Mike McDaniel Hot Seat Rumors Hint at HC's Status with Dolphins After Tua Benching

It's been a tough season for the 6-8 Miami Dolphins, who have just benched quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and will miss the playoffs for the second straight year.

However, head coach Mike McDaniel appears "likely to return" for the 2026 campaign, league sources told CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.

"League sources indicate to CBS Sports a belief that McDaniel is likely to return as head coach of the Dolphins next season, this despite the team being eliminated from postseason contention Monday night against the Steelers and as McDaniel benched franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa this week. Seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers will start Sunday vs. the Bengals."

"They love Mike," a league source told Jones. "They felt like he's had a tough hand and they want to give him a shot."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport later reported that McDaniel has "the support of owner Stephen Ross" and "the Dolphins organization does want McDaniel to succeed and believes that he can do it."

McDaniel is in his fourth season with the Dolphins after arriving from the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as run game coordinator from 2017-2020 and offensive coordinator in 2021.

McDaniel led the Dolphins to the playoffs in his first two seasons, going 9-8 in 2022 and in 2023. However, both of Miami's postseason appearances ended with losses in the Wild Card round.

The 2023 team did show great promise and even finished second in the NFL in scoring, boosted by a 70-point game against the Denver Broncos. The Dolphins went into Week 18 needing a victory over the Buffalo Bills to get the No. 2 seed but fell 21-14.

Miami hasn't been the same since.

The Dolphins scuffled to an 8-9 record last year, in part because the team did not fare well without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was out for six games (concussion protocol, hip injury).

The Dolphins got off to 0-3 and 2-7 starts this season. Tagovailoa struggled at times, leading to his benching, and Miami also sorely missed wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 3.

Miami made a change at general manager in October, firing long-time general manager Chris Grier. However, the Dolphins announced that McDaniel would be retained for the remainder of the season.

At this point, it appears McDaniel will be back for at least one more season. In the interim, the Dolphins have to finish out this one beginning Sunday, when rookie Quinn Ewers leads the team at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.