Things seem a little better for the Miami Dolphins as Tyreek Hill’s agent shot down trade rumors, and Mike McDaniel cracked down on tardy players. Also, McDaniel brought the hammer down by firing two coaches after the Dolphins missed out on the playoffs, according to a post on X by Tom Pelissero.

The #Dolphins fired special teams coordinator Danny Crossman and wide receivers coach/pass game specialist Wes Welker.

The Dolphins finished a very disappointing 8-9 in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations. Tua Tagovailoa’s injury woes surfaced again and the Dolphins couldn’t find a consistent winning groove.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel looking new direction

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on the field before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Firing position coaches seems like finger pointing. But in the NFL it’s part of the business. But McDaniel’s lack of toughness seems to have trickled down to the players.

One of those players called out the team for it after an embarrassing loss to Green Bay in cold weather. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks said the Dolphins didn’t have enough toughness, according to profootballnetwork.com.

“Simple as that, I thought we were soft today,” Brooks said. “I don’t know if guys was too cold, (and) I don’t know what it was. I feel like the elements played a part in how we played as a group, and that was the result that we got.”

And it’s not just the weather. The Dolphins have a losing record when the opponent scores first, showing a lack of ability to battle back consistently. Also, they are double-digit game under .500 playing against opponents with a winning record.

McDaniel said he knows he needs to hold his players accountable.

“I think holding people accountable is part of how as a coach you can impact toughness,” McDaniel said. “I think overall, it’s a violent, competitive sport that when things don’t go your way, a lot of things get thrown out there. Who’s to say who’s right or wrong?

“If you disagree with that sentiment, to me, there’s only one emotional reaction, and that’s to focus on proving that wrong. But to sit here and debate — you know, tough, not tough. All I know is dudes are aggressively tackling each other, taking on hits.

“And I assess the tape because that, to me, is fact. You could hypothesize innumerable amounts of things, whether it’s player, coach, all that. If you’re worried about the toughness of your team, to me, you study the effort, intentionality, and how people are playing when things are tough, when things are down.”