Watching the 2025 Miami Dolphins has been painful to quite painful. However, not all poor teams are created equally. Some bad teams can look at injuries or maybe they need to make some adjustments and/or add a piece or two in the offseason, get a new defensive coordinator, blah blah.
That’s not the Dolphins. If the three major parts of an NFL franchise are (outside of ownership because it always starts at the top) the general manager, head coach and quarterback, the Dolphins need to replace all three this year. So far, only general manager Chris Grier has been held accountable.
Head coach Mike McDaniel will – barring some unforeseen hot streak that no one thinks this team is capable of – be relieved of his duties at the end of the year. That leaves quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has shown this season that he’s not the guy to get them to the promised land.
Making matters worse is the – as of now – putrid 2026 NFL Draft class for quarterbacks. Not only is it incredibly thin, it just got thinner.
Dolphins are “Moore” likely to stick with Tua Tagovailoa
Draft expert Todd McShay said on “The McShay Show” this week that highly touted University of Oregon QB Dante Moore is likely going to stay another season as a Duck.
“Book it,” McShay said of Moore. “He’s gonna be back at Oregon next year. They have the resources. The parent, the agent, the coaches are all in lock step on this thing. Dante Moore is gonna be an Oregon Duck next year and be paid handsomely to be that.”
That’s one less top prospect to enter the draft, in a pool that is already a bit tight on quarterbacks. Remember University of Texas phenom Arch Manning and how he was the next coming? He’s played himself out of a first-round grade at this point.
Ditto Garrett Nussmeier from LSU, whose team is 5-4, 10th in the SEC and, oh, his head coach got fired late last month. While Brian Kelly’s firing isn’t on Nussmeier, it’s safe to say that if he was lights out, Kelly would still have a job.
Tua Tagovailoa’s contract will be tough to move
In July of 2004, Tua signed a four-year, $212 million contract for reasons unbeknownst to anyone with a functioning brain. It’s not that Tua is awful, but his injury history is troubling to say the least. Why on Earth would you make that kind of a commitment to a guy who hasn’t proven he can even stay healthy for a reasonable length of time?
I guess you could ask Grier, he should have time on his hands these days to discuss it.
Tua is due $54 million guaranteed in 2026 and that doesn’t even include other bonuses and whatever. But, who cares about incentives and roster bonuses when you’re on the hook for $54 million? You’d have a tough time trading Tua if his salary was manageable due to his relatively poor play, poor leadership and bell-rung history.
Who would give up any resources for an oft-injured player who costs an arm and a leg (and another extremity or two)? Even the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns aren’t that dumb (well), so Dolphins fans are stuck with Tua for the foreseeable future. And as for drafting his replacement, that’s not looking good either as the class just seems weak at this point.
It also doesn’t say a lot about the hopes of getting a high-end new head coach. If I’m a hot name on the head-coaching market, I’ll definitely be weighing the “stuck with Tua” factor.
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