Dolphins players discuss how Mike McDaniel has changed and the benefits of it
Dolphins coach, Yale graduate and run-game savant Mike McDaniel has many gifts.
Brevity historically has not been one of them.
Some of his answers in news conferences are so long that it’s sometimes difficult to remember where the conversation started.
But with regard to his players, McDaniel has made a change.
Multiple players said McDaniel has become more concise in recent weeks, synthesizing his message and giving his players fewer things to focus on.
Fullback Alec Ingold said because McDaniel’s messaging is shorter, his meetings also are shorter. All of that — along with some creative play calling, some brilliant work by De’Von Achane and the offensive line and stout defense — have coincided with Miami winning four in a row and five of its last six.
“It’s the same message, but he’s trying to get the message straight forward,” defensive tackle Benito Jones said, as Miami prepared to play at Pittsburgh on Monday (8:15 p.m., CBS 4, ESPN).
The upshot of McDaniel delivering a more concise message is “it allows for guys to be focused,” Ingold said. “We’re majoring in majors and minoring in the minors. So guys don’t get lost in the little things. Details are very important, but it allows for the game plan to be the focus.”
McDaniel now gives the team three key areas to focus on for a particular opponent, as opposed to a longer list of talking points.
“We’ve always had our keys, it’s the consistency of it,” Ingold said. “Yeah, it’s concise. But it’s also consistent. Those three keys for every phase allow us to be consistently talking and thinking [about them] and all being on the same page. Each individual ties their job to this.”
One benefit of shorter team meetings, Ingold said, is ”it gives guys more time to meet and talk. Whenever I get to talk to the tight ends and running backs and special teams, that communication helps fill in the gaps to what we need to do to win games.”
McDaniel said he has told his coaches to follow his lead in his how messaging is delivered.
“Whenever you have a change from the top down, we all embody that,” Ingold said. “There is urgency behind all the meetings and messaging. You have to get to the nuts and bolts of it.”
But Daniel Brunskill makes clear that “we are not dumbing down anything. We are running the offense.”
After the win at the Jets, McDaniel explained his willingness to streamline his messaging.
“I think our practices, we have a younger team, but we’ve practiced less walkthroughs as a result,” he said. “Because of that, I try to minimize how long I talk in the meetings and just really challenge coaches to get to the nuts and bolts of what we need to cover in meetings so that we can maintain our energy throughout the day and really go after it, not going through the motions ever.
“I’m very open-minded that way. I’m always adjusting to who I’m coaching, because my job is to reach them. And when they show me how to do it, I try to lean into that.”
Brunskill said this past week that there has been another clear evolution with McDaniel. Allow him to explain:
“Conviction over perfection is what he’s preached,” Brunskill said. “We have to be perfect presnap. Perfect presnaps, we don’t want any penalties, we don’t want illegal motions, illegal formations. Defensively, make sure you’re in the right coverage.”
That’s non-negotiable. But here’s the twist:
“Once the ball is snapped, he doesn’t give a crap if you end up in the right spot or not,” Brunskill said. “He wants us to play hard, go make the play. If someone is not in the gap and someone covers for him, we’re good.
“Stop worrying about perfection; then you’re playing a little timid, and they rip off a big run. Who cares if you weren’t in the right spot, but you make a tackle for loss? We’re good [with that]. Play as fast as you can. If you are not in the right spot, we will go back and correct it. Just play fast. Even if you feel like you don’t know what to do, play fast. He’s been preaching that lately.”
Brunskill explains “the conviction over perfection” missive this way: “Be convicted in what you want to do. If you think you’re right, you’re right, go. If you are wrong, we will correct it on the sideline.”
Notably, Brunskill said McDaniel has told coaches “I don’t want you to just ream this guy” if he makes a postsnap mistake. “I want you to find out what it is and how we can fix it.”
McDaniel’s most impactful changes during this winning streak have come on the field, with the Dolphins wisely becoming more run-heavy and using more heavy set packages, including Brunskill as a pseudo sixth lineman. But the off-field changes shouldn’t be discounted. In Year 4, he has evolved as a coach.
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This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 9:12 AM.
