In the midst of a Miami Dolphins endorphin rush following a complete, decisive and – let’s face it – fun win over the Atlanta Falcons, it’s hard to shift back to the possible reality at hand.

At 2-6, the current task is clear. Try to keep winning.

The reality, however, is Miami needs a near historic turnaround to make the playoffs. Should on the other hand, the rails come back off, attention will turn back to the jobs of head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier.

The equally-desperate 2-5 Baltimore Ravens lie briefly ahead, as does the time off behind it. Were it not for the way Miami handled itself in Atlanta, this would be the perfect week to move on if a team were going to do it midseason.

At this point there is no telling what the season holds, but one thing did become apparent in the Falcons win — if ownership decides to make a change in the middle of the season, offensive coordinator Frank Smith has more than earned the opportunity.

EXPOSING A RECURRING PROBLEM

Even to the football layman, the McDaniel tenure has been mired in game management issues, especially early.

In the first few years it was play clock issues due to a combination play verbiage being too long, huddles breaking too late, or motion pushing into the end of the play clock. This season, it’s at time been personnel groupings.

After the brutal 25-point loss at Cleveland, QB Tua Tagavailoa mentioned “operational” problems, multiple times.

“I think it starts with the operation,” Tagavailoa said when asked what is missing with the offense. “Being able to operate quick, knowing where guys are going to be, understanding that aspect of it and then playing fast from there. I think that’s what jumpstarts that ordeal.”

The quarterback doesn’t control who’s in the game. That comes from the sideline with coordination of the offensive playcaller and coach upstairs. But primarily from the sideline. The QB works the play within the framework of who’s been sent in or out.

Asked about the apparent in-game communication issues, Tua went back to the same word.

“It was more the operation of guys going where they need to be out of the huddle, things like that, and then we’re down on the clock,” said Tagavailoa. “So, having to work through that and maneuver that and not waste our timeouts.”

CLEANING UP THE SIDELINES

Not only is the quarterback unable to manage personnel, neither is the person calling plays. There’s been squabbling at times between McDaniel and wide receivers coach Robert Prince in-game, obviously about wide receiver substitutions. But the move to switch Smith from being in the coaches’ box upstairs to the sidelines and swapping places with offensive assistant Bobby Slowik clearly paid dividends.

In listening to player comments, Smith brought a controlled presence to the sideline in terms of personnel, keeping everyone on the same page. He kept the gameplan and everything the team had worked on during the week in the forefront of the minds of those beside him, making sure all were engaged.

He also apparently brought a confidence and energy that just a week earlier, was the opposite of Tagavailoa’s perception.

“Frank will continue to harp on the things that we’ve talked about,” said Tagavailoa. “You need someone like that on the sidelines, whether you’re looking at the plays or whatnot. He helps a lot with the leadership aspect of getting the guys going, keeping the guys in it, regardless of the score.”

He continued, using that word again, but this time as a positive.

“Continuing to play with good operation,” Tua continued. “That’s what led to guys not straying from that, with the personnel groupings, operation with the guys up front, all of that. I don’t get to talk to Frank when he’s in the box. So, Frank being down there was really helpful.”

“I don’t think I’d be the only one saying that when it comes to players on the field,” he added.

Tagavailoa’s comments are telling. Most notably “whether you’re looking at the plays or whatnot” but also in that he has complete confidence in saying he isn’t the only player who felt that way about Smith on the sideline.

“I was like, ‘Frank was on the sidelines!,’” said RB DeVon Achane. “He’s usually in the box. And I told him, ‘Hey, Frank, I don’t want to see you in that skybox anymore. You’re going to have to be on the sideline with us.’ Just him on the sideline, him bringing that juice and that screaming, and now he’s saying he’s got a migraine.”

SMITH HISTORY OF SOLVING DOLPHINS PROBLEMS

This isn’t the first time Frank Smith has come to the rescue for the Miami Dolphins.

In McDaniel and Smith’s first season (2022), the offensive line had its typical Miami Dolphins struggles. But unlike the patience McDaniel showed with other staff, he quickly cut loose Matt Applebaum, a coach who was in his first NFL season after coaching at Boston College.

When Applebaum was hired, there were people associated with the football program at BC familiar to ACDolphins.com who questioned his fitness for such a position.

In firing him, McDaniel gave possibly the worst review a coach can get without directly insulting them when asked why he let Applebaum go.

“I needed more, selfishly, to alleviate some stuff off my plate,” said McDaniel on Feb 8, 2023. “The motivating factor to make that move, was to facilitate Frank Smith being able to appropriate his time more as a coordinator and less in the offensive line room.”

Ouch. Unless you’re Smith.

But again, when McDaniel needed a problem solved, that’s where he turned.

THEN THERE’S WALLER

It’s not breaking any news to share that injured tight end Darren Waller’s best years have come when Smith was with him, whether it be with the Raiders or Dolphins. But as an update, it’s probably fair to at least update the facts.

In six years that Waller played on a team where Smith wasn’t coaching (2015-16 BAL; 2018, 2021-22 LVR; 2023 NYG), he posted 153 receptions for 1,783 yards and eight touchdowns. Not too bad.

In his two years-plus (LVR 2019-2020; 2025 MIA) with Smith, Waller has 207 catches, 2,458 yards and 16 touchdowns. Waller has expressed his joy in playing with Smith and that the tight end came back to the field looking as elite as ever is nothing short of amazing.

SMITH HAS EARNED MORE THAN MIAMI HAS GIVEN

Despite being Miami’s offensive coordinator for four years, the public perception of Smith has always been somewhat muted, most likely because McDaniel calls the plays.

And unless you are fortunate enough to be inside the Dolphins training facility day-in and day-out, it’s challenging to understand Smith’s role given that it’s not that of a traditional OC.

Given that and the now public display that suggests Smith is a coach that players respect and appreciate, McDaniel’s comments postgame when asked about his contributions to the Falcons win were honestly disappointing.

It’s nothing new that McDaniel likes to dance around answers, but it felt like he was unwilling to admit exactly how much Smith took over. There is no doubt he didn’t make it clear what Smith’s exact role was, other than that it was important.

Specifically, two questions were asked to try and clarify what that role was, and McDaniel wouldn’t give it any such clarity in his response.

Assistant coaches and coordinators all want to advance their careers. Validation in the form of their head coach doing so in the media does actually get wheels spinning in front offices.

If Smith can’t have the playcalling role here, credence to his achievement in the role he’s in is appropriate.

(I have left the transcript of those questions and responses at the bottom of this page. Please make your own judgment as to whether or not it was adequate).

Regardless, if the slide resumes for the Dolphins as was thus far incorrectly predicted by some anonymous publication, Smith is the coach who should get a chance a la Dan Campbell. And if he performs like Campbell did when he closed out the 2015 campaign in Miami, Smith should get consideration for the opportunity.

In the meantime, much-deserved kudos to Frank Smith for his contribution to the current Dolphins’ four days of euphoria.

Mike McDaniel, Postgame at Falcons, October 26

Q: What did it mean for the team to have Frank Smith on the sideline this week?

“I think it was something that I hadn’t planned on. It was more of a reaction to the work week. I just thought that for some of the stuff we were trying to get done offensively, Frank [Smith] just did a phenomenal job staying on the guys. They responded to him during the week. I really wanted them to have that extension of the work week and practice on the field. I think Frank is a problem solver, a solution man, so to speak. He invested in the players. They responded to him, so I wanted to continue that going into this game. When you start the season at 1-6, you’re looking for things to adjust and change up. Who are the people that are going to step up and how do they engender a response? Frank certainly did that this week. I’m very proud of the job he did. Obviously, it’s all about the execution of our players. They really responded in kind to him, which we were all fired up about.”

Q: What does that look like with players responding to Frank [Smith] being the problem solver?

“Football can be very complicated or very simple, depending on the way you look at it. I think Frank [Smith] really pushed the guys all week. We’ve been talking about our communication within the offense, the way we break the huddle, the way we approach the line of scrimmage, and keeping it about the most fundamental parts of the game, which we were failing at the week previous. In that process, I saw them literally run to the line of scrimmage every play. I think we had a pre-snap penalty on Wednesday, one or two. We had one on Thursday, and then we had zero on Friday. I just wanted to lean into that. I wanted the guys to have that consistency with which they responded to, to try to get this done in this game. Fortunately, you’re able to do stuff like that when you have a lot of good coaches on staff. I was able to, without blinking, have Frank down and Bobby Slowik up and didn’t lose the information that you get from upstairs because it’s a very vital job, too. In cohesion with the rest of the staff, I thought everyone did a very good job executing that adjustment that we’ve made this season.”