MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel spoke to reporters Monday, a day after his team’s 31-6 blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns and sources confirmed that he is not expected to be fired.

“There’s a piece of me from an integrity standpoint where I refuse to go into that world of speculation when I’m currently holding the job,” McDaniel said when asked about his future. “I think that’s irresponsible. At this point, I don’t think anybody is focused on any of that now. You need to focus on winning a game.”

McDaniel said quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was benched for rookie seventh round pick Quinn Ewers after throwing his third and league-high 10th interception on Sunday, will remain the starter against the Atlanta Falcons this week.

“He’s gonna take the snaps this week, and he’s gonna be our starter,” McDaniel said. “My expectation is that we don’t throw 10 picks.”

The Dolphins (1-6) struggled on both sides of the ball in Sunday’s loss, committing 11 penalties for 103 yards and finishing with a minus-4 turnover margin.

McDaniel called the postgame meeting “very direct,” saying players had to “face the truth of the opportunities we didn’t take advantage of.”

“You’re going to lose those games,” McDaniel added. “The team had to embrace that reality and hard truth.”

McDaniel confirmed that offensive linemen Austin Jackson, Liam Eichenberg and James Daniels, along with kicker Jason Sanders, will not return to practice this week after previously being placed on injured reserve. He added that tight end Darren Waller suffered a soft-tissue injury, calling it “living in hope” to expect him back for next week’s game.

“We are 100% losing football games that we don’t play complementary football in,” McDaniel said. “There was appropriate effort, but players are still lacking in execution and knowing their assignments.”

He compared Sunday’s loss to Miami’s season-opening defeat to the Indianapolis Colts, saying the same mistakes resurfaced.

“You would love to have answers, but you just have to be clear, honest and direct with guys,” McDaniel said. “You can’t run away from the 1-6.”

McDaniel emphasized small, individual improvements as the key to progress.

“My big focus is that guys get 1 percent better at their own jobs,” he said. “If you care about your football and your teammates’ football, then you have to go out and do.”

McDaniel said he and Tagovailoa reviewed film together Monday morning.

“I thought it was important for us to watch the offense together, so we watched the pass game and spoke about the ebbs and flows of the game and how we can both improve,” he said. “It’s a working relationship and we both have to get better together.”

Calling Sunday’s showing “an embarrassing effort,” McDaniel said the only response is to return to work.

“You hope you have people who are motivated, because we are paid professionals,” he said. “What do you do after an embarrassing effort? You want to get back to work and put a different product on your name.”

As for the team’s pre-snap penalties, McDaniel acknowledged the lack of discipline.

“You have to be clean in that area,” he said. “There were injuries and guys going in and out of the game, and I don’t think we were prepared for that.”

McDaniel said the focus now is simple:

“We’ve played only one game of complementary football. I don’t want the why’s. You do that by working — not talking.”

Up next:

Miami will face the Atlanta Falcons (3-3) at Mercedez-Benz Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

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