Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel wasn’t fazed by the airplane flying a massive banner calling for his firing ahead of Sunday’s 33-27 home loss to the Patriots.
During his postgame press conference, McDaniel — currently on the hot seat amid Miami’s 0-2 start —was asked about the airplane banner flying over Hard Rock Stadium that read, “Fire (Dolphins general manager Chris) Grier. Fire McDaniel.”
“I was coaching and calling a football game,” McDaniel said. “I wasn’t spending my time considering what the fans were doing at all. Fans want their team to win, so I figure that if we win football games, I don’t think it’s personal. I think they want to win, and so do I.”
Loud boos engulfed the stadium as Miami’s defense failed to get a single stop.
The offense struggled with Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throwing an interception with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
Miami All-Pro wideout Tyreek Hill snapped his year-long 30-yard catch drought when Tagovailoa found him for a 47-yard gain early in the third quarter.
It was Hill’s first big catch since Miami’s 2024 season-opener against Jacksonville.
It followed the Dolphins’ 33-8 season-opening loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 7, when Tagovailoa committed three turnovers and Miami picked up just 211 yards of total offense.
Hill found himself at the center of trade rumors after he had just four catches.
McDaniel has faced questions about his job security ever since.
A GoFundMe started by Dolphins fans on Sept. 8 raised $1,898 to fly the banner, according to the Palm Beach Post.
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Tagovailoa wasn’t bothered by the boos.
“It’s part of the game,” he said after the loss. “The fans pay money, their hard-earned money to come and see their team play, and we go out there and we don’t look the part as we have previous years. So it’s all understandable, and it comes with the game. You get the boos, you get the cheers.
“It’s like anything else, you get the highs, you get the lows. But for us mentally as players, we’ve got to stay even keeled. We’ve got to stay together. We’ve got to continue to trust one another and build off of whatever this game was.”
The Dolphins play the Bills (2-0) in Buffalo on Thursday.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
