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The Miami Dolphins are not expected to fire coach Mike McDaniel this week despite a 1-6 record and another lethargic showing during Sunday's 31-6 loss against the Cleveland Browns. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher drilled into McDaniels and what he paints as a lifeless team taking the field without much direction.

"The second half of that game they looked almost disinterested, they looked deflated, almost (like) there was nothing left in the tank," Cowher said during 'NFL on CBS' after Sunday's game. "Almost disengaged. I'm just talking the way I saw it. Tua (Tagovailoa) turned the ball over four times. The defense agave up some big plays. It'll be interesting to see what happens down there.

"There's been a lot of talk about the lack of structure that they have inside the building, but the bottom line, again, we don't know what's going inside that building because we're not there, but we see the product that's on the field. And right now, there's some issues in Miami."

Tagovailoa detailed Miami's inner turmoil earlier this month when he publicly called out teammates for either being late to or not attending players-only meetings.

McDaniel called those remarks from his quarterback a "misguided interpretation" of what actually happened, further proof this team and its players simply aren't in-step this season with results reflecting those issues.

After reaching the playoffs his first two seasons, McDaniel is 9-15 since and now 29-29 overall. Tagovailoa, once a Pro Bowl passer under McDaniel, acknowledged his play must improve.

"Definitely not happy, not proud of where I'm at with my play, with how I've gone about things this year," Tagovailoa said after averaging just 4.3 yards per attempt and finishing the loss to the Browns with a career-low 24.1 passer rating. "I know I've gotta be a lot better — and I've been better for the Miami Dolphins in years past. But this isn't years past, this is this year. Just trying to maneuver everything and build a collection of guys to come along with me. I've gotta be able to multitask if that makes sense, and while doing that and get in that flow."

Is it time for McDaniel to send message?

Where's the accountability? McDaniel's seeming lack of self-awareness and inability to get his team to play up to their potential are the primary reasons his seat is scorching at midseason. 

"If they don't fire Mike McDaniel, I think he should bench Tua and put in Quinn Ewers," Danny Kanell said during an appearance on 'NFL on CBS'. "That to me if how you show your players that Tua is no different than anybody else. If he doesn't perform, he gets benched because that's life as player in the NFL for most people."

Ahead of this week's game against the Atlanta Falcons, McDaniel stands with Tagovailoa as his starting quarterback, despite benching the former first-rounder in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Browns.

"He's gonna take the snaps this week and he's gonna be our starter this week and my expectation is that we don't throw 10 picks," McDaniel said. 

After catching flack from teammates after failing to take ownership following a Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Tagovailoa issued an apology, then proceeded to deliver another three-interception outing on Sunday afternoon. He leads the NFL in giveaways.

"If think if (McDaniel) benched Tua and let Quinn Ewers go out there and play, I think it would send a message to that locker room," Kanell said.

Miami's lone victory this season came against the New York Jets, the NFL's only winless team at this point. 

After squandering a 17-point lead at Carolina earlier this month and failing to climb out of a 13-point hole in the fourth quarter against the Chargers during a pair of single-possession losses, this latest defeat was particularly deflating.

Miami did "everything to lose the game" according to McDaniel, who pointed to 11 penalties — the most since 2022 — and four turnovers for reasons his players appeared frustrated in the second half. Cowher wasn't the only one who noticed the Dolphins' poor body language. Miami's coach did, too.