Miami Dolphins: Is Mike McDaniel just as stubborn as Brian Flores?
By Juan Vasquez
The Miami Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel as an open-minded, forward-thinking, creative, and young HC. But is he proving to be as stubborn as Brian Flores?
I’m not saying Mike McDaniel and Brian Flores are similar, they are clearly polar opposites as HCs. But there is a common denominator between both, being too stubborn for their own good. And in both cases, it’s led the Miami Dolphins in a downward spiral.
The Miami Dolphins were very explosive and dangerous during the first 11 weeks of the season, but since the 5-game losing streak, McDaniel has refused to change his approach. We are now 17 weeks in and still have no consistent run game. Isn’t the definition of insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results?
Mike McDaniel’s bread and butter on the offensive side of the ball is the run game, in fact, the 49ers had nicknamed him a “run game guru” due to the wrinkles and creativity he was able to add to the Kyle Shanahan system.
Mike McDaniel was given the majority of the credit for how dominant the 49ers run game had become, offensive players loved his creativity in play design, and his versatility to adapt to the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
The Miami Dolphins running game under the “run game guru” in 2022 – average:
- Rush Attempts: 22.4 (32nd)
- Rush Yards: 95.3 (27th)
- Yards per carry: 4.3 (20th)
- Rush play %: 27.8% (26th)
I don’t know about you but that looks oddly similar to the mediocre run game that the Miami Dolphins had in the previous regime, and the one before that, and the one before that, and the list goes on.