Mike McDaniel talks adjusting to life as Dolphins coach, Tua, Biggie v. Tupac and more
The days all seem merged together for new Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel but can you blame him? Three days before the Super Bowl, he was introduced as Miami’s next head coach. Two weeks later, he had his entire coaching staff assembled in Miami Gardens. Now, he’s in Indianapolis preparing to evaluate draft prospects at the NFL Scouting Combine. It’s been a whirlwind process but everything the 38-year-old NFL lifer has hoped for in attaining his childhood dream.
McDaniel spoke to the Miami Herald Tuesday afternoon about his first weeks on the job as Dolphins coach, his vision for the team and more in a wide-ranging 1-on-1 interview. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How has the job been what you expected and how has it maybe not been what you expected?
Ironically, I’ve gone into the job bearing witness to several peers being in the same situation. So, I was afforded that experience. Because of that, it’s been pretty much what I’ve expected. What I’ve expected is the unexpected. Every day, you have an idea of what you want to get done but you know it could that it could be derailed by something more pressing. You just adjust on the fly. I will say that that type of mindset and just the energy that it takes, I’m getting used to. At the end of the week, I’m more tired than I’ve been used to being. I equate it to in-season, Weeks 1 through 3, you’re always more tired than Weeks 6 through whatever. At the end of the week, I get a little tired and [Dolphins media relations] or various people in the building send me home and I get rest and I come back at it and fight another day.
It’s more rewarding in the short term than I could have necessarily expected. You can’t really know the feeling of what it feels like to have a good day as a head coach. We’re 0-0 but if you approach every day the right way, you should feel like there are wins in the offseason. It’s been more fulfilling than I could have realized.
How have you balanced not only evaluating the current roster but draft prospects and even players who might be available in free agency?
It’s a hard balance but you’re not the first nor will be the last to do it. You just try to do it to the best of your ability. First and foremost, I wanted to make sure I was going to be relying heavily on all the coaches. I dove fully into that and made that a mission while trying to keep abreast of anything that was happening. Then, you’re just jumping in. You don’t feel comfortable having any downtime because you’re trying to catch back up to the other teams. I have a very experienced GM that I work with on a day-to-day basis that I never feel overwhelmed with all that stuff because I know our working relationship and trust him to the nth degree. I don’t have to be in two spots at once. He’s riding the ship and that communication really alleviates all the potential anxiety, feeling like you have to build Rome in one day. No, you don’t. Actually, you have to have good days of work stacked on top of each other.
Where are you in crafting your playbook and what input do you expect Tua Tagovailoa to have?
We’re in a good spot. Teaching the exact verbiage and the way we want to set the foundation of our language to the players. Which is all you want to get to for OTAs and the offseason. You’re really teaching new language. I think this will be, what, Tua’s sixth different language in football? You want to refine that teaching mechanism, make sure all the coaches are on the same page with how you want to communicate, how you want to identify defenses, how you want to call formations, call protections in pass plays and run plays. You just get a foundation set to a certain degree. That allows you to grow within all your players. You don’t know your final product of the 90-man roster until after the draft. You’re just leaving wiggle room, making sure the foundation is set correctly so that you can emphasize the position’s specific details and then letting go from there.
In terms of feedback, it’s more of creating an atmosphere for easy dialogue. There will be some stuff that we ask him that he hasn’t done. We want to train him at it but then it’s very, very important that he feels comfortable to communicate back to you, ‘I don’t like this because of X,’ after a given time of diving into that. That’s where he’ll be invaluable because we want players to play their best. For them to play their best, they have to be confident in what they’re trying to execute.
What’s your evaluation of the young offensive line and specifically Liam Eichenberg and Austin Jackson? Do you have a sense of how they fit in your scheme and where they might play?
There are a lot of guys that I’m excited about on the offensive line. There are so many things that go into offensive line play that I think coaches can control. I feel good about the human beings that are there. We’re always looking to get the best players of the right value. We have free agency coming up and the draft. We’re not ever going to put blinders on and say we’re good. I have a very confident and high expectation that the coaches that we’ve hired can develop a lot of these guys because I do think there is some talent and there’s some hunger. It’s a moving, evolving process but I feel good with the young guys and I’m excited to coach them.
Mike Gesicki doesn’t have the reputation of being a stellar blocker and that’s important in your offense. What do you see in his skill set and how it can fit in the offense you seek to bring?
Whether you call it an optimist or the way I’ve always looked at players, I identify what they can do and less of what they can’t. There are some things about Mike’s game that are very beneficial for an offense. There is a lot of stuff in the pass game that he’s exceptional at. So, I get why people talk that way. I do think he’s a competitive player who is a team player. There are multiple ways we’ve used guys just like him. Everyone is involved in the run game. He is capable of blocking. You just have to tailor everything that you do to your guys’ given skill set to put them in good positions to succeed.
How have you enjoyed the move to Miami? Do you find yourself getting approached by fans more in public?
Miami is awesome, man. I pictured that it was an exciting place. It’s kind of like putting a face to a name. The people are really cool. There’s a lot of culture down here. There’s a lot of vibrancy and enthusiasm. [Being approached by fans is] to be expected. It’s part of what you sign up for. A lot of new friends and handshakes and names that I’m trying to remember but I know at some point I’m not going to remember everyone’s.
The Mike Jones reference when you were with San Francisco caught the attention of a lot of fans, so, I have to ask: Biggie or Tupac?
I haven’t been asked that question in like a decade. Me personally, I was a Biggie guy. They’re both elite and were savants in their craft, so that’s not to take anything from Tupac. I had more Biggie albums than Tupac. It’s an impossible question to answer, an endless debate.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 7:19 PM.
