Barring a miracle, the Miami Dolphins won’t make the playoffs this season.
While back-to-back wins started to dig the Dolphins out of their 2-7 hole, they’d have to win another six straight to get to 10-7. Even that might not be enough in a conference that currently has 10 teams with winning records.
The Dolphins have shown they aren’t going to pack it in and start planning for next year, though. In spite of minimal playoff chances, Miami fought hard to beat up on the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 and did just enough to get an overtime win against the Washington Commanders in Madrid.
So with six weeks left, what can the Dolphins accomplish? Finding the answers to these questions before the 2026 offseason begins would be a good place to start:
Is Mike McDaniel the Dolphins’ coach beyond 2025?
When the Dolphins fired general manager Chris Grier, it was a relative surprise that McDaniel wasn’t also sent packing. The team was 2-7 at the time and fresh off an ugly loss to the Ravens.
But credit to McDaniel and the Dolphins, the team hasn’t quit.
Despite every reason to come out lifeless in November, Miami has battled for its coach. Perhaps the overriding issue for the Dolphins was Grier and the lackluster roster he constructed for McDaniel?
In the next month and change, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has to decide if he’s looking for a GM ready to work with McDaniel’s vision, or if he’s ready for a more significant reset of the franchise.
Is Tua Tagovailoa still the quarterback to build around?
When the Dolphins signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million extension in July 2024, it meant a commitment to the quarterback that’s pretty difficult to break.
Tagovailoa is due to count $56.4 million against Miami’s salary cap next season and there aren’t many avenues to lower that number. Cutting the 27-year-old quarterback would only cause that cap hit to soar to as much as $99.2 million.
It seems Tagovailoa will probably be on the roster again in 2026. But is he still the team’s long-term vision?
Tagovailoa is the NFL leader in interceptions, near the bottom of the league in most metrics, and struggles as much as any at the position to stay healthy.
The most financially prudent path would be to keep Tagovailoa as the starter. But if Miami is ready to turn the page, it could hunt for a new quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft. Tagovailoa’s performance over the next six weeks could make a huge impact on that decision.
Where will the Dolphins cut costs in the offseason?
The NFL hasn’t announced the 2026 salary cap yet, but the Dolphins are projected to be well over, regardless where it lands.
There’s one pretty obvious move that’ll help. Releasing Tyreek Hill is a no-brainer that will likely get the Dolphins under the salary cap. But if Miami hopes to clean up its books and make significant roster changes, tougher decisions will have to be made.
Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Jason Sanders, Alec Ingold, and Tyrel Dodson are all players who would each net at least $3 million in salary cap savings if they were released. The Dolphins could get more than $11 million back if they cut right tackle Austin Jackson with a post-June 1 designation.
Some, if not most of those players won’t be Dolphins next year. The rest of the year could show how indispensable (or disposal) some of those veterans are to the team.
Have any defensive backs earned another go in Miami?
The Dolphins’ secondary was completely turned over during the 2025 offseason. Kendall Fuller was released, safeties Jevón Holland and Jordan Poyer exited in free agency, and Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The lone returning face, Kader Kohou, suffered a season-ending injury in training camp.
In came cheap veterans Jack Jones, Rasul Douglas, JuJu Brents, Ashtyn Davis, and Ifeatu Melifonwu.
Brents is under contract in 2026 and the Dolphins will probably go a different direction than Davis and Melifonwu at safety. It’s Jones and Douglas who are the big question marks in the 2026 offseason. Both have put together strong seasons this year and earned praise from coaches.
A strong finish to 2025 could make it hard for the Dolphins to wave goodbye to one or both of those corners.
Will Anthony Weaver earn a head coaching look elsewhere?
The Dolphins managed to retain Weaver as defensive coordinator in 2025, despite interest from the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints for their head coaching vacancies.
While Weaver entered this season as a favorite to get future head coaching looks, the Dolphins defense’s awful start to the year seemingly cooled that momentum.
But after allowing more than 400 yards in four of their first six games and an average of 29.3 points in their first seven, the Dolphins defense has buckled down. It held three of its last four opponents to no more than 13 points, allowed 302.4 yards per game over its last five, and forced five turnovers in back-to-back November wins.
If the Dolphins continue shutting down opposing offenses, Weaver will likely be a hot name during the January coaching carousel. Miami may be in the market for a new defensive coordinator next year, regardless if McDaniel is still the head coach or not.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: 5 Dolphins questions to be answered in the remainder of the season
