Dolphins fans have heard it ad nauseam since the franchise made the controversial decision to move on from Mike McDaniel. He's not enough of a disciplinarian. He's a players' coach. The players don't respect him. Instead of just letting McDaniel's Miami Dolphins career rest in peace, Raheem Mostert woke up on Monday and chose violence. In a scathing segment with Colin Cowherd, Mostert pulled no punches when discussing McDaniel's Miami tenure.
It all started innocently enough, with Cowherd predictably gassing up Mostert's achievements before goading him into what is obviously still a touchy subject, despite the fact that it's been more than a year since Mostert was let go.
"Yeah, we had, we had a good relationship going into the Dolphins organization," Mostert said while placing unmistakable emphasis on the past-tense nature of his statement. "But obviously things kind of flustered and went their own ways. At the beginning of everything, there's always a good story."
Raheem Mostert's comments toward former Miami Dolphins' HC Mike McDaniel seem more personal than real analysis
A player is usually telling on themselves when they have a clear axe to grind because of an unceremonious exit from a team. I'm not going to sit here and say that Raheem Mostert wouldn't tell you himself that the NFL is a business. It's painfully evident from his comments, however, that he can't separate his feelings from business when it comes down to it.
When he last played for Miami in 2023, Mostert missed Weeks 2–4 with an injury. When he returned, he had two extremely costly fumbles in Week 7 and Week 9 against Indianapolis and Buffalo, respectively, mistakes that ultimately cost the Dolphins each game.
The famously "not-tough" Mike McDaniel finally demanded some accountability from Mostert and limited his touches for the near-decade-younger and already superior De'Von Achane. The irony in his commentary seems to fly over his head with genuine obliviousness.
"When you have a coach that is so player-friendly, it doesn't really mix all that well. I kind of feel bad for the players ... Look at the coaching history, not just in the NFL, but MLB, NBA, all these different sports franchises — they have coaches that implement toughness, resilience. And that's something that he kind of missed the mark on in being a head coach."
Most Dolphins fans will remember that Mostert was one of the first signings made by Miami when McDaniel was hired back in 2022. Their relationship, dating back to their days in San Francisco with the 49ers, frequently made Mostert the go-to source for commentary on the new head coach. None of this came to a head at that point, of course, when Mostert received the lion's share of touches and enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022 under McDaniel's tutelage.
In fact, Mostert was eager to shower his coach with praise each time he was asked. That was until his role was deservedly reduced.
"When you talk about guys like Mike Tomlin, Vrabel, even Belichick — it was no nonsense. We get in here, we're getting the job done, it's my way or the highway. When you're dealing with a coach that's so nonchalant, laid back, wants to be the catalyst behind being a players coach, it kind of shifts that organization ... As a player you're like, 'I need somebody tough that's gonna lay the hammer down when it needs to be laid down and tell other players to get in line.' When you don't got that, that impact can definitely be detrimental."
It's certainly a choice to openly blame the former head coach for your and/or your former teammates' lack of discipline, respect, or toughness. It speaks more to the players involved than the coach himself, if you ask me. Grown men who are paid handsomely to play one of the world's most violent sports shouldn't need a coach to tell them to toughen up, show up on time, or get their treatment. This is professional football, after all.
Obviously, the Dolphins have moved on from Mike McDaniel, and it appears that they've hired a more traditional coach to replace him in Jeff Hafley. It remains odd, to say the least, that only former players who ended on sour terms — getting benched, being released — have these kinds of things to say in the aftermath.
We can take solace in the fact that under this new regime, Hafley and Co. are all too aware of their predecessor's reputation and perceived weaknesses. At the end of the day, fans want a winner. Here's to hoping Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley can fulfill their promise of building a sustainable winner that fans can be proud of.