Mike McDaniel is not a finalist for Coach of the Year and he shouldn’t be
By Brian Miller
The NFL released the top candidates for the NFL Coach of the Year award and the nominees do not include Mike McDaniel.
Midway through the season, McDaniel had the Miami Dolphins pacing for a potential first-round bye and the AFC East division. At one point, the Dolphins led the division and were on a bullet train rematch with the Buffalo Bills.
Then, the wheels fell off the wagon, Tua would falter in San Francisco and L.A. and despite a close loss in Buffalo, Miami was looking for a Wild Card at best. Those three games turned into a five-game losing streak and the Dolphins backed into the postseason.
Naturally, as things fell apart for the Dolphins, so did the chatter of an MVP Tua Tagovailoa season and sadly, McDaniel’s realistic chances of being nominated.
This year’s five coaches are worthy…to a degree.
Nick Sirianni
Sirianni has the Eagles one game away from the Super Bowl and came close to turning in a near-perfect season. The Eagles have been one of the best and most consistent teams all season so this is no surprise. In reality, Sirianni should get the nod.
Kyle Shanahan
The 49ers will try and knock off the Eagles this weekend and advance to the Super Bowl. Shanahan will get a lot of consideration considering what the 49ers went through this year losing their starting quarterback, then losing Jimmy Garoppolo, and putting their season on the arm of the last player taken in the draft, Brock Purdy.
Brian Daboll
One of the hot candidates to take the Dolphins job this past off-season, Brian Daboll turned the Giants around in one season and made them a contender. In fact, the Giants were able to knock off the Vikings in round one but lost to the Eagles a week later. Daboll took a team that was basically an NFC East bottom-feeder and made it to the playoffs.
Doug Pederson
Pederson did a phenomenal job in Jacksonville but what will hurt his chances is the fact that the Jaguars started off very slow and then got on a big roll while the Titans flailed. The AFC South is not a strong division and that will hurt his chances.
Sean McDermott
There was a time that McDermott was looking like a shoo-in but honestly, I don’t believe he deserves to be in this discussion. The Bills were far from perfect this year and their final stretch wasn’t anything wonderful. The Bills are a disappointment in reality. I don’t see how he is more deserving than Andy Reid who has had his team playing for the Super Bowl or Zac Taylor who got his club back on track to take the AFC North and beat the Bills.
As for Mike McDaniel, he really doesn’t need an Honorable Mention, he wasn’t going to win and maybe it keeps him hungry. The Dolphins didn’t finish what they started and I don’t see McDaniel as the type of coach that wants to be praised for that.