Mike McDaniel – March 2, 2022
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Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel (as transcribed by the PFWA)
(On what he’s learned from John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan) – “Well, I use it a lot. I think that’s a big part of my career. Working together with John (Lynch) and Kyle (Shanahan) is a great vision for how you want to have a working relationship between head coach and general manager. I’ve used the analogy specifically with Kyle, how do you describe a house without a foundation? Abstractly, it’s hard for me to kind of quantify or qualify exactly how much Kyle has meant to my career because it set my foundation when I was truly learning how to become a coach. So everything that I’ve become each step of the road, it’s hard for me to kind of describe, ‘Alright, yeah, he’s meant X.’ He’s been a part of the equation the entire time and I’m forever grateful for the opportunities he gave me and the opportunities John Lynch gave me and what the York family in San Francisco, they all did so I could be a Miami Dolphin and take my talents to South Beach. (laughter)”
(On how different Combine week is being a head coach) – “It’s completely different. It’s more expansive. But just being ready for really bearing witness to a lot of peers that have held this job in their first year being rookie head coaches, I kind of had an idea to expect the unexpected and to have an ever-evolving checklist that you’re never going to finish. Because I was prepared for that, really, then it’s just applying what you’ve done at each stage in your career to a more expansive role. You have a job to do. In this job, I service a lot more people. It’s a lot more expansive. You have to be detailed, you have to be driven and you have to serve a lot more people for them to do their job and they’re depending on you. But, really, I’m approaching it the same way. The weeks have been diligent. I probably get a little more tired at the end of the week, but other than that, it’s been work, it’s been fun and very liberating and exciting.”
(On the importance of tight end blocking and how TE Mike Gesicki fits in) – “I think there’s multiple ways to use players that have skillsets that can help you do things offensively. We’ve had tight ends in our history that have been featured pass receivers and we’ve had featured blockers. On both ends of the system, they are expected and will do both things, majoring or minoring in one or the other, depending on their skillsets. I have no problem, no hesitation or no concern of Mike being able to contribute as a blocker and we’ll use him the way it’s most appropriate for him, as well as we’ll do the same thing for him in the pass game, really.”
(On what he’s looking for in a backup quarterback) – “I can tell you this much. We are looking for another quarterback. I’ve never seen, in the history of the NFL, having two on the roster, and that’s very much important to us. You want a player that can help. When you’re looking for a No. 2 quarterback, there’s two things: you want him to benefit the starting quarterback while the starting quarterback is the starting quarterback, and empower him with how they approach their daily gameplan responsibilities and how they develop when they’re training in the offseason. But you also want a guy that can win games should the starter go down. So, a veteran backup is definitely in our discussions but it’s the best player that we can find in whatever avenue and move forward from there.”
(On the value of the running back position) – “Well, the value of the running back position, what value do you put on anywhere from a third to a half of the plays on a given offensive season? You’ve got to realize running backs, collectively, whether you do it part to whole or one guy, you have about 300-to-400 some touches by that position. So it’s incredibly valuable but there is a more diverse way of finding them. There is, traditionally, from a historical perspective, there are rookies, second-year players, mid-to-late-round draft that have more success at that position than some others. But it’s never been anywhere we’ve been, and for the Miami Dolphins moving forward, it’s of paramount importance. We just have a concrete skillset that we found that can really flourish in a zone-blocking system.”
(On his system) – “I think much of what we’ve done in our careers — on our different branches — we’ve all had the same starting point. And I think from a foundational standpoint, our language will be the same, in terms of how you communicate and how you identify. There’s a little nuance change here and there from a formation, but from a starting point, our foundations are very similar. I think one of the strengths of the Dolphins, with the offensive coaching staff we have here and with my contributions, I think we will adapt in ways that’s impossible for me to even forecast right now. Just like in years previous, I haven’t predicted ever what we’re going to look [like] in October in training camp, so it’s important to establish a foundation to know where our starting points will be and where our convictions and emphasis will be and then you let the players dictate the terms from there. I think that’s the best way to serve players and for players to serve coaches and schemes.”
(On his experience from Mike Shanahan) – “It’s a huge one for me. I think he really influenced how I look at leadership from a head-coaching position. I just got done telling a story a second ago but my first year in the NFL was 2005 and I was an offensive intern and the entire season, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was convinced that we were winning the Super Bowl. His bravado and his conviction and his how he set people’s ambition – we were winning the Super Bowl. We were that good. And we went to the AFC Championship Game and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But about five or six years down the road, as I had a better scope of the National Football League in general, I looked player by player at that roster. I was like ‘wow, we were a much better team than we were individuals.’ And that idea of raising people’s ambition and leading by just a vision – I don’t know, perspective but also just a clean way of handling yourself on a day-to-day basis and empowering people with confidence, that will be ever-lasting for me as a coach and really as I walked the hallways in Miami Gardens these past couple of weeks, it has resonated with me, those days.
(On what he’s learned about Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and the defensive staff) – “That’s been a very cool process too because it was about four to five weeks ago that I didn’t know any of them. So one of the things I majored in when I was first talking through this interview process and thinking about this job is I watched a lot of the defense because I knew I had an idea of the direction that I wanted to go with coaches on offense, but as a head coach, you’re responsible for everything. So I watched a ton of the defensive tape and it reminded me quickly of what I hated in 2020 when the Miami Dolphins beat the team I was coaching on easily. And it was that the scheme was outstanding, there was some really core young players that had been developing and that were passionate. The bottom line is I was like, ‘Yeah, I would rather play with them than against them. I don’t want to play that.’ So in that process, I’ve got to know Josh and we have a very transparent and good working relationship. We like the idea of challenging each other and I’m excited about it because, again, it’s one less issue from an offensive coach’s perspective that I have to go against and I’m excited about the growth that that defensive staff can do this season, moving forward and the players that the defensive staff can coach.
(On how much he called plays in the past with Kyle Shanahan) – “That was the great thing about Kyle is Kyle was very accountable that he knew every play that went in, he was ultimately responsible for. That being said, he was also very committed to giving me responsibility and empowering me and trusting me. So there was always discourse, probably since, I don’t know, 2014 or ’15, and it grew as time went on and I got better at my job. But there was always discourse. Throwing a percentage out, I’m probably not going to do that, but we were talking about plays constantly and I, for years, have been putting myself in that position in terms of mentally how to call a game so that once I got this opportunity, that I wouldn’t be freaked out and lose all my hair and turn gray. I’m excited about it. It’s going to be awesome.”
(On the importance of versatility and how much he’d like to have a player like WR Deebo Samuel) – “Important and yes. Versatility is outstanding. You can create mismatches. It allows a lot of different layers and things an offensive coach and an offense can do to keep a defense off-balance.”
(On if he desires to have another WR Deebo Samuel) – “Yeah. I desire to have a lot of first-team All-Pros. That is paramount to me looking good as a coach is awesome players (laughter) … But you don’t look at it like I need the next Deebo. Deebo wasn’t found by looking for Deebo. You look for good football players that are committed and passionate and maybe that challenge you as a coach to see ‘Hey, what other way can we utilize this skillset?’”
(On how confident he is that DE Emmanuel Ogbah will be back) – “As confident as one can be with multiple variables that you can’t control. I’m excited about the guy. I’m excited about the opportunity. I know we want him. We’re going to do our best to get him. It’s the same thing you have to do every time you have situations such as these. You have to be able to adjust if you’re unable to keep him but our hope is that that is not the case. And if you’re texting him right now, you can tell him as such. (laughter)”
(On the benefits of being at the Combine) – “The benefit is that the coaches, specifically myself, will know all the players a lot better than the coaches that didn’t go that are my friends. It is whatever you put into it. There’s workarounds. You don’t have to be at it. You can do a lot of different things. There’s a lot of different ways to skin a cat, I think. That’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never seen it but I know that’s a saying. As long as you do your due diligence, it’s not a must but I enjoy it. I enjoy seeing people face to face. It’s part of the process that I enjoy and I know Chris (Grier) enjoys, so that’s why we’re here.”
(On if he’s had meaningful conversations with CB Xavien Howard) – “First of all, every conversation I have is meaningful. I’m present. But we’ve had several great conversations on the phone and in person. So I’m excited to coach the guy but let’s not forget, it is what it is. Me personally, I don’t have a crystal ball. But really, the only guys I can talk about are the players that are here today.”
