Mike McDaniel endeared himself to Miami Dolphins fans the moment he was hired to be the team's head coach. After four seasons, fans had had enough. Stephen Ross must have felt the same.
McDaniel was fired the day before Jon-Eric Sullivan was hired to officially replace Chris Grier. No one in Miami has said the decision was based on Sullivan's opinion on the coach, but the timing was certainly suspicious.
The coach quickly joined the Chargers after backing out of a Cleveland Browns HC interview, and many in the media believe he will take his new team's offense to a much higher level. NFL analyst Jason La Canfora believes it could reach the highest level.
Mike McDaniel could do in Los Angeles what he couldn't do with the Miami Dolphins
La Canfora discussed McDaniel and the Chargers in a recent article on Casino Guru. He has spoken with several league executives, and all of them point back to what McDaniel was able to do in San Francisco and again with the Dolphins. Build an explosive offense.
Dolphins fans saw the highs and lows of McDaniel's head coaching attempt. La Canfora said, "McDaniel was not cut out to be a head coach." That was clear after two seasons. McDaniel was losing the locker room, and his year-to-year growth was minimal in the position.
La Canfora does, however, see his new job as more than just fitting. "As someone who can just focus on his skill players and crafting a game plan each week and calling plays, he is elite." Indeed, Dolphins fans won't be surprised to see him succeed now that he isn't in charge of all the pieces.
When Tua Tagovailoa was at his best, it was because McDaniel styled his offense around his strengths in order to hide his weaknesses. In Los Angeles, he will do the same with the quarterback taken one pick after Miami selected Tua.
Justin Herbert is one of the NFL's top quarterbacks, but he has yet to take the next step in his development. McDaniel will most assuredly find his strengths and focus his offense around them.
There are a lot of reasons McDaniel will succeed with the Chargers, and most of them point to the fact that he will not be in control of anything but his side of the ball. That is what will be hard for Miami fans to swallow.
The Dolphins took a risk on hiring him without having the experience to do the job. He was unable to replicate his early success in the final two years, leaving the team little choice but to change directions. It wasn't all his fault. He didn't get the right help from Chris Grier, but he was also out of his element.
McDaniel is in his element now. He is back on the West Coast, back to doing what he does best. The Chargers will likely succeed with him calling the plays, Herbert might become the player he is supposed to be, and the Chargers may actually go deep in the playoffs. He just wasn't in the right job with the Dolphins. It won't make the sting any easier to bear.
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