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12/21 17:15 CST Dolphins' Mike McDaniel declines to discuss his future after
another embarrassing loss
Dolphins' Mike McDaniel declines to discuss his future after another
embarrassing loss
By ALANIS THAMES
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) --- Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel declined to address
his future with the team after Miami was routed 45--21 by the Cincinnati
Bengals on Sunday, the latest in a series of embarrassing losses.
Miami has already been eliminated from the playoffs for the second straight
season. And for the second consecutive game, the Dolphins unraveled in the
third quarter, undone by the costly mistakes that have plagued them all year.
NFL Network reported earlier Sunday that owner Stephen Ross is expected to
stick with McDaniel in 2026 despite another season of unfulfilled expectations
for the Dolphins, who hold the NFL's longest playoff win drought at 25 years.
"The focus for me as a head coach, there is plenty to focus on," said McDaniel,
declining to say if he's been told that he's coming back next season.
"I don't spend my thinking about the job I already have," he added. "I try to
do it to the best of my ability, and I have work to do to get our third
quarters right. We're not going to have any time to waste because there's going
to be a hungry Tampa (Bay) team that we're going to face in a week. My focus is
there, and everyone depends on me to have my focus there."
McDaniel, who has faced questions about his job security all season, was much
more willing to voice his frustration about the Dolphins' poor second half.
Miami turned the ball over four times, leading to four Bengals touchdowns.
"I'm just very, very frustrated and angry about this continued third-quarter
thing," McDaniel said, "where it appears ... really the dam breaks and all of a
sudden we play a different style of football. The way I look at it is I'm
furious because I'm allowing it to happen. It starts with me. While I'm up here
after games, you probably won't get much other finger-pointing besides I need
to get it fixed."
Last week's loss at Pittsburgh ended the Dolphins' postseason hopes, and it
also became clear that McDaniel would have to make what he described as a tough
decision to bench struggling quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for rookie Quinn Ewers.
After naming Ewers the Dolphins' starter earlier this week, McDaniel said he
was looking for conviction from the quarterback position.
In his first career start, Ewers provided Dolphins fans --- some of whom put
brown paper bags on their heads as the game got out of hand --- a look at what
he can add to the Dolphins' passing game.
Ewers completed 20 of 30 passes for 260 yards and led three scoring drives. He
appeared calm operating Miami's offense and showed his ability to extend plays
with his legs, something the Dolphins were missing with Tagovailoa this season.
"It didn't feel fast to me," Ewers said. "During the week I thought we did a
good job of keeping our eyes on the play clock and not getting in the rhythm of
practice. Like, ?Hey, it's just practice. We're going to continue on to just go
through the motions.' But we had a play clock on me during the week, which I
think helped a lot. It felt good to be out there. Didn't feel fast."
Ewers appeared more rattled in the second half, throwing a pair of
interceptions, but McDaniel did not critique the rookie's second-half
performance too much because of the way the team unraveled.
Tagovailoa was Miami's emergency third quarterback behind Ewers and veteran
Zach Wilson. He stood on the sideline with a clipboard, giving Ewers pointers
and celebrating after positive plays.
"He was good. Super encouraging to me and all the guys," Ewers said. "He's in a
tough position in that spot. ... I've been there, and I know how he feels. I
thought he did a really good job of helping me out on the sideline and
continuing to talk to those guys and continuing to encourage those guys."
___
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