Mike McDaniel – August 15, 2024
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Thursday, August 15, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(In the history of time, we sometimes see teams that have a backup quarterback battle, some days Joe Schmoe will be the first one to enter, some days Fred Schmoe might be the first one to enter behind the starter. So I was curious, and without getting into specific names in the question, I’m curious, what has led to you not taking that approach in recent days, of necessarily alternating second-team quarterback and where that competition stands?) – “So that’s a great question because without me answering it you’d have no clue why. I’m here to provide the why for Barry, and Barry only, nobody else. (laughter) Every year presents new challenges; we have guys that have developed in our offense and have done so from Day 1 in a competitive environment. We’re very routine with the pattern with which we were giving the opportunities to quarterbacks up until this training camp, really between Mike (White) and Skylar (Thompson). We were very routine – this day twos, next day threes. So in the vain of competition, putting our heads together from a staff perspective, we felt like that routine in itself might not be doing justice to the players and that the competitiveness would be best served if we changed up the routine for the change sake, because with that, there’s so many competing variables to deal with as a quarterback. Particularly a backup quarterback that is in charge of leading a team to victory if Tua goes down. All of those things, all of those challenges, we get to evaluate with not only the player playing in the huddle, but then how does someone respond when you get less reps, which is kind of the nature of backup quarterbacks. So all evaluation tools with the intent of not making it as consistent, but over the whole scope of camp to be able to make sure that those are even but just patternize it a little differently to make sure that the competition stays fresh. We allow the players to tell us who two and who three are, just like at every other position, because I see better than I hear.”
(So QB Tua Tagovailoa wants to play this preseason game. Will he and the rest of the starters?) – “I think – I anticipated this question. So I thought, how can I responsibly answer it and just be honest? Well, the idea from a starting point is that I want some starters to play in the game. Now to say exactly which individuals those are, specifically with the collection of injuries that you have to manage and not really knowing what takes place today, we’ll make some final assessments on who those players are going to be as a staff tomorrow. But approaching it and as I’ve explained to the players, the approach will be that the guys that are known starters, with exceptions but the starting point is that they will get some action this game, and then we’ll take it case by case from there.”
(Can you provide any sort of update on where LB Bradley Chubb stands in his recovery?) – “The update is that it’s going much like the ongoing conversations have been about Jaelan Phillips in that no timeline, making sure that he has no setbacks in the whole process and I can tell you with exuberance that there’s been no setbacks. He’s progressing, and we will – making sure that when he’s on the field, he’s there to stay. So he is doing a great job understanding his role to the team, a very important player for this team. He might be one of the if not the most popular player on the team – I don’t think there’s a teammate that he can’t reach, and with that connectivity there’s some responsibility that goes there for the organization. So he’s been very wise beyond his years in terms of making sure he doesn’t in the heat of competitiveness overstep boundaries too soon, so happy where he’s at.”
(How challenging do you think the Washington defensive front might be in today’s practice?) – “I think it’s going to be a great competitive challenge. You hope to have opportunities like this in a practice setting where you can have not only an adjustment scheme but have really good players in the scheme doing their techniques and fundamentals. It’s the absolute best way to make the day matter and get a game-like experience. So I’m really excited for that, and it’s excitement to get better. Really good players generally have some good plays, so I think understanding that and knowing that the whole unit will definitely challenge us. I have a lot of history with the head coach and I know a lot of the guys that are coaching over there, they’re going to compete and that’s all we try to do each and every day. I’m sure the really good players are going to try to compete, that’s why they’re really good players, so it will be awesome for us.”
(In practice today, have you guys structured it where you’re going to see ones versus ones, twos versus twos? Will you mix it up ones versus twos?) – “This practice you’ll see a lot of ones versus ones, twos versus twos. You can have whys and reasons to do things a multitude of ways, that’s something that I know from experience with Coach Quinn that he’s had that philosophy. The good on good, it’s been said to me for years. And we share that, so there was some congruence there, and that’s what you should expect for the most part. There’s always adjustments, particularly when two teams have their own set of issues with regard to what position is really stressed that day relative to the whole 90-man roster. So there will always be a little give and take depending on how many reps a person can get, how many times that we can give their defense a personnel that necessitates big nickel versus nickel, that determines how many nickel reps that gets. So if people get extra reps, you might see some guys that are the ones going with the twos or vice versa, because of some adjustments but for the most part, it should be ones versus ones.”
(Sort of a philosophical roster question for you. How do you balance the idea of taking a look at all the reps that occurred back in OTAs, early camp, all the way up until cut down day? Is that the approach, or is it more like you took that time to build up to who you are today on this cutoff day, and then we’re evaluating who you are at that point?) – “No, it makes sense. It is something that I think is only – the only way I know how to truly do right by the evaluation of all of our players, for not only the individual players, but for the organization, collectively having a ton of conversations. And then what to me is the only way to approach it is investing every day in guys’ stories on the field and seeing how they adjust to turmoil, seeing where – you want to be in front of that stuff, so you always have things to coach to see if the pattern is that you’re trending up. Then at the moment of truth, that trend probably speaks more than the exact player at that moment. You can justifiably, with good reason, forecast the future by that trend, and if the trend is inverse, you take that into account. I think all the things, the main thing that I think players that have been here, for this being their third year, have seen firsthand, and the players feel it during the course of camp. We don’t pretend to know the final answer. I think that’s super important, because I think you have to stay true to what is your primary importance, or what is the thing that is of primary importance, and to me, that is that players get to determine who should be on the team, who by their actions, and not by predisposed, like everybody wins if the Dolphins are their best version of themselves. So we just push that, paying attention to everything and where guys are at is very important, and sometimes there’s a caveat of assessing trends, because you’ve been along for the journey the whole time and can plausibly forecast.”
(Yesterday, TE Julian Hill talked a lot about the pressure that comes with the orange jersey, both on the field but also on the aux. The orange jersey was something that you brought when you joined the organization. What was behind that? And also, this year who’s had the best playlist?) – “I have to give credit where credit is due. I think the idea was a problem – I was presenting a problem to the offensive staff, I think, at the time. And the problem was I can’t – yeah, I have a lot of fire songs and my music is awesome, but I can’t keep up with just the daily grind of keeping guys involved in practice through some music and some juice. On top of that, music is identifying me as old, because there’s some stuff that I’m like, what? I feel like that same old guy that you know that is cursing whatever music you like when you’re growing up. So in that (Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach) Jon Embree came with an idea of like, ‘Why don’t you have a player everyday kind of decide the playlist?’ That fitting my competitive spirit, or the competitive spirit is hoping to engender with practice, we thought it was kind of a cool idea to really highlight somebody to the team in a productive way to bring acknowledgement to the day of practice they’ve had and everything accumulated to that. And then really, I found out through the process that people really – they’re happy about that. They love the playlist. They love forcing the will of the listeners, one of the rules about the orange jersey is that there’s no such thing – you don’t complain about the music during practice, because if you don’t like the music, change the music. You know what I mean? So if you don’t like Liam Eichenberg’s playlist, all right, put on a show against him when he’s wearing the orange jersey and you can have a playlist, and you can truly show the audience how much better your musical ear is than theirs. So it’s a fun thing we like doing, and guys seem to like it. There is pressure like unintended consequence every single time, if I give an orange jersey to a defensive lineman, the offensive line takes it as an offense. If an offensive line gets an orange jersey, you better believe people are lining up to go against him in one on ones. That’s a competitive spirit that I appreciate and we do a good job protecting the team and protecting each other, so something I embrace.”
(You touched on Dan Quinn earlier. Can you speak to the influence he had on your career those couple years in Atlanta?) – “Two years can be a short time, or it can be a very, very impactful time. I was with Dan (Quinn) in Atlanta for two years, and from head coaching perspective, he approached the job from a different angle that kind of fit what I think you guys see today from a lot of vantage points. The culture, the energy, setting the tonality on a daily basis, these are things that the guys that worked for Dan, it was something that you really held on to and I know I’ve held on to it for all the years since. Then as well as just being – I was very, very fortunate to hit life in one of my crossroads under his leadership in an organization that he was the head coach of. I don’t know where I’d be if – it could have looked a lot of different ways if you didn’t have support when you were going through your journey of becoming sober. It’s a very different ball game if from the top, from Dan Quinn, if he’s not saying, ‘No, you can do this.’ His belief in me, as well as a lot of the coaching staff there, aided with my wife’s belief in me made it a lot easier to do something that’s been very important in my life. So love the man, the human being, the coach. All you need to know is listen to some player quotes about Dan Quinn that he’s coached. He’s a great man, I’m excited to see him today.”
(He loves you, by the way, said it during his press conference.) – “Oh, yeah? Really? Can you tell Dan Quinn through the through the internet that I love him more? (laughter) Appreciate it.”
(Is anything in particular you’re looking for when today’s joint practice?) – “I’m looking for today to matter. I say that to the players a ton, and you can make today matter for your season, the team, if you’re fully committed and invested with the right mindset and focus for the job at hand. Trimming the fat, cutting out – there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of exuberance in joint practices and having your mind through competition, still toward the team goal and the unit goal and your job each and every play, that type of mindset adds up and builds over the course of training camp that allows you to play your most convicted football in regular season, or allows you to play the most convicted football for this preseason game, which for a lot of participants, is as important as a game could get. I just want it to matter, and how it matters is through intent. Are you prepared? Have you taken all the stuff that we’ve learned? Are you heeding to the points of emphasis, and then how do you respond to the inevitable play that the opposing team makes? All those things are what I’m looking for, because I don’t know exactly what, I just know today will matter if we operate accordingly.”
(With WR Erik Ezukanma, I just wanted to ask your thoughts on where he stands. Obviously, he’s come back from injury. Does the skill set still intrigue you and Wide Receivers/Pass Game Specialist Wes Welker where you feel like there’s a lot more that we can get out of this young player as he develops?) – “Of course, I think that is kind of our model here with regard to what is our position as coaches. As coaches, we’re trying to maximize the talent of every player in their recognized dream. Erik (Ezukanma) had a great day yesterday; I think he was the fastest GPS player. I think guys are excited to be a part of his journey and absolutely, we are pouring into him to see what can come out.”
