Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has seemingly drawn much of the ire for Miami’s road loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. Former Dolphins running back Reggie Bush even recently advocated on social media for the Dolphins to fire their leader from the sidelines.

Dolphins insider Omar Kelly is another individual who was critical of McDaniel following Miami’s seventh defeat since the start of the 2024 regular season. He noted that Miami had several chances to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the contest but didn’t capitalize on its opportunities.

“Miami (5-7) was trailing by 16 points with a little more than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter when the offense got to the 1-yard line and had three chances to punch it in for a touchdown, potentially making it a one-score game,” Kelly wrote.

“Problem is, this Dolphins team, and every team in the Mike McDaniel era, punches like a featherweight.”

Kelly also voiced his belief that the Dolphins are soft and have been for McDaniel’s tenure as head coach.

“When your team can’t anchor down and muscle its way forward for 1 yard, 3 feet, to score a touchdown that could have made Thursday’s beatdown more of a game there’s evidence that your team is soft,” he wrote.

“And when this continues to be a running theme for three seasons, it’s a foundational issue that touches everything, from strength and conditioning, roster construction, to coaching mindset.”

While the Dolphins are below the .500 mark on the season and have not lived up to preseason expectations, Miami enjoyed plenty of regular-season success in McDaniel’s first two seasons leading the way for the squad. In the 2022 regular season, Miami won nine of its 17 contests. Then, in the 2023 regular season, the Dolphins finished with an 11-6 record and tied for the top record of any team in the AFC East.

The Dolphins’ 11 wins marked the most victories for the team in a single campaign since all the way back in 2008, when Miami ended up 11-5.

For much of last season, Miami looked the part of a Super Bowl contender. But the Dolphins were routed by the Kansas City Chiefs in their first playoff game and have yet to pick up a playoff victory with McDaniel at the helm.

After the Dolphins underperformed in the playoffs in the first two seasons of McDaniel’s stint as head coach, Miami is at grave risk of missing the playoffs entirely this season. According to NFL.com, they only have a 10 percent chance of making the playoffs at this time with five games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

The Dolphins will try to get back in the win column when they do battle against the New York Jets on Dec. 8. New York is fresh off a 26-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and holds a record of just 3-9 on the season.