ownership.”

This has been McDaniel’s M.O. ever since his job security started coming into question, which basically was after the team’s slow start but especially after the Week 9 loss against the Baltimore Ravens led to the dismissal of Chris Grier as general manager.

McDaniel is scheduled to conduct his annual day-after-the-season media session as usual Monday, though this time he won’t be accompanied by his general manager as he was with Grier in years past — because the Dolphins don’t have a permanent GM at the moment after Champ Kelly finished out the 2025 season on an interim basis.

McDaniel also said he’d be more willing to share what he told his players after the loss at New England at that time than right after the game.

BREAKING DOWN THE THIRD-QUARTER BLUES

He was more willing to discuss the team’s contined issues in the third quarter, with a third such collapse in the past four games, the breakdown against New England following those against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15 and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16.

Mind you, McDaniel didn’t have specific answers beyond his team’s inability to overcome major in-game setbacks, the latest example being Quinn Ewers’ interception on the first drive of the third quarter.

“You know, each game is unique to its own,” McDaniel said. “This game I didn't feel like specifically, it didn't feel on the field like the Pittsburgh and the Cincinnati game. However, it kind of played out that way. And I think I have a strong motivation to take the offseason to kind of figure out what we can do, from a controllable standpoint, from a schematic standpoint, from how we operate because the game's won in the second half.

“So when things don't fall in your favor, you have to be able to adjust and I look back all the way to the the my second game here against the Ravens, we were down 28-7 at halftime. And lot of your win wins in the course of a season for playoff teams, which is a non-negotiable, only expectation to be in in that mix, have to win games where things aren't ideal in the third quarter. So we’ve got to figure that out, and that will be led by me for sure.”