Mike McDaniel – July 24, 2024
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Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Is QB Tua Tagovailoa going to practice all periods, or have you guys worked something out where he’ll do some but not all? What’s the plan?) – “The plan is something that I think there are two parts to it. I think it’s important to acknowledge that Tua (Tagovailoa) is in the midst of a contract negotiation, that’s important to him and the football team. That being said, we communicate very well and it’s very fluid. We are taking it day-by-day today. I expect it to be kind of like OTAs and we’ll move on from there.”
(Not knowing the timeline of the way these things go, how much is it a factor as far as you’re starting camp, this is kind of there, as far as how long that lingers, how you handle it – the idea of a distraction, things like that – for the team and for QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “Well, I think I’m very proud of the team this offseason. There has been a lot of things that we’ve matured in how we go about our business, and one thing about being in the National Football League is there’s stuff that goes on that you can’t control. I think from the start people try not to make a distraction and emphasize their work. It’s just an opportunity that, in a different way, is the same challenge you are presented with through during the entire course of the year. I’m not going to forecast how long anything looks a certain way or whatever. We’ll adjust however we see fit to make sure we are appropriately positioning our players for success. And all of those things are a distraction if you allow them to be. Myself, I have open conversations about that stuff to the team and to understand that we’re all not robots. You have to consciously make sure that you are worried about the right stuff, I think our team is. Our team is really excited about practicing against each other and making today matter and having something to build on for tomorrow. I have no concerns about distractions, and we together make sure that we do whatever we can to put our best foot forward really.”
(Were you at all surprised or blindsided by the LB Shaquil Barrett retirement decision?) – “Well, I guess surprised in that I wasn’t forecasting it. But you know you talk to him, and you understand completely and support a teammate that way. I think professional athletes put a lot on the line and I think it’s important to recognize that. I’m happy when people make decisions to play or not play when it’s their own decision that they are satisfied with. I’m happy that he’s at a place where he can move on for reason of spending time with his family. I’m proud of him that he took the regard of his teammates to really put himself there and he didn’t want to represent himself in any other way than Shaq Barrett. I know his family is happy to have him around and I know he’s got a lot of teammates that really support him and love him.”
(With LB Jaelan Phillips and LB Bradley Chubb, do you still operate with no timeline on them? Do you think they might get some meaningful practice reps sometime during camp?) – “Yeah, I’m a stickler for the no timelines not just to annoy you guys. (laughter) That was a little too aggressive of a laugh there. Because the only thing that I can offer someone in the physical rehabilitation standpoint is to not make them worse and chase an arbitrary expectation and to actually listen to their bodies so we can proactively prevent reoccurring injuries. So that really is where I’m at with it. I hold my cards to my vest, to those individual – like I make sure they don’t think I’m assuming they’re going to be around for anything. You can’t do that, because I have too much regard for their process. Fortunately it’s a little easier process with guys like we have that are going through our training department, because we know they want to be on the field as soon as possible. We know that. We know they want to be as fast as possible, so our training staff does a great job of making sure people aren’t shortchanging their opportunities on this team to prematurely get back on the field.”
(WR Tyreek Hill mentioned the word selfish yesterday when he was talking about his quest for 2k last year. Is that something he’s expressed to you? And is there any change in his approach coming into this year?) – “He hasn’t. If he were to express that to me, I’d probably be like, ‘What? Dude, you’re just a competitor trying to…’ In his mind, in my opinion, we win a lot of games when he reaches whatever numbers is the way he looked at it. Now as he evolves as a man, it’s cool to hear that that’s his viewpoint on it. I know that he’s a supreme competitor and uses a lot of different motivation tools. It’s a win for the Dolphins that people are finding different ways to try in their own mind to improve themselves as human beings, and as a leader, that’s a powerful statement regardless of whether – I promise you, his teammates aren’t worried about that, but that’s a cool thing to come from leader.”
(Yesterday S Jordan Poyer made a comment from a Buffalo perspective that the thinking was, if we got on top of the Dolphins, they would “fold.” Do you think there’s any validity to that from the way the team performed last year? How concerning is it? And is it a thing that’s more on the coaches or the players? Or how do you solve something like that if it is an issue?) – “No, I think things like that, Jordan Poyer is here because of the player he is and the leader he is, and I think he recognizes the leadership opportunity that he has here. I’m very open and upfront and aggressive with, to me, when I see realities. Realities are the past doesn’t predict the future. But for Jordan Poyer to talk to his teammates, whether that’s directly and saying the same thing that he’s told all of them in the media, I think it’s important to understand where things come from. To understand that when you don’t win football games down the stretch, when you don’t win playoff games, when you don’t win Super Bowls, those things; I don’t know what it will look like, but it will be said. OK, much like, let’s say we won the Super Bowl last year. And you guys were saying Jordan Poyer was saying we’re the toughest team in America. The challenge is understanding what it is and actually doing something about it today. So to me, it doesn’t surprise me. I think we’re in a business where it’s very cut and dry there. You’re either finding reasons for success or reason for failure, and there’s nothing in between. The main focus, I talk about all that because it’s really not a big deal. What is a big deal today? Anything under that umbrella that you have a problem with, solve it today, and then do it the next day and do it the next day. So we have that opportunity to finish and finish practice today. If we want to finish the season right, let’s step out on that field and finish today. And then you do that and you build on that the next day.”
(On WR Odell Beckham Jr., any level of disappointment that he’s not ready?) – “No, I think he’s working his way back. It’s so important that him coming to this team in this offense, that he’s able to focus on the timing and execution of how he plays the position. If he’s compromised in any regard to do that, then the challenge becomes cerebral. To me – he won’t be practicing today. When is he going to practice? I don’t know. The longer that is, it just means how much more you have to be detailed and you can’t – how much more you have to be on it, the shorter that time gets. But the key is to understand yeah, OK – I can promise you I’m in a better place with it than he is, you know? He’s a competitor. He wants to be out there, and we also have to have long vision, get your body right, while mastering what we do being a part of the team so that you can hit the ground running when you’re out there. And that’s all I’m concerned about, is he takes advantage of an opportunity that you do have if you aren’t playing. Everything is an opportunity cost, he has more time to study.”
(There will be some in the media that say the lack of a QB Tua Tagovailoa contract suggests an organizational hedging on him. It doesn’t matter what we say. It does matter what he thinks, though. What would you say to QB Tua Tagovailoa if he does come to you and say, “Hey, I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me, where’s my contract?”) – “I think it’s important for me as the head coach and my connection with the players and what my bottom-line job is, to maximize the abilities, that I know where my place is in my relationship with him. I’m not involved in those things. My job is to focus on him getting better solely. I think in terms of hedging, I know as an organization we’ve prioritized it by entering in negotiations a long time ago, whenever that started. By doing that –I think it speaks to kind of how important it is to both sides that they’re relentlessly working on it. Great things take time. The one thing that’s come about this whole process is I am very, very confident in my relationship with Tua and he can separate the business entity from – ultimately he knows any way you cut it, our focus has to be on what it looks like when he’s playing football. And so I wouldn’t hedge a bet that he would come to me with that conversation, but I’ll play out your scenario. That’s good.”
(Going back to the WR Odell Beckham Jr. answer, but not having LB David Long Jr. out there as well for the defense along with LB Bradley Chubb and LB Jaelan Phillips, putting in a new defense, how do you continue about that process not having three starters out there?) – “I get concerned with things like that when we’re supremely down in numbers because I’m not settling roster battles in a basement with magnets. So the opportunity in each position group when someone is not practicing, that’s what I’m focused on. Now, when the numbers get dwindled – but there are especially at the stack backer position, there’s some great competition. If you want to tell me the final depth chart of that position, let me know because I have no clue. So guys being able to be out on the field, as long as we have enough guys that we can fully give dudes good opportunities to set where they’re at on the depth chart, then I’m good to go.”
(Regarding QB Tua Tagovailoa, if he’s not fully participating by the joint practice with Atlanta and you know how much of a team guy he is, how heavily do you think that would weigh on him?) – “I feel like you’re asking me to predict the weather here. I think it’s so important for all the things that need to be focused for my position for Tua (Tagovailoa) to do his – like we will cross that bridge. I can’t put forth a ton of time thinking about a scenario like that, because I don’t know if that’s plausible or not. Like honestly, we’re trying to do our best to adjust with different parameters on a daily basis. I will say that we’ll continually adjust depending on different variables so in any scenario, there will be adjustment that best compensates as we can.”
(So will we see a lot of 7-on-7s for the next couple days?) – “I wouldn’t be willing to say that for fear of being wrong. I know today, I’m expecting what we did in the spring. All those things, we’ll work through to do the best thing for him and us and you can’t forecast tomorrow. That doesn’t even exist. What’s tomorrow?”
(I imagine this is kind of a delicate middle ground with you with this contract deal because you’re obviously the coach. At any point do you talk to General Manager Chris Grier and say, “Hey, for us to have the best success for the season, I need my quarterback fully in in everything”?) – “No, I don’t talk to Chris. (laughter) Yeah, everybody knows that. It’s an important situation for both the organization and Tua (Tagovailoa) and his family. And everybody is aware of the importance to everyone, so I don’t need to remind anybody about that. I think when you’re working in a healthy organization, there’s enough empathy that I know that he wants the contract done and he knows that there’s different things that evolve if there’s not. That’s a known – there’s no secret to that – so everybody is trying their best to get a deal done so we have to rely on that and hope.”
(How do you ensure that you’re playing your best football in December and January? Is there anything you can do in July – you can’t predict injuries, but to make sure you’re going into the playoffs with a little more momentum than the last couple years?) – “Absolutely. Absolutely today is the answer. It’s the only thing that’s real. Everything else – you can talk all you want – it’s talk. Today we have an opportunity to set the standard with which we do a whole litany of things and that’s what I try to really – I see my job as connecting those dots. Connecting so we have these realities. So X, Y and Z is saying this, what do we do moving forward? That’s all I’m focused on and today you set your standard. If that standard is appropriate, it matters. You make today matter because you can build on that for the next day. I’m not talking about good, bad, whatever. Let’s make it actually real. And I promise you, what do you look like in the middle of September; what have you built on? So then what are you looking in October? It all relates, so I think that’s kind of the beauty. I think anybody that’s ever done anything elite; you look at elite athletes like Steph Curry or Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, I think they understand that. Well, my job as a coach is to try to get everyone to understand that as well, that today is the day you something. That’s why I’m pretty fired up for July 24.”
(What is the T Terron Armstead plan for training camp?) – “The plan is to make sure that we have a good relationship with him because he wants to play football really bad. And to make sure that he’s involved to the point that he feels outstanding while also trying to do right for him and keep him out of his own way because when he goes, he likes to go. So for him where he’s at, he can’t stand not playing football all the time. We’ll be battling him on that. There will be days of full participation, day of partial and days that make sense for a couple young guys to get opps. It will be very, very fluid, but he’s in a great place. Healthy as ever. Really spry, I feel like he thinks he’s 23 years old right now. So he’s feeling himself and we want to make sure that that doesn’t end up in a negative situation.”
(How excited are you for the team’s success this year, opening day of camp…?) – “I’m really excited for the opportunity that this team has, because I really believe in the individuals. And they’re geeked about working today and the thing – everybody yearns for that steadiness, so to speak, and consistency of routine and challenges. Well, they are geeked for today and that’s exciting because you can do something with that. You can get better from that. You can work towards a goal from that. So Day 1, let’s go. Get your eye black ready.”
