The Miami Dolphins are officially bought into their head coach Mike McDaniel lock, stock, and barrel.

The two sides reportedly agreed to a contract extension on Friday, which will carry him under contract through the 2028 season.

It’s no coincidence that McDaniel is locked in through the 2028 season.  That’s also the same time frame that Miami signed QB Tua Tagovailoa through with his recent extension.  But that shouldn’t be too surprising since McDaniel and Tua have worked so well together.  It’s a very logical move.

Together, the duo has led the Dolphins’ offense to new heights over the last two years.  Tua has become a new quarterback in McDaniel’s system, leading the league in a number of key statistics in 2022 (yards per attempt, yards per completion, and quarterback rating) while leading the NFL in passing yards in 2023.

McDaniel, while yet to deliver the team’s first divisional title since 2008 or first playoff win since 2000, isn’t far off.  If not for a complete meltdown late on Monday night against Tennessee, the Dolphins would have that division title and had a far easier first playoff game than at the Kansas City Chiefs in dangerously cold temperatures.

But it happened, and McDaniel has to figure out how to get his team one small step ahead of where they were last year.  Most notably, how to defeat Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

However, it seems as though Stephen Ross and Chris Grier believe that he’s certainly capable of making that step and leading the Dolphins to their best season this century