3 X-Factors for Miami Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel in 2022

Is Miami Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel a true leader of men?

This question has become quite infamous on the internet, and even though McDaniel has turned many doubters into believers this off-season, many still think that McDaniel is just not built for it.

And sure Mike McDaniel looks like the IT guy at your workplace, history has a funny way of repeating itself. Because these same points of argument were brought up in the 90s with then Broncos HC Mike Shanahan.

A small, skinny, not intimidating, kind of nerdy, 5’9″ head coach. McDaniel actually addressed it in an interview with Adam Schefter, pointing out how he looked up to Mike Shanahan because McDaniel knew Shanahan was an all-time great even with the doubts about his physical appearance.

That’s powerful, McDaniel has a long way to go before he reaches Mike Shanahan. But the master was once also going to their first day at school or at the job, long before the reputation, accolades, and prestige made an appearance.

So the blueprint is there, accomplished at a much different time. A time where you & I would assume guys like this would be chopped liver as an HC. Now we live in a much different, more inclusive time.

But the bigger point here is Mike McDaniel already proved himself as a true leader of men when he got the 49ers to buy into his modified offense, rather than the original formula of the Shanahans’. Any guy that convinces Trent Williams to go into motion and turn into an atomic bomb type blocker, is a leader of men.

Not to mention all the creative playcalling and scheming the 49ers have implemented the last few years, players really need to buy into that. This leads us to our next point.