The Packers could make a major addition to their coaching staff ... in season

The Dolphins could fall to 0-3 Thursday, putting their playoff hopes and Mike McDaniel's future in peril. But if they fire McDaniel during the season, the Packers should pounce.

When an NFL team makes changes to its coaching staff during the season, it usually signals that the train has come off the tracks.

The Green Bay Packers know this well. In 2018, they fired Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike McCarthy mere hours after a disappointing loss to the Arizona Cardinals dropped their record to 4-7-1, all but eliminating them from the playoffs. The move closed the door on the McCarthy era in Green Bay, one of the most successful runs in franchise history.

A similar situation might soon play out near South Beach. Mike McDaniel, once the toast of the NFL for his creative run schemes and explosive passing attack, has seemingly run out of rope with the Miami Dolphins. McDaniel's team dropped its first two games this season and hasn't reached the playoffs since 2023, adding urgency for the off-beat coach to reverse Miami's fortunes.

And McDaniel's seat felt warm to the touch before the year even began. After closing 2024 with a humiliating 32-30 loss to the New York Jets, the Dolphins put out a statement attributed to their owner, Stephen Ross. In it, Ross stated that while McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier would remain in their posts, "continuity in leadership is not to be confused with an acceptance that the status quo is good enough."

The heightened scrutiny after last season's underperformance and this year's 0-2 record have placed McDaniel squarely in the crosshairs. On Thursday, the Dolphins face reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, a game McDaniel's squad enters as double-digit underdogs. The following week, Miami hosts the Jets, another AFC East rival. While the unexpected happens with regularity in the NFL, McDaniel could realistically oversee an 0-4 start with losses to every divisional opponent, all in a make-or-break season.

When asked earlier this week about how he maintains his sanity amid calls for his job, McDaniel offered simply, "Buffalo."

Back in Wisconsin, the Packers have monitored these developments. While Miami doesn't appear on their schedule, McDaniel's future could become intertwined with their own.