Mike McDaniel was asked Friday if he’d cleared the air with Troy Aikman after the ESPN analyst criticized the Dolphins’ fourth-quarter performance on Monday Night Football last month. The question naturally arose because the Dolphins just hired Aikman as a consultant for their general manager search.
McDaniel said no, he hasn’t talked to Aikman about it. And no, it doesn’t bother him.
“It would be funny if it did,” McDaniel said, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Asked if McDaniel cleared the air with Aikman after Aikman’s criticism of the Dolphins’ pace in 4th quarter against Pittsburgh, McDaniel said no and Troy’s comments do not “bother me in the least. It would be funny if it did.” Aikman didn’t like the Dolphins “taking up too much… https://t.co/CBUHaYXk4L
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) January 2, 2026
The Dolphins announced earlier this week that Aikman would assist with their GM search after firing Chris Grier, who’d been with the organization since 2000 and ran football operations since 2016. How much sway Aikman will actually have isn’t clear, nor is how secure McDaniel’s job would be under a new front office.
The timing, though, is hard to ignore. Less than a month ago, Aikman tore into McDaniel’s game management on national television during Miami’s 28-15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, he’s helping the Dolphins pick the next general manager — the same person who could eventually decide McDaniel’s fate.
Troy Aikman: “I’m flabbergasted by what we’ve witnessed here in this fourth quarter with the Dolphins. And now they want to call timeouts. It just is about as ridiculous a fourth quarter as I’ve seen in a long time.” 🏈🎙️#NFL #MNF https://t.co/UCAKUYXR97 pic.twitter.com/YDYIdhYtgk
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 16, 2025
Asked Friday about Aikman’s criticism, McDaniel didn’t dispute it. The broadcaster took issue with Miami “taking up too much time” in the fourth quarter.
“Neither did I,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel also said he was informed in advance about Aikman’s new consulting role and welcomed the added voice.
“I’m not opposed to more information,” McDaniel said. “Troy Aikman speaks for himself in terms of relationships he has had in the National Football League and knows a lot of things. Information is a positive to me; being able to resource that, I’m excited to [do] that.”
It’s unclear whether Aikman’s new role has any real bearing on McDaniel’s future. Still, McDaniel isn’t showing any concern over what Aikman said on Monday Night Football. At least publicly.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.