Reggie Bush Gets Brutally Honest About ‘Depleted’ Mike McDaniel’s Future As Dolphins HC

Once hailed as one of the NFL’s brightest young head coaching talents, Mike McDaniel appeared ready to transform the Miami Dolphins into perennial playoff contenders. However, after a disappointing 2024 season, Miami enters Week 6 of 2025 with a 1-4 record, leaving fans and analysts questioning the team’s direction.

Calls for a coaching change are growing louder, and former Dolphins running back Reggie Bush isn’t holding back, claiming McDaniel is only best suited as offensive coordinator.

Reggie Bush Doesn’t Hold Back on Mike McDaniel’s Future As Dolphins HC

The Dolphins suffered a major setback early in the season when star wideout Tyreek Hill was lost to a season-ending injury. Despite his absence, Miami’s passing game has remained competitive, with its offense ranking 15th in PFSN’s Offensive Impact metric.

However, the running game has been virtually nonexistent, and the team ranks 21st in scoring. In their Week 5 loss to the Carolina Panthers, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns, but a weak ground attack ultimately doomed the Dolphins. Carolina racked up 239 rushing yards, and two fourth-quarter touchdown drives sealed Miami’s fate.

Bush believes Miami’s struggles are largely due to the lack of a consistent running game, which stems from McDaniel’s reluctance to adjust the offense.

“(With) the Miami Dolphins. Mike McDaniels has been running the same exact offense since he’s been there,” Bush told RG. “He stands in front of the podium with this exact same look — like he’s depleted. He just doesn’t know. People have to start understanding he just doesn’t know. It’s OK if you don’t know. But if you’re doing the same things over and over and over and you’re expecting different results, come on, you can’t be serious.”

Bush further noted that while Tagovailoa has played well, the Dolphins need a more balanced approach, including two-tight-end sets and fullback runs, to maximize their offensive potential.

“Run some two tight end sets with the fullback, that old school run game,” says Bush. “Teams don’t run the football like that anymore that punishes linebackers. When you have a fullback, when you have two tight end sets, you got guards pulling, and that punishes linebackers, and that punishes defenses. You have to think about football like boxing — where are my jabs and left hooks that will really knock somebody out?”

The Dolphins currently have only one reliable running back and one of the weakest tight end rooms in the NFL, leaving them limited in their offensive options. Without improvements in the ground game, Bush believes Miami is capped at mediocrity, likely finishing around 8-9 or 9-8.

In his view, McDaniel may be a talented offensive coordinator, but succeeding as a head coach requires a broader mindset, leadership across all phases of the team, and the ability to adapt, qualities that go beyond being a good individual coach.

“He can be a great guy, but great guys ain’t going to win you championships. You need a different mindset. You need a different attitude,” Bush added.