The Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and HC Mike McDaniel found 100% support from each other at almost all times. Back in 2022, the coach even said that the signal caller was the most accurate thrower he had ever seen. The year 2025 tested their relationship as the team lost 6 of its first 8 games. But the QB believes that things have remained steady between them.

The 27-year-old quarterback did an NFL interview with the Phins’ legend Ryan Fitzpatrick on October 30, who was the starter when Tagovailoa arrived there as a rookie. The first thing the present signal caller mentioned was that his career journey amazed him. But he then got real, claiming 2025 is a hard year before diving deep into the QB-HC relationship.

“It’s continued to grow,” Tua Tagovailoa revealed. “This year has been one of those stepping stones of growth in terms of the conversations that are not easy to have, but they need to be had. That’s where Mike, he’s taken a big step forward, and that’s led to a lot of the harder conversations with player to player in the locker room as well.”

We saw that last month when the team kept losing, particularly after the week 6 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. During the post-game conference, the QB criticized some teammates for showing up late or missing players-only meetings. His comments quickly spread and created tension inside the locker room.

A few days later, he apologized to his teammates. “‘I made a mistake,” QB stated. He said he should have handled things privately instead of talking about it in public. He also said that as a team leader, he should have protected the group instead of adding more noise after a tough loss.

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Head coach Mike McDaniel backed his QB with a warning. He said that Tua’s intentions were good but that the forum he chose to express them was wrong. Anyway, the team’s faith paid off in the week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons.

After a tough stretch where Miami fell to 1-6, Tua Tagovailoa entered this game under heavy pressure. After struggling with turnovers, the team benched him in the fourth quarter against the Browns in week 7. But then, he came up and won the week 8 matchup. Tagovailoa admitted after the victory that it felt good to see things finally come together.

However, the pressure remains on the coach.

Tua Tagovailoa’s coach remains on the hot seat

Host Charissa Thompson interviewed NFL insider Ian Rapoport on October 30. The NFL insider also echoed the same sentiment that the Phins coach is under extreme pressure.

“Mike McDaniel’s job status is firmly up in the air, on the hot seat, as they say,” Rapoport said. “I do not sense anything imminent from owner Stephen Ross, who likes him, believes in him, and has invested in him.”

Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel took the team to the playoffs in 2022 and 2023. But they failed in 2024. If another year goes by without the postseason seat, things might become hard for the coach. Although the owner still has faith in McDaniel.

After the week 7 loss, questions again surfaced about McDaniel’s job security. However, team owner Stephen Ross does not plan to make any coaching changes right now. McDaniel said he talks with Ross after every game and refuses to speculate about his future while he still holds the job.

Right now, the focus is on the Week 9 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. And the Phins are losing this one, too, as Ravens are ahead with 28-6 in the fourth quarter.