MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins bandwagon is emptying out quickly.
Fan sentiment has turned sharply against the Dolphins and their coach, Mike McDaniel, after an unthinkably bad start to the season by Miami’s offense.
There were certainly signs of fan frustration bordering surrender even before Monday night’s three-score loss to the Tennessee Titans. Ticket prices on the secondary market plummeted after a 1-2 start that included another stint on injured reserve by Tua Tagovailoa.
But Monday was worse than anything that came before it, and the crowd that did come out to Hard Rock Stadium made clear that they had seen enough.
Mike McDaniel on Miami Dolphins Fans’ Anger
As the Dolphins went to the locker room down at the break, the fans in attendance rained down some of the loudest boos we’ve heard at this stadium since McDaniel took over in 2022.
On Tuesday, PFN asked McDaniel his reaction to those jeers and what he would tell Dolphins fans jumping off the bandwagon:
“I guess it didn’t hit me with surprise. You know, I think people invest. To go and believe in a team that has, you know, bottom line, the droughts that this organization has incurred, you know, I don’t take that lightly. So I would be dishonest if I told you that I didn’t expect that.
“The worst part about all of that is you have people, that I can relate where weeks are ruined with losses. And the worst part about it is that don’t have any control. So that’s not a fun place to be in.
Mike McDaniel’s message to Dolphins fans pic.twitter.com/oUrGSi2O7T
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 1, 2024
“I know sporting events where I’m rooting for a team and I’m not coaching in it, I get much more angry when there’s failure than when I’m coaching and I can actually problem-solve something.
“So it’s to be expected. This is the big leagues. To feel entitled to blind support, you know, I think that’s not my cup of tea. You have to go to work, problem-solve, and try to fix things as best you can. And I don’t think we’re necessarily owed anything.
“I think people believe when you give them reason to believe. If people jump off the bandwagon, I’m not really villainizing the people that are jumping off the bandwagon. It’s more, we gave them reason to. That’s to be expected. I don’t think people pay what they pay to go to the Hard Rock Stadium to watch us lose. Whatever results incurred by our game-day failure, we deserve.”