Mike McDaniel – September 13, 2024
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Friday, September 13, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I imagine you’re still waiting for more with regard to QB Tua Tagovailoa’s health, but I also imagine you and General Manager Chris Grier probably had the discussion about moving forward. Are you and Chris giving any consideration right now to going out and acquiring a veteran starting-caliber quarterback to compete with QB Skylar Thompson or do you expect Skylar to be your guy in the next few weeks as Tua heals and QB Tim Boyle as his backup?) – “That started late last night and I think the way to best articulate where we’re at is the team and the organization are very confident in Skylar (Thompson) and see there was a reason he was our backup quarterback. That being said, we will bring in someone. We’re just evaluating the pros and cons for the different situations and getting through all those possibilities to do the best thing for the team, but as it stands today, I’m expecting that Skylar is the next man up.”
(You didn’t have obviously a ton of information at the time and again, I’m sure there’s a ton of imaging you go through now. Was it in the moment, did it seem as bad as maybe some of his past concussions or is there reason for optimism that this might not be as bad as some of the ones in the past?) – “Realistically for me, first and foremost, I’m not assessing the injury through the lens of all right, so what does this mean for him playing? And so just what I know to be of the utmost importance and what I really care about, it didn’t really matter the severity of it. I think this is something that it’s super important to – the whole, all the science behind concussions tells you what we’ve learned is how delicate the time is right after an injury and how important it is that you don’t institute extra sources of anxiety. So from my vantage point, I feel it’s supremely important in understanding that, that I’m not giving off any sort of vibes, I’m not trying to even look at, ‘OK well, how serious is this relative to his past ones?’ Really, really for me, I know the facts are that it’s important that he gets healthy day by day and in that, the actual, the best thing I can do is not try to assess what this even means from a football standpoint. And knowing that and with my relationship with players – specifically with Tua, but with all the players – it’s not in my DNA to think, ‘Hey, what does this mean for…’ What it means is that to properly prioritize what’s most important that I have to put his health as the primary. And so it’s been 10 hours since I last talked to you guys. For me, I absolutely positively will not do anything to make anything worse or hurt anyone of our players, specifically guys that are in concussion protocol. Ironically, I think there’s a lot of people that have vested interest in the Miami Dolphins. There’s a lot of fans and there’s a lot of people that want to support, but quite literally, questioning timelines; that gives forth anxiety. Trying to meet them, trying to assess what this means for playing. This is heavy stuff that you have to be diligent and deliberate and coaching up Tua, ‘Hey, your job is to be a dad and to communicate daily’ – and we’ll have daily assessments with experts in the field and handle that. And that is the only thing that matters because you don’t make matters worse by trying to – he would be able to feel if I was trying to vibe out and diminishing what this was based upon some symptoms. So literally I understand it completely and it’s not like I would’ve thought any other way until I was in a position of finding out information of what’s best for players in this situation, but talking about or having any sort of assumptions or planning – like I have no idea and nor should I, and I don’t want to because I want him to be healthy. And the best way to be as healthy as fast as possible is to not focus on anything but being present; for him with Ace and Maizy and Annah and that’s it.”
(And I’m sorry, I know there’s a long line of people waiting to ask questions, but I wasn’t asking from a football standpoint. There were a ton of players that had a real and outpouring of concern for him and so I was just wondering from a human aspect if you guys are super concerned about where he is right now?) – “Thank you for qualifying that. My energy is coming from my supreme care and concern for him and quite honestly it’s probably misguided that I wasn’t projecting that energy out on you, but I totally hear what you’re saying and it’s because you hear the outpouring that you want to say as loud as you possibly can that it is absolutely imperative that he is assessing nothing to football right now and in terms of – I guess there was no discussion of him not walking off the field and he was highly communicative in the locker room with the trainers and the doctors so I think relative to some other times you could black-and-white assess that. There’s just so much – the people that matter the most and their opinions are Tua and the doctors, the experts. And both of those people have – I called him about an hour ago, he was still asleep so I haven’t talked to him yet, and they should be meeting here shortly for the first after-action time spent with experts. But I get it and I appreciate that and I wasn’t triggered at you. It’s obviously something that there’s a lot of emotional tie to.”
(Where are your thoughts first and foremost with QB Tua Tagovailoa’s health and these bigger-picture conversations are in the future if they occur at all, but knowing Tua for both the family man that he is, but also the competitor he is and also knowing his family dynamic and those conversations that are sure to take place, how realistic do you envision retirement consideration being for him?) – “I think it would be so wrong of me to even sniff that subject and it’s more in line of actually caring about the human being and that’s something that entirely you’re talking about his career, right? His career is his, and that’s something that I really, really, really wish – I totally understand it and it’s not misplaced. I totally get how that’s where people want to go to. I just wish that people would for a second hear what I’m saying that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him, so I’m going to plead with everybody that does genuinely care, that that should be the last thing on your mind because – what do you think if I were to answer that question, I’d be like, ‘All right, this is my thoughts on his career’ and he read it. If he agreed with it or he disagreed with it, either way I’ve just made him worse. So I’m not taking this opportunity. I don’t think it’s appropriate simply because of my care and regard, and I don’t think those types of conversations when you’re talking about somebody’s career – it probably is only fair that their career should be decided by them.”
(And if I could follow up, guardian caps are now allowed to be worn in games. Will you urge QB Tua Tagovailoa to wear a guardian cap when he returns?) – “I think specifically, if – I think just in general, the second people are telling me directly how much this, that or the other would specifically benefit a particular individual; when that particular conversation comes up, I’ll absolutely do whatever I can to follow up with things specific to individuals that could help them moving forward. I think those types of things are far away from me from my standpoint, but that hasn’t necessarily come up. This being the first year that they’re able to wear them, but I’m open-minded to absolutely everything to help players.”
(I wanted to ask you, I know we’re basically addressing QB Tua Tagovailoa and his health, but I wanted to check on T Terron Armstead. What’s his status? How serious was the injury? Could he have gone back in the game and also, I’m curious, why not T Patrick Paul in that situation?) – “I think there was a classic (Terron) Armstead moment where I think he was battling and to the point that he could’ve – if we would have allowed his competitive nature to kind of overtake the process, I could see where he would go back in the game in a situation if he was fighting for it; however, he knew something was wrong. I think so far with the information, I’m optimistic that it will be something where he’ll be playing here sooner than later, but realistically I don’t totally know besides the fact that it doesn’t look like it’s the worst-case scenario where you’re worried about the season and stuff. It’s not in that realm, so we’ll get more information here today, and with regard to Patrick Paul, I think he’s definitely capable. I think you have to take into account and in certain situations or if it was a different opponent in a different situation, I think I would’ve been more open-minded to that. In that situation, I think when you are coming off the bench as a rookie for the first time in a division game where there’s a lot of frustration based upon how we were coming into the game as a team with our expectations and then what was happening; I get fearful if I can help it from setting people up in positions of failure. And what do I mean by that, is I think teammates feel – inevitably in football you have good plays and bad plays, but in games like that if it’s your first taste, I try to avoid guys getting their first burn in the regular season in a situation like that. So that was the decision behind that. It was definitely considered, but I just thought it was best to go the direction we did with the experience and the productivity that Kendall (Lamm) was giving and whatnot.”
(You’ve touched on a lot of this, but you’ve never hidden that you and QB Tua Tagovailoa have a very unique, special, close relationship. Again, you’ve addressed part of it, but I’m just curious from within that realm, that space that you and Tua share, how difficult is it for you to do Dolphins football coaching stuff today when I’m sure that so much of your mind is just concern for him?) – “I would say it’s fair to say that that’s very difficult, however I also take my responsibility extremely, extremely serious. I regard it; I think about all the people that are counting on me to do hard things. It’s not lost on me. Really, none of it’s lost on me and the motivation to press through difficult times when – shoot. I hate disappointing our local sports writers and seeing people dejected after the game. I hate fans that spend all this money to go these games and have all the expectations, that’s – your guys’ experience, fans’ experience, players, it doesn’t end. That’s not lost on me, so when I tell you that absolutely it’s very, very tough. At the same time, there’s not a moment that goes by that I don’t take with absolute severity and sincerity how many people are counting on me to – in this job, honestly, a lot of people can do this job when things are going awesome. There’s a lot of people. I think it’s important that when you sign up for it, that you recognize that as a leader, it actually only matters when times are tough. That’s when you need to – I think that it’s moments like these that you really have to tap into that to handle it appropriately and in ways that in hindsight I won’t regret.”
(A couple of, I guess, you would call housekeeping questions. You had mentioned at the start that your considering bringing in another quarterback. That leads me to wonder, have you already decided or how close are you to deciding whether to put QB Tua Tagovailoa on IR?) – “Again, that’s a fair question and I totally understand it – I literally will not know any sort of anything either way. Because again that would be – just knowing that, that’s how we’re operating as though we know nothing because we don’t. Again, the driving force behind any sort of move – let’s say playing any time, let’s say IR, let’s say whatever those things are – the absolute most important opinion, the most important person in this whole equation is Tua. His opinion and what he wants to do with his life and his career coupled with the experts in neuroscience, those are the driving forces behind those actions. I’m not hiding anything; I’m being as transparent as I absolutely could. I have zero idea what any sort of timeline is, and I’m actually extremely motivated to be in the gray because I’m extremely motivated to do right by the person that we’re talking about. That’s not an ideal way to do business necessarily, but this is more than business. So we’re operating as though – we just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation, and that’s all I want to do or we should do just because I’m not going to rush to judgement way prematurely. I’ll even throw this out; the only two people, the only two opinions that really matter that are the absolute driving force for what we’re doing at that position, Tua and the doctors. I don’t know, I don’t have any information from them. Me myself? If I’m a betting man, I’m guessing that those two people – I don’t see how he would play in the next game. I don’t see it, but who am I to know or judge? But I think it’s a fair assessment to be prepared to have three quarterbacks on our roster for the next game that we’ll need to add one for that game, but again, I have no idea and I am not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that aren’t in – I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of those. This is – literally all I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend, and then we’ll move from there. So there won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard and how long he’ll, when he’ll – none of that will happen without doctor’s expertise and the actual player. And again guys, I totally appreciate it. It’s not lost on me – I’m not trying to villainize. It’s more of like I’ve just learned this stuff, so I’m not trying to hold any cards or anything. But it is very important that there aren’t added anxiety pushed onto him right now, he just needs to be.”
(I can imagine the answer to this question, but what have the last 10 hours been like for you? Were you able to get home at a somewhat reasonable hour considering the time the game ended? Have you been able to sleep? Can you walk us through what the last 10 hours have been like for you?) – “That’s an interesting question, I hadn’t thought about me really. It hasn’t been – there’s just been a lot of thought. You get home at like, after I get to enjoy your guys’ company in a press conference, I think it was like 1:30 (a.m.) or something, and there’s just a lot of people’s journeys to bear. There’s a lot of – especially when I look back to pregame and seeing my daughter on the field and her wishing me good luck and whatnot, there’s a lot of people that didn’t see it coming. And then at the same time, this is something that is – there’s just a lot to digest fully knowing that there’s NFL opportunities a plenty and who needs what. Mind hasn’t really stopped; got a little sleep and hopefully tonight bedtime for my daughter, trying to get her to go to sleep, hopefully that will get me to get some much-needed sleep. But stuff like this, losses are tough; ones that you’ve really built yourself up to try to get done, when you lose in a surprising manner, that’s really tough; when you don’t give yourself a chance because of a turnover differential, that’s really tough and then you have your heart completely involved with it – I look at Tua as a family member of mine. When family is going through something, you know how it is. You’re trying to think about a ton of different stuff that people are counting on me to think about. Not easy.”
(I know you last night on the field were able to have a moment which we all saw and resonated with us that you were able to give him a kiss as he walked off the field. When you were on the field last night with QB Tua Tagovailoa last night as he was coming off, you were able to kiss him as he walked off. What did you tell Tua?) – “I told him he’s the starting quarterback of his family and to go in the locker room, take a deep breath and I’ll see you soon.”
