Dolphins Firing Mike McDaniel Leads Ryan Clark to Point Fingers at Tua Tagovailoa

Tua Tagovailoa will now work with his third head coach next season after the Miami Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel.

Dolphins Firing Mike McDaniel Leads Ryan Clark to Point Fingers at Tua Tagovailoa

Mike McDaniel, Ryan Clark, and Tua Tagovailoa (Image via Imago/Barstool/X)

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With the Miami Dolphins disappointingly ending their 2025 campaign, all eyes were on what the franchise would do with Tua Tagovailoa and head coach Mike McDaniel.

The quarterback is tied down at least until the end of next season, when they can potentially exit his $212 million contract with a $34.8 million dead cap.

Then there is the factor that good quarterbacks are hard to come by, which is why the organization decided to fire Mike McDaniel from his post. Hearing this news, Ryan Clark detailed what he thought was the root concern.

Mike McDaniel showed that he can coach football, he showed he can lead men… Let’s be real. We are here today with the Miami Dolphins as an organization because they drafted Tua Tagovailoa.

Ryan Clark said on First Take

The former safety clarified that he did not believe it was due to Tagovailoa’s lack of talent. Rather, the injuries and drop in performance after earning his massive paycheck have led to this.

Clark reiterated that the Dolphins’ form in the second half of the season was proof that McDaniel can coach. However, Tagovailoa’s struggles to remain healthy have taken a toll, and that was not on their now-former head coach.

The Super Bowl champion believes this decision could be a move from the owners to suggest that they are moving towards a complete rebuild with a new direction.

Ryan Clark’s colleague was not so soft on Tua Tagovailoa’s problems

Ryan Clark subtly suggested that Tua Tagovailoa‘s struggles have cost Mike McDaniel his job. Next up was Stephen A. Smith, who, going by his reputation, was not so soft at stating the facts.

Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa's relationship comes into question
Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa’s relationship comes into question (Image via Uncle Jack/X)

I’m wondering, what do you want next year? A diaper and a bib? You complained about Brian Flores once he was gone… Mike McDaniel on the hot seat, and look at who opened their mouth and said change was good. It was Tua.

Stephen A. Smith said

The 58-year-old continued to throw barbs at the Alabama alum by asking why he took this opportunity to talk about how change is good. Smith believes the entire coaching carousel at the Dolphins is tied to Tagovailoa.

The last time he spoke up was after Brian Flores was no longer the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Now, the QB spoke up when it was clear to him that McDaniel was not going to be around anymore.

He brought up the unending concussions and mentioned that it was better if the Hawaiian native left football and became a pundit, as that way he could stop costing people their jobs. Stephen A. Smith believes this trend will probably continue with the next head coach, as Tua Tagovailoa has proved that he is not one to take accountability and do what is necessary to win.

Mike McDaniel already getting OC offers

As both Ryan Clark and Stephen A. Smith mentioned, there was no questioning Mike McDaniel‘s ability to coach football. In fact, the rest of the football world also knows that fact.

That is why, as Ian Rapoport reported, the 42-year-old has courted some offers to become their next offensive coordinator. Most notably, the Detroit Lions have reached out to the Colorado native about their vacant position.

With a plethora of teams waiting to send out fillers for their open positions, McDaniel, who is known as a wizard on offense, will find a job sooner than others.

The Miami Dolphins, on the other hand, will now first have to find a general manager, and then a head coach who can work with the team they have before working on a total roster rebuild down the line.

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