Brian Daboll watched Tua Tagovailoa set fire to Mike McDaniel's seat and smiled
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is currently on an employment-by-week basis. One week, he looks every bit the 2022 Coach of the Year, while the next, he looks like the coach who can't get off the hot seat.
A 34-17 Week 6 win on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles will cool his seat significantly. At least for now. Not only was the primetime home statement a signature win, but the development of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart was on full display. Daboll was hired to be a value-add to the quarterback room in particular.
Related: Brian Daboll just saved himself from the ultimate Bill Belichick disaster
While the vibes around the fourth-year coach are ever-changing, Miami Dolphins' head coach Mike McDaniel cannot say the same. Welcome to the Toasty Buns club. And after the Fins' 29-27 Week 6 collapse against the Los Angeles Chargers, his seat only got hotter... and then his quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, spoke to the media after the game, which might have done him in for good.
Brian Daboll’s hot seat looks Antarctic after Tua Tagovailoa’s postgame rant
The Dolphins look terrible this season. Their lone win is over the winless New York Jets. The team put itself in a position to win the game, going up 27-26 with 46 seconds left in the game. It still wasn't enough, as the Bolts went 44 yards down the field to kick the game-winning field goal with five seconds left.
It was another late-game collapse at McDaniel's expense, all but signaling he's just not the right man for the job. Tagovailoa took the gloves off during his postgame conference, calling out the lack of leadership and accountability throughout the team as the driving force behind the team's struggles:
🎥 Tua Tagovailoa reveals players have been arriving late and not showing up to players only meetings: "We have guys showing up to player online meetings late, guys not showing up to player only meetings." (@MiamiDolphins) #PhinsUp pic.twitter.com/P05u2eb9cH
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) October 12, 2025
Let's be clear, the 27-year-old spends a considerable amount of time talking about players' only meetings as the reasoning behind the teams' disconnect. But lost in the rant about teammates essentially not caring was his calling out the lack of leadership within the team. It's concerning, and also a direct shot at McDaniel and his staff.
That players feel the need to hold meetings without coaches says plenty about the failures already.
You have to believe there's no one happier than Daboll. Sure it's been rocky, but things in East Rutherford seem to at least be headed in the right direction. Miami looks like a lost cause. It wasn't a couple of weeks ago that No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans took to the postgame presser to call his situation out.
Dabs is getting some much-needed relief from the hot-seat spotlight. He's far from safe, but at least he’s not the one in abandon-all-ships-free-fall. That spotlight’s shifting fast, and it’s not fixated on East Rutherford anymore. He had to be buzzing watching that press conference.
Commanders' QB 'strikes a lot of fear' in opposing coaches
While some are worried about Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels being in the early stages of a sophomore slump after missing two of the team’s first five games, others around the NFL are more concerned about being part of his next highlight reel.
Daniels himself admitted he had to break off some rust after returning to play for the Commanders in a Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but if a 100 passer rating, 270 yards of offense, and one touchdown pass is rusty, then imagine what might happen when he’s comfortable again.
That is what the Chicago Bears are trying to stop from happening on Monday night, as they focus hard on how their defense is going to plan to contain the Washington quarterback, who is much different from the version they saw in 2024.
Defending the 'Triple Option' 2.0
"The engine to this thing is the quarterback and the ability of the quarterback to run the football, and that makes you play 11-on-11 football,” Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said in the week leading into the primetime matchup.
"It's like back in the old days of defending the triple option, everybody's going to have a dive, quarterback, pitch responsibilities, and everybody's got to do their job on each and every one of those plays.”
Chicago head coach Ben Johnson tried to take a look at the full Commanders offense, praising offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and run game coordinator Anthony Lynn for creating the league’s top rushing attack through five weeks.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The 'Clear Focal Point of Stress'
"There's something new every week, schematically. They put a lot of stress on the defense. But the clear focal point of that stress is the quarterback,” he said.
On Daniels, specifically, Johnson said, “He's dangerous. I think that's a big reason why their running game is what it is. He strikes a lot of fear in opposing coaches because you look at him. You've got to account for him.”
More Than Just an Athlete
But it isn’t just Daniels’ athleticism that scares opposing coaches. Unlike some in the past who have entered the league with top-shelf athletic ability, the second-year Washington quarterback also has the arm to punish defenses that try to bring extra pressure or lose discipline in coverage.
"Jayden's an extremely accurate thrower of the football. Something that I think is overlooked when you look at him because he is so dynamic with his legs," Johnson says.
The last time the Commanders and Bears faced off, the NFL’s Moment of the Year was born. This year, it is quite possible that the contest becomes the launching point for Daniels’ next level of progression, not unlike his first Monday Night Football appearance in 2024 signaled his advancement from rookie quarterback to playmaker.
And if Chicago isn’t careful, a Hail Mary will only be part of the imagery everyone remembers when looking back at its outings against Washington and its dynamic young quarterback.
