Mike McDaniel – August 14, 2024
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Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(DT Benito Jones, we haven’t seen in several days, is he more day to day or week to week? And is CB Jalen Ramsey dealing with anything? We haven’t seen him for a couple of days.) – “Benito Jones is day to day. And then we’re being proactive with Jalen (Ramsey) on something he’s dealing with to make sure that he is full tilt as we know he loves to be and that’s a Jaelan Phillips-like battle with the training staff and Jalen Ramsey. So all good things, you’ll see them.”
(OL Isaiah Wynn, is this the same quad from last season or does he have a different ailment?) – “There’s just compounding stuff once in a while that you just want to make sure is fully healthy but it’s lower extremity related, and I’ll really leave it at that.”
(It appears T Terron Armstead has seen an uptick in practice participation, how’s that going for him and his program?) – “Good, going along the process we’ve had. Good work, really, across the board, he is included in that where we’ve been trying to find that fine line of keeping the players’ comfort level in playing but minding their body and their experience and utilizing that as a resource. It’s been going outstanding; he is in a great spot from a health perspective. We plan on doing everything we can to make sure that stays the course and he’s been as involved as any player when he’s on the field obviously, but when he’s off of it as well. He’s taken upon himself to really be a leader that we depend on. We have since he’s walked in the door, but he’s taken it to another level this offseason.”
(Why was DT Teair Tart let go?) – “Just one of those situations where you can see that from a scheme standpoint it’s not totally a fit. And when you know that you have a veteran player that has ambitions that maybe as a coaching staff we can see it might not fit, we try to be proactive with that so he has the opportunity to – wish him well at his next place, but he has an opportunity at his next place to do what we know he wants to do.”
(The last two years you guys have had joint practices against people you’ve had relationships with a long time, Dan Quinn is tomorrow. Just thoughts on why you remain close with him over these years? You’ve been pretty open about the impact he’s had in your career when you were going through some of your own personal struggles. Can you just touch on the importance of him and that really important time in your life?) – “Absolutely. I’m kind of an old guy, so there are a good amount of coaches in the NFL that I do have relationships with. Dan Quinn has been a big influence, a gigantic influence on my career. Not only from what I learned under him from a head coaching perspective and just the way he looked at really anything team related and how the culture that he really instilled. There was a lot of breakthroughs in terms of how to approach certain issues with a team, how to really set the tonality of a building each and every day by example. Those things I really got from Dan Quinn, forever grateful for that. And on top of that, from a whole life perspective or just from my journey, it just so happened that it was under his leadership that I had a crossroads in my life. And to have somebody that supports you, that pushes you in the direction of ‘No, you can,’ that believes in you and that decides on his own accord that you’re worth investing in and believing in – how big of a deal is that? It’s everything. It wouldn’t be honest to say I’d be here if it weren’t for him, along with a ton of other people, but I don’t know where my career would have gone if I didn’t have the fortune of being under his leadership, so really excited to see him. It’s also – you sign up in a joint practice if you have relationships with head coaches, you can kind of forecast what they’re trying to get out of practice. I think it’s important that you can kind of find different teams you kind of see practice the same way so that you have the tempo similar so that you can push guys in the right way but it can be organized, constructive work as opposed to who wins each and every play. I think there’s a lot of congruence with the way that, Dan Quinn, I know him to run a program and a lot of the coaches there have really high regard for us. So excited for our opportunity to get a chance to go against somebody else, different types of scheme, different plays, different situations, different matchups, those are all things that are very beneficial as we develop our team, as well as there’s a lot of jobs that are decided each and every day through the next two weeks, or whatever it is. So very important days and I think the work with the Commanders will be awesome for all of those things to occur – the development and the evaluation.”
(What have you noticed about LB Chop Robinson?) – “I notice a lot of things. I’ve noticed a guy that – you have a lot of hopes for first round draft picks when they come in to your team. I think under the radar one that’s very important is how that player is going to handle being a first-round draft pick on that team. Your peers, you’re joining a bunch of paid professionals that have been doing their specific role for years and all they want is a first-round draft pick come in and help towards the cause. And I think for Chop (Robinson), he has gone about it the way you’d want, you’d really hope from a player perspective to really add value to the team because he is really earning the respect of his teammates each and every day. And he’s doing it through work, strain, how he handles coaching as a rookie, you are inundated with things that you do wrong. You’re doing stuff for the first time, but is heavily known in NFL locker rooms, everyone is watching how you handle those, whatever they are, do you learn from it and can we count on you to contribute as a 21-, 22-, 23-year-old? I’ve seen him know exactly what the stakes are for this team, doing right by his position on this team and working to get better each and every day. He’s improving on things that he’s done well in college. He’s improving on things that he’s never done. All of those things are beneficial and really the whole edge room, starting with (Outside Linebackers Coach) Ryan Crow, but going through the entire room has been something behold. It’s much like – it reminds me of the running back room in terms of a lot of good players that are all trying to succeed, not in spite of their position group brother. They’re trying to win jobs on the plays they make and also rooting and encouraging and helping develop everybody alongside them. That room I think is a perfect place for Chop to be in and he’s recognizing the tone and improving each and every day.”
(Same question Joe just asked, except from the perspective of this draft class as a whole. What are they showing you? Are they giving you everything that you would hope for?) – “I think we were – (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and I were pretty fired up working together and the collective departments for this draft class, just because it’s our third year so we have a little more understanding of congruence and parallel of what the vision is for the team moving forward. And this draft class, I think we felt like we had the opportunity to have several guys come in and contribute and the particular individuals were cut from a cloth where as long as they did the work, they might have the opportunity to come in and contribute early. I think it is very hard to be a rookie in the National Football League, and even more so, to be able to contribute from a varsity level in regular season week in and week out. I do think that we have the appropriate character in this draft class for some guys to do that and the team is counting on it. I think the opportunities that have presented themselves in the various position groups, I’ve seen multiple draft picks, from our first to our last, take advantage of those opportunities. I think it speaks to them and it speaks to the locker room on the clarity with which they’ve communicated what the expectations are for their teammates, being new to the NFL and to this particular locker room that they’re working each and every day to earn the respect of all their peers in that. So far so good, we’ll see what today presents.”
(We haven’t seen much of S Jevón Holland this week, is that injury related? If so, what’s going on?) – “He’s working through something minor, and he has been involved. He’s a big part of what we do, and he’s been involved each and every day. We’re just making sure that we’re minding him appropriately and he’s working with the training staff, and it would be a day-to-day situation for him.”
(With RB Jaylen Wright during the pre-draft process, you talked a little bit about fit there in the running back room. Was there anything that stood out about him knowing that you guys already had two great backs up top that he would fit in that room?) – “I think the way Jaylen (Wright) was competitive in and around contact was something that I think is a trait that is shared in our running back room. I think that for running backs in general from my experience, they do very, very well with competition. Really as long as you foster a culture in that running backs room like (Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach) Eric Studesville does, it really brings the best out of people. We saw a competitor that would not be overwhelmed with a lot of talent around him. I think that sets up for a situation where a lot of guys can compete, and you can take individuals that are already on your roster and help them become the best versions of themselves that you hadn’t seen prior. So I think all of that is a residual win for the Miami Dolphins. I think a lot of his teammates see that he has the potential to help us, and a lot of people are working together to make sure that whoever the players are on our team, that they’re the best version of the Miami Dolphins as we can see.”
(What’s your level of concern that WR Odell Beckham Jr. still isn’t running routes?) – “I wouldn’t have a level of concern. I think as the process goes, you have to put one foot in front of the other and what you don’t want, and what I know Odell (Beckham Jr.) doesn’t want, is getting on the grass and then leaving it. So just preparing people to be the version of themselves where they can play confident and convicted. All that is done where there is adversity – I don’t think Odell sees it like that or I don’t think the position room sees it like that because there’s been some opportunities to play football. We have some young guys that have a lot of talent, that need to battle some stuff out to be able to win an NFL job. That’s the biggest thing for the Dolphins team and really that position group. Odell has – his teammates know that he’s working hard because he shows them every day as he gets back on the field where he knows – he didn’t sign up for football to be in meetings. Even though my meetings are super entertaining, I don’t think that was the case. So he’s working his way back to be on the field which is what everyone wants.”
(With LB Jaelan Phillips, he joked the other day that the walkthrough wasn’t enough for him, that he was ready to go hit somebody. What have you noticed about how he’s attacked these past two practices – his first two back from the injury?) – “I’ve noticed that he is who I thought he was. This is a guy that is on a mission that is bigger than just being a player on an NFL football team. He’s trying to position himself where he can feel that he’s the top of his class at what he does. And that he doesn’t take a day off from that. I think I’ve seen some maturity from him and understanding the bigger picture and not being too short sighted with trying to be involved in football. He’s been very disciplined in not overstepping the boundaries outlined for him, that we’ve had numerous discussions on from our training staff. I think that he is in a great place, and he is taking steps every day. It was great to see him on Monday and I’ll be excited to see him again today.”
(13-4 at home at Hard Rock Stadium in this era for the Dolphins. Historically you see the big days for the franchise have always been at the Orange Bowl. Have you ever had the chance to visit the Orange Bowl?) – “No, I haven’t, unfortunately. I think the balance of the Miami Dolphins organization and my wife and daughter keep me full, so I haven’t made it down there. But the allure, that’s one of the first places that I knew of in terms of football stadiums in general, from my memory and all the Canes’ success and just national stuff that happened there. It’s an iconic place. I’m sure I’ll get down there, but I just haven’t found the time yet.”
