McDaniel’s 2 a.m. jottings. And insight on relationship between Tagovailoa, Dolphins coach
New Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has been described as an offensive savant who can identify how to make players better and expose weaknesses in the opponent.
And the ideas about how to do that pop into McDaniel’s head at all hours of the day… and night.
In the wake of receivers coach Wes Welker mentioning that Dolphins offensive coaches have brainstormed about how to maximize their talented group of weapons, McDaniel was asked if he’s pushing himself and his coaches to be creative, even with the understanding that the NFL is a copycat league.
“Because of my specific background and the coaches that I was fortunate enough to be around, being creative and innovative is something that I think is part of the job,” McDaniel said.
“It’s natural for my brain to look at things that way to the point that I actually have to be mindful of pulling back that I don’t get bored. It’s something that my previous boss [49ers coach Kyle Shanahan] always gave me a hard time with because I’d always be trying to do the next and I haven’t mastered that yet.
“When you’re trying to install a new system to a group of guys, the bottom line is — you could have the coolest plays that ever existed but if the players don’t execute them, your plays are not cool. Systematically, I’ve been trying to really push forward having a core basis,... a working basis from which you can grow. Outside of that, I’m not really looking to innovate any time until you’re getting through your core portion of the training camp.”
McDaniel doesn’t like to jot down ideas on napkins or a notebook. Instead he turns to his IPad when he has a creative thought.
“It doesn’t ever leave,” he said. “My iPhone note app is my go-to. I’ll write down whatever play I’m referring to and if it’s that abstract and there’s no word for it, I usually just put some symbols. That’s my note taking. Maybe 1 or 2 in the morning in bed when my wife is being annoyed that my screen is too bright.”
TUA ON McDANIEL
▪ Tua Tagovailoa on Thursday again made a point to discuss how much he likes McDaniel’s positive approach.
“Mike is always trying to encourage you and trying to keep you going so for me it’s a little backwards where I’m used to being hard on myself and the coach getting hard on me, too, whereas I’m getting hard on myself and he’s trying to tell me, ‘Hey, it’s going to be OK. We’re only in May. We’re only in June.’ There’s a lot more time to grow.”
Tagovailoa has a nickname for McDaniel: “I call him ‘Mystic Mac.’ Just like Conor McGregor, this dude, he loves to predict stuff. So call him ‘Mystic Mac,’ but the respect that he has in the locker room, it’s tremendous. The guys love him.”
Tagovailoa said he’s guarded by nature but has allowed himself to let his guard down with McDaniel.
“I would say that’s just something that Mike would always try to get me to do is just open up to him,” Tagovailoa said. “In the hallway or in the meeting room, he would just pop in. When I’m lifting, he’d just want to chat, every opportunity he got. I ended up opening up a little bit to him.
“I would say the way I am, the way I share things with him a little is sort of similar to the way I share things with the guys in the locker room. The comfortability with him is getting pretty comfortable.”
▪ Here’s how Tagovailoa answered when asked what’s it like having a coach who’s so positive.
“It’s been cool,” he said. “It’s been different. I’ve never been around a coach like this who’s just extremely positive. Growing up, my dad’s always been hard on me. My high school coach has been hard on me. Coach [Nick] Saban has been hard on me and all the coaches that I’ve had prior, they’ve all been hard on me. [McDaniel is] hard, but he takes another alleyway, if you will, on kind of teaching and helping.”
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores wasn’t mentioned; Flores reportedly wanted the Dolphins to trade for Deshaun Watson, an idea the Dolphins opted against after Flores’ dismissal.
▪ Tagovailoa, on how he works on learning his third offense in three years when he’s not at the facility:
“I’ve got a white board at home that I just write down all of the formations, I write down all of the motions and I have my brother or a family member or someone that’s at my house tell me the formations and tell me the motions. What I also do is I invite the guys over to my house and we walk through plays, we walk through formations and we barbecue.”
Here’s a Thursday piece on Tagovailoa from the Miami Herald’s Daniel Oyefusi, including a look at his downfield throws.
▪ McDaniel has enjoyed his relationship with new defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, including how they operate practice.
“I think Josh and I work very well together and we talk through that [practice plan] stuff,” McDaniel said. “It’s fun to see how the players respond because every other play you see in practice, when all the players aren’t on the field, guys have the night to prepare. They are sitting there looking at what it is.
“There, there is no preparation because up until that period, I don’t know what I’m going to call and neither does Josh. I don’t get that excited when stuff works because I’m like ‘ok, there is going to be a humbling experience coming here soon.’ Which is the nature of our business.”
▪ Though some teams end their offseason program with a mandatory minicamp, the Dolphins will not. They will have a few more OTA sessions next week before adjourning until training camp. The Tuesday session next week is open to reporters but not fans.
Here’s my Thursday post with details on the Dolphins’ decision at center and lots of highlights from day two of the two-way mandatory minicamp.
Here’s my Thursday Heat piece with notes.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 5:00 PM.
