3 reasons why I’m talking myself into the Dolphins hiring Mike McDaniel

The dust still hasn’t settled from the impact of Brian Flores being fired on Monday. I wrote the other day that seemingly every hour there is a new report of how much of a jerk Flores was to Tua and others inside the Miami Dolphin’s compound. Now we move on to Mike McDaniel.

Mike Lombardi said yesterday, then retracted that it wasn’t Flores’ words perse, that Flores told Tua that he should have drafted Mac Jones. This is all a bucket of yuck but it’s not shocking that all these campfire tales of a big mean monster presiding over a football are starting to come out now. To all you “why don’t they report these things when the season is going on” people, well the reason is if reporters broke news like this while the coach was still in place, it would likely be a major blow to their career. Yes, Tom Pelissero did it to Urban Meyer, but kicking a guy in the leg is much universally disliked than telling your struggling QB that he stinks.

This is article is about the future. This article is about how I’m starting to talk myself into the Miami Dolphins hiring Mike McDaniel to be their next head coach.

Now, let me put it out there that my first choice is Jim Harbaugh. I know that Stephen Ross said that he won’t hurt Michigan by taking Harbaugh out of there. But what if Harbaugh leaves on his own accord? Ross never said anything about bringing in Harbaugh if was a free agent of sorts.

Harbaugh is a legit head coach who has his hand in both sides of the ball. Yes, he’s more of an offensive guy but he isn’t oblivious to what happens on defense. He’s done it before and was ever so close to winning a Super Bowl with the 49ers. I’d very much enjoy him being the coach of the Dolphins.

But if he does stay with the Wolverines, I’m starting to lean Mike McDaniel who is currently the offensive coordinator of the same San Francisco 49ers.

This means that Brian Daboll, my first choice of guys I wanted to be the next coach of the Dolphins not named Jim Harbaugh has slid down my list. Nothing against Daboll but I’ve really started to look into Mike McDaniel and I really like what I’m learning. Also, let’s not act like any of us really know who is going to pan out and who won’t. GMs, who get paid tons of money, don’t know who is going to be a good head coach like 65% of the time(I totally made up that number, it feels right) so don’t take my words as some sort of gospel.

That all being said, I have three big-time reasons why I am getting to the point that I want the Miami Dolphins to hire Mike McDaniel as the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins…… unless Jim Harbaugh is available.

McDaniel, believe it or not, has been in the NFL since 2005 as an intern and in 2006 he got his first coaching stint with the Texans as an offensive assistant. When you look at him, he looks like Nick Burns your company’s computer guy, or the guy who plays guitar at a party when no one asked him to. If you can get past the fact that he isn’t a physically imposing guy, you’ll see that McDaniel is a football junkie. Think of it like Moneyball. Tons of guys got overlooked for biases that didn’t attribute to how well they played the game. I feel McDaniel falls into that thought process.

In 2017, McDaniel was hired by the 49ers to be their running game coordinator. In 2017, the 49ers had the 20th best running game in the league. The 2018 49ers saw their running game go up to 13. 2019 saw a major leap in terms of rushing proficiency when the 49ers got all the way up to second in the league in rushing yards for the year. And in 2020 the 49ers were rated as the 4th best rushing team in the league.

The point is, Mike McDaniel has taken the 49ers running game from the back half of the league to up into the top five of the league. That’s really good in case you were wondering.

You may be thinking to yourself that the current Dolphin’s roster has nothing in place that gives us any hope to think that the Dolphins can be a good running team. Besides the Jay Ajayi year in 2016, the Dolphins have been a below-average rushing team.

The last real-time the Dolphins were solid on the ground was when Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams were doing their thing over a decade ago.

With McDaniel, I and you would like to think that recognizing what it takes to have a solid ground game is something that Mike McDaniel knows how to do. He should have a good idea on what kind of lineman he needs and what kind of running backs it takes.

Something I find good is that the 49ers have had a very good running game over the last few years with a litany of different guys carrying the ball. Makes me think of the old Denver Broncos teams that would have a different 1,000-yard rusher every year. It didn’t matter who the back was. They had speed guys, power guys, decent at both guys. It never mattered because the blocking was so on-point.

That’s what I envision for the Dolphins with McDaniel at the helm. A system of blocking that uses creativity to open up holes. Watch any 49ers game and you get a ton of that.

Oh, and in 2021, Mike McDaniel was named the offensive coordinator of the 49ers. San Francisco rated as the best rushing team in the league. Not bad at all.

A huge part of who will be the next coach of the Dolphins will be navigating the quarterback situation. Currently, Tua Tagovailoa is the QB for the Dolphins. Will he 100% be the QB next year? I don’t know. Maybe it will be Watson, maybe it will be some other big name. Considering that it appears that Ross still very much believes in Tua, I would give him the inside track on him being the starter next year, at the moment.

If it is Tua, then a run-based offense might be the best thing for him. It pains to say that because I thought Tua could be more of a drop-back passer. But with his limitations with throwing the intermediate routes having a passing offense that is driven by theatricality and deception, or play-action if you may, may be the best thing for him. I’ve always talked down about quarterbacks who need play-action to be successful and it’s something I’ll have to deal with that and if it means the passing offense will be better than it has been doing then I will have to just get over it.

The NFL is a passing league but the idea of the run setting up the pass is still very true. If and it’s a big if but if the Dolphins get a ground game that’s worth a damn then the throws that Tua or whoever it is will be much easier to make.

Guys like Waddle and hopefully Mike Gesicki will have loads of opportunities to run with the ball in their hands with not many defenders around them. We’ve been clamoring to see Jaylen Waddle run as fast he can with the ball in his hands. We got like two glimpses of it in that Panther’s game but we were expecting much more than that. With this run-based McDaniel offense, we’ll even get some deep shots to Waddle and others as well. That be fun.

Maybe you’re thinking that the running game might eventually be stellar but what about the passing game? Since Mike McDaniel got to San Francisco, the 49ers have been rated in the top 15 of passing offense every year but one. That tells me that the running game elevates the passing game. Jimmy G, CJ Beathard, Brian Hoyer, Nick Mullens, and Trey Lance have been all the QBs that San Francisco has trotted out there. I think Mike McDaniel can get solid output out of Tua or someone else.

Let me just say that I never met Mike McDaniel. I have no idea what he does for fun or if he’s a huge jerk to people when the cameras are not on him. Based on my research, which is going through clips and articles that anyone else can, I’ve found nothing that paints the picture of a guy who has a hard time working with others.

Brian Flores was brilliant with coming up with defenses, though not great at always unleashing said defense. But a picture that could be hung up in the Louvre is one of a guy that rubs people the wrong way with his black and white no grey area approach. I really have no problem with that approach when it works. Do your job, do it properly, and if you don’t I’ll get rid of you. Basic, straight to the point, and one style that happens every day in the business world.

The problem with that is two-fold. One, if you’re not winning that style becomes very tiresome and insufferable to listen to. Two, it’s 2022, and regardless if you like it or not players are a hair more sensitive than it was when Shula was coaching. Call it soft or whatever you want, but players have no problem telling you to shove it if you continually tell them how bad they are especially when things aren’t going well.

Based on everything I’ve read, Mike McDaniel has a great deal of self-awareness(my personal #1 underrated quality in judging a person), knows how to read the room, and seems like an easy hang.

How does that translate to hiring a staff? Well to me it means that other coaches won’t go into working with him knowing that it’s going to be tough going to work. That isn’t to say that things aren’t going to get intense or that it’s going to be a hippy jam festival or anything like that. But it’s certainly nice going to work somewhere where every day isn’t how Peter Gibbons went to work in Office Space.

I think young, creative coaches will want to get on a McDaniel-led staff. I’m all for veterans as well but take a look at some the best teams in the league. Look at the Packers, Rams, 49ers, and Chargers. There are even teams like the Bills and Eagles who have their teams in the playoffs and they’re only in their mid-40s. My point is, young guys can win in this league and more often than not the young guys have more innovative ideas. Can that lead to trying to out-thinking the game which hurts your team? It sure can. Look at the Brandon Stayley with those Chargers. But a balance of innovation and creativity with some old-school flair, like power football which McDaniel brings I feel can work well.

I’ll give you some cons on Mike McDaniel. Credit to me for mentioning my concerns about him. His approach to press conferences could eventually be a detriment. I like my coaches to say nothing at press conferences. Though that’s boring, I like that better than saying dumb stuff. Here are some Mike McDaniel sound bytes.

When you grow up and Dan Soder is your friend, you get a sense of humor like this. A sense of humor is good, but what happens if the team loses four or three in a row? You can’t be funny making observational humor like your Seinfeld in those moments. I would like to think Mike McDaniel is aware of that.

That leads to the whole leader of men phrase that folks like to throw out there. Again, what happens if the team is on a losing streak? How does personality get the most out of them? We lost seven in a row and say what you will about Flores but he got them to stay focused and come to work with a purpose. I simply don’t know how McDaniel would do that without the players just saying yes sir to him only for them to roll their eyes when he leaves the room. That remains to be seen.

Just don’t get wrapped up in the idea that you have to be a big brute of a man to reach the players. Bill Belichick isn’t imposing and I think he does alright. Also, Mike McDaniel did play college football. He was a receiver at Yale so he did play the game. He didn’t do it in the SEC or BIG 10 or anything like that but neither did Belichick and many others.

There’s also the fact that McDaniel has never called his own plays. Even this year, Kyle Shannanhan still calls the plays. The last time Miami tried that they brought in Joe Philbin. That didn’t work out.

So ultimately, I’m at the point where I would actually like Mike McDaniel as the coach of the Dolphins. My first choice is still Harbaugh but McDaniel is becoming a close second for me. I think McDaniel can build a solid staff of eager, sharp minds while also being able to make tough choices. His ground game offense is one that the Dolphins haven’t really had that works with any quarterback.

Hopefully, the Dolphins make the right decision. I’m pretty sure that’s the oxiest oxymoron of all time.

Bonus Reason- I’d like the opportunity to call Mike McDaniel Mike McD. I’ve referenced Mike McD from Rounders a few times and I’d like to do the same for our head coach. You can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle. This is a concept Mike McDaniel or Mike McD as he will like to be called can embrace.