Mike McDaniel – June 6, 2023
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Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(DT Zach Sieler and OL Connor Williams. Are they here and expected to participate?) – “We have pretty much, like most of the offseason, we’ve had pretty much everyone here. There’s been individuals that have their individual situations to take care of. As far as this camp, (Zach) Sieler will be here, Connor (Williams) won’t, which we’ve been in direct communication. I’m not going to get necessarily into the nuts and bolts of his business here. But I have 89 guys I would love to talk about that are here, that are going to be out here today.”
(So Connor is the only one that is not here?) – “Yes, I believe that’s the case. Yes.”
(I guess important distinction – is this an excused absence?) – “No, it’s not excused, but again, we’ve been in communication so not worried about it. Worried about the dudes that are here for sure.”
(When you’re in this situation in the offseason, the time to take care of business, do you understand the player’s perspective when they try to take care of business?) – “I try to understand every player’s perspective. I think that’s part of my job, is to be empathetic, to best come to a solution. So there’s a bunch of things that come up, a bunch of stuff that have come up this offseason that came up last offseason that will come up next offseason. So that’s always something that you’re juggling and working with players to have your team perform at its highest ability.”
(There’s a lot of excitement in the area right now in the Heat and Panthers. As you’ve been out especially at Heat games, have people looked at you and smiled and said, “okay, it’s the Dolphins’ turn”?) – “See? I’ve always liked you. This question fires me up because I’ve been frustrated with myself, because I don’t think I’ve really adequately articulated that experience. It has been unbelievable, the support, the excitement, just the general enthusiasm for the Dolphins when I’m at an event that is an organization’s pinnacle of working for an entire year to get in to these playoff games that are hard to get to. That, by itself has been unbelievable. I’ve tried to share it, too, with the team as much as I can. They know they feel it when they’re out and about as well. So the team within this building is very aware and definitely finds exuberance from all of the juice that that is in South Florida right now. Really that’s the first virus. I caught the second virus.”
(During your during your time with the Heat, especially because you’re close to Erik Spoelstra right on the floor. Are you gleaning anything from that from a coaching point standpoint? I know it’s a different game, but there’s got to be some similarities and things that you see you may be able to incorporate yourself?) – “Absolutely. The best words I could come up for – I texted him right after they won Game 7 – was something that he knew what I was getting at, but adversity is opportunity. I say that to the team all the time. I really, really believe that and I don’t care how sick anybody ever gets of hearing it. I think it’s true to what life and professional sports and team is all about. And you want to talk about a team that has utilized adversity for their own gain. Those lessons especially now, by and large, almost every player on our team is watching their season, the Heat season unfold, and it’s hard not to – you hear all these people so surprised, to feel like there’s a sportscaster, a national sportscaster, definitely not local, but nationally a sportscaster every week or every game that’s saying, ‘oh, yeah, they have no chance.’ That is the pinnacle of success in sports, is a group of individuals working towards a goal and not letting anything stand in their way. For example, the last game they just won; there was a lot – to be able to look at a sports team and say, ‘You know what, I don’t necessarily know how they’re going to do it, but I’m not going to bet against them…’”
(Even down 10 in the fourth quarter?) – ”I mean, I wasn’t. I like to keep my money. (laughter) I think it’s an example for all teams. I think we’re very fortunate to see it firsthand and feel like we’re indirectly a part of it. But I think it also goes for just people in general, I think it’s a life lesson that it’s amazing what you can accomplish when you really, really, really commit.”
(One of the 89 guys that are here is LB Jaelan Phillips and I felt last year during the course of the season, we just saw this arc, this kid just kind of explode. What have you seen this offseason? What does Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio see in him right now? What do you see as this arc of development?) – “I’ve seen him practice at a level that’s far superior than any other level of practice that I’ve seen from him since I’ve been here. So take that for what it’s worth. I think it’s very important not to get ahead of yourselves. It’s hard, very hard for people on the outside because like, you’re excited about the team. So you’re thinking of September; we’re thinking a day at a time. And all I know is the last practices I’ve seen him have had been the best practices that he’s had. I think that’s very encouraging. One of the things that Vic (Fangio) and I shared on his interview, was his appreciation for Jaelan (Phillips), in particular, who he was very high on coming out. So very happy with where he’s at. He’s goal-oriented, great, great human being that has his vision set on what he wants to do, and now he’s just trying to take care of it each and every day and it’s cool to watch a young player not get caught up in September and get more focused on June 6, which is the only day that exists.”
(Just piggybacking off the last question, obviously LB Bradley Chubb got here midseason and you just mentioned LB Jaelan Phillips. Have you seen anything behind the scenes with those two as they try to maybe build their…?) – “What’s cool is – I really appreciate – you’ll notice it today, just in general, they gravitate to each other. And that to me speaks of everything that I want in a team. I don’t want players trying to have success in spite of someone; I want players competing, making each other better and trying to be the best versions of themselves. They want to be a great pair and they want to be a part of a great defense and they’re handling that the right way. Instead of just wishing and hoping, they’re working. Between Coach Fangio who has coached elite edge players since I was before kindergarten maybe, then with Coach (Ryan) Slowik and Coach (Wade) Harman has been helping out. I have seen significant gains and improvements on our edge play that I’m fired up about. And all you can do is really position yourself to be at your very best for when pads come on in July, practice three for that position. And that’s what I’ve seen them do – working on footwork, hand placement, disruption. They’re a handful and that’s a good thing. Not the best thing for a practice that you’re trying to orchestrate some sort of success, but you’d rather practice against it than have a surprise come, which is imperative for, for really our offense and defense. Our defense needs high productivity from edge play, as well as you have to go against productive edge play because the really good teams generally have that, whether it’s a 4-3 or 3-4 and you’re going to have to figure out how to execute offense against that.”
(Regarding Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, I know obviously he’s the defensive coordinator, but I’m curious in this short amount of time he’s been here, how has he positively impacted the offense and the way you guys see things, just having that experience and mind to bounce things off of?) – “Phenomenal question. We’re just pumping out great questions today, I’m proud of all you guys. An unintended consequence – it’s something that you know as a football coach, but you it’s not steadfast at the forefront of your thought process when you’re making decisions like that. What defense do you want to run? Who do you want in charge of it? Your mind goes straight to ‘I want the best defense we can have, I want the defensive coordinator we can have.’ I think that has been accomplished. A subset, unintended consequence, is that the technique with which they perform their assignments, really takes advantage of poor technique offensively. Meaning that the way they pattern match and the way they really play with vision; as a receiver, it’s the best training you could get. As a tight end, it’s the best training you can get. All these route runners are getting this elite training because they’re getting made pay when their technique is off. If they’re on vertical enough on their stem, traditionally from a coaches’ perspective, I have to say, ‘yeah, this worked; however, in game situation, it probably won’t.’ and that you’re kind of selling to them, then you have to grab a game clip, whatever. It is so much more efficient and better for the offensive coaches when something that we emphasize doesn’t get done, and the defense makes you pay. Well, we’re pushing that envelope on both sides of the ball now, where and my ultimate desire – I want a good team. I don’t want to go out there today and have the defense dominate the offense or vice versa. I want guys trading punches, handling adversity. And what we’re starting to see is there’ll be 11 guys out there; one offensive player will be off and the play will not work at all or one defensive player will be off and it will be a big play. That’s what for me as a head coach, that’s how I go to practice. I want punches traded left and right. That’s the game that we play. And that’s how you get better at it and that’s what I’m starting to see – unintended consequence of Vic (Fangio) and his system is the system is so sound and true and coached. The defensive coaching staff has done a phenomenal job giving answers to the test through technique to the players that both sides of the ball are benefitting for sure.”
(As a player caller, when you play a team that’s predominantly zone and I don’t know if it’ll be predominantly zone. What challenges does that create for you, knowing that the defense primarily has the eyes on the quarterback?) – “Well, the teams that are capable of playing good zone defense make you earn everything and really, they really force teams to execute and execute across the board. Whereas even great man-to-man coverage teams, one guy steps on the side of his foot, right, where in zone defense, you really have to get your depth, the quarterback has to be precise with his footwork so that his timing is right, his eyes, his progression, the distribution has to be correct. That makes it harder to be a good zone defense. On the front end, because there’s a lot of people working together, but if you invest time into it, and it is a slower build, but the ultimate end result is that you struggle to have one player to beat you. So it is more of a process zone defense. but I think the rewards you reap when it’s sound are huge, because it really puts pressure on offenses to execute with the entirety and not one or two people.”
(About WR Erik Ezukanma, where have you kind of seen him progress this offseason?) – “I challenged him – I was on the phone with him before this offseason, just checking in on how he was doing just knowing that it was going to be a big year. You go zero to 60. You know, he did get active at the very end of the season, but for the most part, it almost feels like a redshirt year for him. Which it’s not. You have to learn a ton and he knew that we have a very talented receiving corps. So he had no – all those learning lumps that really every rookie incurs, but specifically wide receivers that are hearing huddles for the first time. He knew he’s was going to have to be on his stuff at not just one but multiple positions. And he’s probably made the biggest gains from last year to this year and ownership of the offense. So what that does; that allows him the opportunity to try to carve out a specific role for himself because otherwise he wouldn’t have a shot. There’s too many – specifically the receiving corps that he’s practicing within is competitive and deep with bona fide NFL players that I’ve been around so the challenge is real, but he’s put himself in a position to really compete for opportunities which is – I’m happy for him as it stands and moving forward I can’t wait to see what he does.”
