Mike McDaniel – June 8, 2023
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Thursday, June 8, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(We have one more day left here in the spring program, but what’s your evaluation of the work so far from OTAs and what you guys got accomplished during this program?) – “That’s a good one because, to be honest, I’m very, very happy, as happy as I could be I think with where we’re at right now. I talked to the team at length. We have a lot of good players that have ambitions to be great. A lot of people have high expectations for this team. So what does that mean? That means, in my opinion, and I think as I’ve observed, our shared team’s opinion, is that means we need to put our best foot forward and go to work each and every day. So I am super, super pumped about where we’re at in Phase 3 with one practice, really left, and that’s awesome. Now, what does that mean? Again, it means check that box. Oh yeah, by the way, nothing. Because the players have to understand that this is the steppingstone. Now in front of us, we have an extended period of time off where they’re going to have to count on each other to stay in shape and be in training camp shape. So you have to show up to training camp in shape and you have to diligently go about training camp. Step by step by step, that’s where our focus has been this offseason. Because of that, I’ve seen guys, we had a very hard-working offseason last year. I think, you know, if we had time travel available and we’d practice against ourselves from last year, extremely confident that this year’s version, 2023, would get the best of them. Now, we had a tremendous time-off period and had a very good training camp last year. So again, it just means checking the box but for a goal-oriented team, I’ve seen people transfer their emotions the right way, which is into the work and into their investment. We have a tight team now because, shared sacrifice.”
(A veteran running back from the Minnesota Vikings who is from Miami is supposedly going to be released today or has been released. You have said that this team is always seeking to upgrade. Does that apply at running back right now?) – “March 6, 1983, the day I was born, right? Now we take a closer look at that date and that in fact was not yesterday. (laughter) Okay, so people that are rumored to be tall, short, people that are rumored to be, you’re not going to get this guy. I’m Year 2. Okay? (laughter) What I am excited about is talking about the most important thing which is the third day of veteran minicamp and we’ve got a lot of guys that are good players that have an opportunity to get better. Answer your question?”
(Yes, not to my satisfaction. But yes.) – “I mean, unless you’re trying to run me out of town, you know.”
(How do you feel about your running backs as a whole?) – “The running back group, it’s developed into a really cool group. Very pumped to sign Raheem (Mostert) and Jeff (Wilson Jr.) back in the offseason. Then the Washington boys have been outstanding as usual, gaining, just getting better all the time. With ‘SA’ (Salvon Ahmed) and Myles (Gaskin). Then we have a couple of rookies that have done a good job being rookies, which means learning from mistakes. So overall, very happy with the way they’ve practiced, very happy with their competitive camaraderie. They’re all trying to be the best, but they’re not doing it in spite of each other. They recognize that each one of them can help each other get better. So it’s been a cool camp for them.”
(I wanted to ask about Passing Game Coordinator/Secondary Renaldo Hill and his position because bringing him aboard sort of changes the structure of the coaching staff on the defensive side. Was that your idea or Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s idea and what have you seen out of him?) – ”All ideas are always mine. (laughter) No, obviously I have such a high opinion of Vic Fangio and have really admired, learned so much before I even worked with them. As soon as he made his decision to take his talents to South Beach, we started talking about the functionality of a defensive staff and the way it can look. One of the things that is paramount in trying to implement a system is having really good coaches, obviously, but you’re talking about so many things, so many little details that have to be answered. Familiarity with a system or working with someone with a system is tremendous advantage for Vic and thereby the entire defense. Then through conversations and how it played out, over the moon to have the opportunity to add a coach of his (Renaldo Hill) caliber. It was more out of the opportunity rather than necessity, I would say, to empower the players with the most and best knowledge possible. I think it’s very important that players understand that coaches, their purpose serves to just make them better. So it’s very important, it’s critical, that a coaching staff works together well and that people are trying to utilize the various talents. That’s all I’ve seen from Vic’s staff really, and specifically every coach in the back end, because there’s multiple positions. There are good players that want the investment that yearn for the investment. As long as they’re working together, which they’ve done an unbelievable job with Joe (Kasper) and Sam (Madison) and Mathieu (Araujo), collectively going after it. It’s been cool to see and I’ve very much enjoyed my time, my professional time, with Renaldo and feel very fortunate to have him.”
(Can you talk a little bit about the tight ends. It Looks like you’ve got a group of in-line guys. It looks like TE’s Tanner Conner and Elijah Higgins are kind of the off-line guys. Can you talk a little bit about that competition and what you’re trying to accomplish?) – “I think it’s incredibly important that offensive players have rigid roles and make sure you tell the defensive coordinators that, that they’ll only do certain things. (laughter) There’s a teaching progression, I’d say. It’s important for players as they develop to, there’s always parts of the game that they need to develop. Specifically tight end, it’s a unique position where you’re both receiver and offensive lineman, right? So you need them to do what they already walked in the door good at, or in their minds their strengths, so that they can continue to develop something that is they’re confident in their game. But with tight ends specifically, you’re always adjusting it person by person and some faster than others. But you’re always trying to really work on the stuff that maybe they’re not as confident in, or maybe they didn’t have as much production in. So in OTAs, you kind of see guys doing a lot of what they’ve done in the past with little nuggets each and every day so you can still keep them confident playing football because that’s the only way you can get real reps. Going out and being like, ah, doesn’t get anyone better, including the defense. So, you’ll see a progression of usage so that defensive coordinators can’t notice the same thing you did.”
(Last night, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was talking about his players being on the same page competitively and speaking the same kind of language that way. With some of the new guys, especially CB Jalen Ramsey, have you felt any change in that within the team?) – “Yeah, it’s cool. The National Football League is set up so that there’s a natural turnover, just in general. I talked to the team at the end of last season. I talked to the team at the beginning of this season. Like, it’s never the same. So I think to approach with assumptions can leave you vulnerable to missing stuff. So you go with an open mind, new season. What I’ve seen from this team is, if you want to say it’s the new guys coming in, or if you want to say it’s the learned lessons from the team from last year. Collectively, to me, I see a more mature, more intentional, more focused group. And we had a fairly focused group last year. But we’ve really, everything that we’ve done, every Phase 1 meeting, every Phase 2 thing on the field, every Phase 3 practice, I can honestly say that guys got something out of each day. That is hard pressed to do with all the different variables and it takes a cohesion of an organization because players have to trust the intent of the coaches, players have to trust the awesome, unbelievable training staff we have. They have to be the right type of human beings that are trying to be great and willing to do the work to be so. So you better have the right human beings you’re directed at with the personnel department. All of that stuff comes into play. But I see this team being, for some of the things that you may have felt like you were lacking as a team last year that could have positively affected outcomes, those things I’m seeing glimpses of at this stage with this team.”
(I wanted to ask you about the philosophy of the organization from resource allocation standpoint. You guys spend money and use up draft picks on important positions in the league such as cornerback, quarterback, offensive tackle, wide receiver, but the flip side is you can’t spend it on everything. What decisions do you make when it comes to, say guard, or running back and there’s a big name that comes out in the market but might not kind of fit?) – “You know, that’s a cool question because the answer to it, I’m very convicted in. I think that sometimes in the effort to have a philosophy, you can pigeonhole yourself into a formula that I don’t think any formula is the same. So what I’m attempting to say is that it’s case by case but that’s intentional. With Chris (Grier) and I talking we think that you can fall into traps. It’s not, okay ‘always this, always that.’ It’s ‘okay, what is this? Is this worth the cost?’ If you’re going to trade away an asset, how attainable is that asset? Oh, this is the only time we will have the opportunity to have a player of this caliber unless you’re a top-ten pick. Well, that’s a reason. Or, you know what? There’s a litany of it. So for me to say, okay, philosophy is this, is this. You trade away assets or you devote assets, which is what a contract is, because we’re in a salary cap. Those things are dependent on, alright, well, how much of a risk is this investment and, oh, this is worth it? Then we’ll build around that. Having an open-mindedness, I think that’s one of the things that have allowed us to get some really good players through transactions of trade in the past two year. Though, that was not necessarily a philosophy as searching. But when the opportunity presented itself, it made a lot of sense considering it’s all about the collective of the team and what you can offset. I see it as an ever-changing equation.”
(You’ve mentioned some areas you feel like you’ve grown from last year. I know you’re always pushing. Is there an area you see maybe into training camp where you’re like, “hey I’d love for us to grow towards this area or maybe improve towards this particular area”?) – “Yeah, the wins. Like I’ve said before, the only thing keeping me from being critical about everything that I do is insecurity. That’s the way I look at it.”
(That doesn’t make any sense. So what does that mean?) – “Well, if you’re unwilling to consider an action, a component of your job, if you’re unwilling to do that, that’s to protect yourself because well what if it wasn’t the best way to do it? I think you can challenge yourself in every decision or everything that literally you do. You can challenge yourself and say, ‘is that the best thing?’ And if it is, awesome. If it isn’t, who cares? Change it. It’s about continually developing and getting better, I think is kind of the race in my opinion of this job. I look at everything across the board and by and large, the things that our team wasn’t good at, you know I mentioned some stuff before. It’s one thing to try to be an offense that’s explosive. It’s another thing to be that and be diligent in your pre-snap formations and penalties in general. Turnovers are a priority, which I think, as a matter of fact I know, the schematic change that we’ve made really puts our best foot forward to rectify that. Then from press conferences to team speeches to gameplans to play calling, I’m not doing my job unless I’m trying to be better at it. So if I’m going to ask players to try to improve and coaches to try to improve and trainers to try to improve, I look at it as like, my voice is loud but they’re not going to just do it because I said so. It’s my job to set the precedent. So what am I looking to do better? Literally everything, because I don’t think I’d be doing right by the Dolphins, the franchise, the fanbase, you guys, if I was like, ‘no I’m good.’”
(A couple of guys that we never touched on, T Brandon Shell, why the decision against bringing him back and LB Melvin Ingram, is something still a possibility there with him a free agent?) – “One guy, is he on a team? I believe he is, but that’s fine. In general, you did talk about two players and those two particular players I can honestly say, it was not no we don’t want them back. It is a capitalistic market and we have a finite allocation of funds. Players have opportunities, especially good ones. So then sometimes guys say hey, I’m only going to play for a certain amount of money. Some guys say, ‘I will play but I have these options.’ Just because they’re not on the team doesn’t mean that we didn’t want them back. They were very good players for us and I enjoyed both of those guys. But you know, business.”
