Mike McDaniel – May 21, 2024
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Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(There was a report that QB Tua Tagovailoa has not been here for all of the voluntary workouts. Is that accurate and if so, what do you think about that?) – “The good news about ‘all’ is it’s very black and white. He has been here for offseason activities. He has not been here for offseason activities. He has been both. I think important in the player-coach relationship is communication and I think however things play out, as long as we’re communicating and we’re on our P’s and Q’s on what we need to get accomplished, then we have a fighting chance and it’s been a good exercise in our relationship this offseason.”
(When he hasn’t been here, is that contract related?) – “I don’t make a habit of speaking for other people’s mouths, so I’ll let you guys ask Tua. You guys have a good relationship.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa certainly appears to have lost 10 or 15 pounds. How does that relate to something you spoke about at the end of the season which was extending plays and buying himself some extra time in the future?) – “I think any time that you have – that was a big year this past season for Tua, being able to play the entirety of it at the professional level as well as having two years in a row with the same offense and play caller. And in that process, you get to find out on your own exactly where there are different areas where you can improve your game. That’s something that we directly relate, him and I, in terms of looking for those competitive advantages so I think he identified that as one for himself and has – I think the results speak for themselves. He’s svelte.”
(We haven’t talked to you since the WR Odell Beckham Jr. signing. I wanted to get your thoughts as to why you thought he was the right player for this team and what you think you can add with him? Obviously, he’s not the player he was a decade ago, but he still looks like he can play?) – “I think in the offseason you’re constantly trying to find ways for your team to get better. That’s what Chris (Grier) and I solely focus on, and I think you want a situation where all parties see the same vision. I think I presented the opportunities that playing here could provide and sat down and just communicated with a guy that I’ve followed his career since its onset. He’s fully done right by my draft grade as a receiver coach, by the way, just in case you were wondering. And we hit it off. I could see there’s a passion for football still at the forefront of his mind, and he saw the fit so we were happy to make our team better and afford his skillset.”
(How do you think he can help you guys on third down?) – “Hopefully getting open and catching the football for first downs. (laughter) I think you start with a program with an offense and you have certain skillsets and in this particular circumstance with the Miami Dolphins, it wasn’t like I had previously coached a pairing like we have at wideout and kind of how defenses would respond to that. You learn over time different ways that defenses will really try to attack you and where they could be vulnerable and I think having as many players in the pass game participate and distribute the ball takes us to another level of offense and I see him as part of that.”
(Do you talk to QB Tua Tagovailoa much about the contract stuff or do you just solely leave that between him and General Manager Chris Grier?) – “I don’t want any of that burden in my life. I’m an asset – this is what’s great about the orchestration of our organization. I think it’s important that the player-coach relationship is put on a pedestal where you don’t tinker with that. My job is to get him better. His job is to communicate with me how I’m doing in that process. I think we’re in a safe zone where when he’s talking to me about my expertise and not about stuff that is not my expertise, so we try to stay true to that and that’s paid us dividends this offseason.”
(Will we see LB Jaelan Phillips or LB Bradley Chubb walking through the new defensive plays or even sort of jogging on the side? I don’t know what they’re able to do at this point.) – “It all depends on what you’re looking at. From the onset, they just really have to keep an eye on both those guys just to make sure they’re not doing too much. They have the second they were able to move around without a scooter, they were hard-pressed not to find themselves in some sort of overexaggerated stand-through. Whether it’s walkthrough or not, we’re just being very mindful of who the players are that we’re getting back to full health and really protecting the Miami Dolphins against those individuals themselves because they’ll do too much too soon. They’re doing great day by day and getting really excited if you ask me for a timeline.”
(I wanted to ask you about joint practices for training camp… Do you have plans for any of those before any of the exhibition games?) – “Yes, we have two planned with Atlanta, one planned with Washington, one planned with Tampa.”
(Okay, so you’ll do all three exhibition games, you’ll do joint practices before them?) – “Yes. Didn’t see that coming, did you?”
(With this cornerback unit obviously a lot of new faces and a lot of guys playing different roles. I believe CB Nik Needham is kind of being cross trained as a safety. You know he’s done that in his past. What do you hope to see in periods like this where it’s really glorified 7-on-7 from the secondary?) – “You want to see – it’s like part to whole – any orchestration of team defense, team offense, team special teams; is you’re trying to introduce and apply consistent techniques so that players can know where their help is, know what to depend on, know how they communicate and so everyone is on the same page because the bottom line is a lot of times it doesn’t matter what you’re playing as long as everyone is playing with conviction and complementary technique. I’m trying to see consistency and ownership of technique when we’re trying different things from bump and from off at the corner position. I want to see the different tools that we give the players committed to and orchestrated and how does that relate to the safety? How does that relate to the nickel or the backer? Those things are very important when you’re trying to play consistent, convicted defense. So I’m trying to see that uniformity of technique and implementation so we have consistency in all three phases and specifically with what you’re asking about at the corner position.”
(Is there anybody today that we will not see that we would expect to see?) – “I mean, what? (laughter) You’re talking about me forecasting your expectations. I don’t know. Are you glass half-full, glass half-empty? There’s a lot of things to unpack there. I’m sure there will be players you’ll be like, ‘Oh, I expected to see him.’ Maybe there will be players that you’ll be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t expect to see him.’ You’re going to see players convicted and excited for OTAs, but this time of year specifically, one of the things that we really try to do a great job of is tailoring to the specific needs of individuals so there’s different day-off programs. There are different ramp-up, bring-back-down, all those things orchestrated from downstairs in the training room filtered out to really making sure that we get the best of these opportunities that we have in the offseason.”
(You’re about two weeks off from the CB Xavien Howard contract coming off the books with the post-June 1 cut. Are you going to use these next three weeks to really evaluate what you might need to use that money on?) – “Part of our job as a high functioning NFL franchise is you’re always looking for ways to get better. I know that’s something that if Chris Grier has a tattoo on his body, it’s probably of that – always getting better with roster. We’re always looking, but I wouldn’t necessarily look for – it’s not through the lens of what are we without. We have a pretty deep team that’s high in competition. It’s always balancing the stuff that we’re able to do and what’s out there and can we improve our team. We’ll never stop looking, but we’re not on the hunt.”
(Going back to the cornerback position, if things for lack of better term go wrong for CB Cam Smith in terms of getting on the field as a rookie and where does he need to improve here in his first full summer with the team?) – “Well, I think it’s important for a team to max out the ability of players that you have mutual accountability from the players and coaching staff and the organization’s perspective. I’m not necessarily worried about the placing blame or why his timeline is as it is. Those timelines are unique to each individual. What I’m really pumped about is I know in Year Two that the relationships that he’s holding within his position and the coaches and the way he’s attacking this offseason is that he’s not satisfied with that by any stretch and nor is the organization. So I’m excited for the competition and the development, because that’s really what I get into and what we’re all in this for.”
(Back to the joint practices, what are the benefits of switching that up going with the three different preseason opponents?) – “Well I think each offseason is a different code to crack. I think the specific needs of your team vary. I think in this specific offseason, we had the opportunity to get a couple more valuable practice days against varied looks, varied techniques. I think the intensity of practice in general is raised to a degree when you’re going against a fresh, new opponent. I think with the players’ offseason (and) the way that our specific team practices against each other, I’m forecasting that will be a breath of fresh air to see somebody else. So I think there’s a lot of things that go into it. But in this particular formula, we saw benefit in getting a couple more practice reps against opponents and adding to our offseason of development.”
(This is the first time we’ve spoken to you since the schedule has come out. There are a few things you can’t help but notice. You have several games at home to start off, but several games on the road to finish up. There’s also the Thanksgiving Day game. What are some of the main takeaways you took from the schedule coming out?) – “I think, well, if you’re wanting to change a narrative, you’re going to have an opportunity. I don’t really worry too much about things, pretending like I have any idea of what’s good or bad. I know if you’re playing the right competitive football, you’ll always have unique challenges to your schedule. If you’re playing the right type of football, you’ll have primetime games. You can have short or long weeks. All those things. I think we’ve found a way to develop our team both years. I’m firmly expecting that same thing again this year. I think that the opportunities down the stretch of the season are ones that this team at that point in time will be thirsting for. That’s something that when I saw the schedule, I was pretty excited.”
(This is your third defensive coordinator in three years. How have you learned from your past experiences? How is the relationship going with Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver?) – “Hopefully I’ve learned well. Hopefully. I couldn’t be happier with the way ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) has really taken this offseason on. I think there’s a lot of consistency and overlap in principles that I hold true to the organization about developing players and being on the front end of schematic aggressiveness and innovation. I think the relationships that have occurred on that side of the ball have been outstanding this offseason. I think that guys have really responded with an intensity and vigor with him in the building, leading meetings and leading them on the field.”
(Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver came from a defense that held both you and San Franciso to 19 points in back-to-back weeks last year. Is that something you go to him with and say how did you attack us and San Francisco in a way to stop us and kind of help yourself learn how to attack a defense?) – “Yeah, I think you’re always benefited – there’s a supreme benefit in understanding how other people view you to understand the why’s behind certain things. I think that’s something every offseason I’m kind of searching for, and a lot of times you have to forecast. It’s a lot easier to go down the hallway and see how a particular unit that was able to have some success kind of looked at you from a game-planning perspective. I think that really helps coaching staffs be able to put players in better positions, at least that’s the way I look at it. So that communication has been outstanding and very beneficial.”
(How did LB David Long Jr. get the first orange jersey?) – “I thought this Phase 2, he embodied kind of the way to go about your day-to-day operation. If you want something, go get it. David (Long Jr.) felt after last season he had more to offer to the Miami Dolphins team, and instead of just talking about it, he lived that every single day. I think that all of his teammates feed off him. He’s a leader for us. I was just happy that his playlist didn’t suck. (laughter)”
(Chiefs K Harrison Butker made some comments recently that have drawn a lot of attention. I’m wondering when it comes to political stances, do you encourage your players to talk about that stuff amongst themselves? Or do you tell them leave that stuff out of the building? How do you handle politics in the general locker room?) – “Well, I’m glad you asked. (laughter) I think you do have to open the eyes of the players to their platform if they’re new to the situation. I think you have to understand that what you say publicly can be fragmented and last with you forever. I really emphasize that whatever you’re going to say, you better believe it. You just try to educate people to understand the consequences of whatever they do. They have the freedom of choice, and if they want to go that direction, go right ahead. I’ll be right over here hanging out with you guys.”
(If I could follow up regarding the schedule, it sounds like you welcome the challenge of how the end of that regular season plays out for you with those tough road games and all. What gives you confidence that this team is going to accept that challenge and overcome it?) – “Well, I mean these are the things that we’re trying to establish ourselves to take the next step as an organization. We’re trying to do that anyway, so the fact that the schedule gives us the opportunity to do what we’re working tirelessly to try to accomplish, I thought it was fitting. I guess I don’t go into the schedule with expectations. I think all games are hard. All teams, all opponents are hard. You have to be a tough-minded football team to be your best at the end of the season. That’s a formula that we’ve found in portions of the season that we have a very direct concerted goal of making sure that we take the next step as an organization. So yeah, I’m not in the business of hiding for something. We’re going to have to pay the piper at some point.”
