Three weeks into the 2022 regular season, new Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was the toast of South Florida after starting the year off with three wins over perennial powers like New England, Baltimore and Buffalo.
Three weeks later, McDaniel might have wondered where the good will went after three straight losses to Cincinnati, the New York Jets and on Sunday against Minnesota - all games in which the same quarterback who started the game for Miami did not finish the game.
For someone who was brought to South Florida to be the answer to getting the Dolphins back to the playoffs since the 2016 season, the 39-year-old Yale graduate who is in his first head coaching job at any level is learning it might be harder than first thought.
McDaniel was brought in to do something that former coach Brian Flores wasn't able to in his three seasons in Miami - lead the Fins to the playoffs. At the same time, the offensive guru who didn't call plays in his last stop of San Francisco was supposed to be the guy to work with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
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Granted, when Tua was playing he was having a heck of a start to the season - with two of the top seven passing games of his career in 2022 before being knocked out in the game against the Bills and being carted off the field five days later against the Bengals.
Sunday, the Fins once again found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard in a 24-16 loss to the Vikings. After the game, McDaniel gave the answer you would expect - if your coach was someone in over his head this early into the season.
"I was very, very happy with the way we prepared. I think guys were ready to play. Then a lot of stuff happened, which is the nature of football, so then I also look at the end of the game where we took a step forward in our resolve and how guys tried to finish the game," he said.
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Yes, Miami should be happy that they didn't fold up the tent after falling behind 16-3 in the fourth quarter. At the same time, there is no spot for moral victories - just wins and losses. Right now, the Dolphins have three of each.
The season is nowhere close to being over for the Dolphins. Their next three games (Pittsburgh, Detroit and Chicago) are a combined 5-12 right now, so there is still plenty of time for Miami to get over this little rough patch.
But after three straight losses to teams with a combined one Super Bowl title after three wins over teams with a combined nine titles, McDaniel better hope the losing ends soon before people start second guessing his hire.
