diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
index f68f4549817..3bf944d43cc 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
@@ -1738,14 +1738,16 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) syncPod(pod *api.Pod, mirrorPod *api.Pod, podStatus *kubecont
 	if kubepod.IsStaticPod(pod) {
 		podFullName := kubecontainer.GetPodFullName(pod)
 		deleted := false
-		if mirrorPod != nil && !kl.podManager.IsMirrorPodOf(mirrorPod, pod) {
-			// The mirror pod is semantically different from the static pod. Remove
-			// it. The mirror pod will get recreated later.
-			glog.Errorf("Deleting mirror pod %q because it is outdated", format.Pod(mirrorPod))
-			if err := kl.podManager.DeleteMirrorPod(podFullName); err != nil {
-				glog.Errorf("Failed deleting mirror pod %q: %v", format.Pod(mirrorPod), err)
-			} else {
-				deleted = true
+		if mirrorPod != nil {
+			if mirrorPod.DeletionTimestamp != nil || !kl.podManager.IsMirrorPodOf(mirrorPod, pod) {
+				// The mirror pod is semantically different from the static pod. Remove
+				// it. The mirror pod will get recreated later.
+				glog.Errorf("Deleting mirror pod %q because it is outdated", format.Pod(mirrorPod))
+				if err := kl.podManager.DeleteMirrorPod(podFullName); err != nil {
+					glog.Errorf("Failed deleting mirror pod %q: %v", format.Pod(mirrorPod), err)
+				} else {
+					deleted = true
+				}
 			}
 		}
 		if mirrorPod == nil || deleted {