Mike McDaniel is now another failed footnote in Miami Dolphins history. Once a promising up-and-coming head coach candidate, McDaniel's jump to the position may have come too soon.
The former head coach told L.A. media that he hopes to learn from the mistakes he made in Miami. There were a lot of them, but he won't have to worry about holding his own players accountable. That is Jim Harbaugh's job.
Blake Ferguson spent four seasons with the Dolphins before a mysterious non-football injury kept him out of all but five games in 2024. The Dolphins' long snapper just seemed to disappear. His latest comments about McDaniel may hint at why.
Was Mike McDaniel too much of a players coach? 👀
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Blake Ferguson makes it clear what became the problem with Mike McDaniel's Miami Dolphins tenure
From the day McDaniel arrived in Miami, he opted to approach being an NFL head coach differently. He wasn't a disciplinarian, and he didn't hold his players accountable. He let them do that on their own. By the time he realized he had made a mistake, it was too late.
"The leash had gotten too long. His intentions were right, but the execution got the best of him and the team. "Blake Ferguson
There is no question that McDaniel's approach to coaching and his lack of responsibility for the locker room were at least part of the reason Miami failed the last two seasons. Ferguson missed the final year of McDaniel's coaching, but it was already off the cliff by 2025.
What is amazing is that Stephen Ross wanted to keep him as the team's head coach heading into 2026. Many fans had hoped he would have been fired prior to the start of the 2025 season.
"When you allow players to have a voice in the locker room and allow them to control how every single day runs, you leave yourself vulnerable to allow things to get out of control. "Blake Ferguson
This was a problem from day one. McDaniel always tried to be the players' friend. That doesn't work as a head coach. You have to control the team from the locker room to the field. Clearly, as Ferguson points out, McDaniel didn't do that until it was too late.
Jeff Hafley can't make those same mistakes. He has made it clear that he will hold players accountable and will have coaches who will do the same. The new head coach wants more discipline from the team they are hoping to build. They may have to start by cutting half the roster and rebuilding it.