The Miami Dolphins have had their share of coaching problems since Jimmy Johnson left, and you could say that Johnson had his as well. The days of Don Shula are long gone. The days of Mike McDaniel are still fresh in everyone's minds.
Former Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert has been making the podcast rounds this offseason. Previously, he had spoken about McDaniel's coaching style. He believes that the approach was problematic.
Now, Mostert is claiming that McDaniel's problems were with the disrespect he showed the players. That doesn't make much sense.
Raheem Mostert continues to shade former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel
Before we jump into the recent comments, we have to look back at his comments on The Rich Eisen Show. Mostert thought McDaniel was too player-friendly.
"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."
Now he is singing a different tune. Mostert was on the "4th and South" podcast when McDaniel's name was brought up again. It's clear that the way McDaniel treated his players was not something the former NFL running back cared for, and it doesn't sound all that "player-friendly" either.
"I'm a 33-year-old RB. I don't need someone M-fing me, telling me what to do, especially the head coach. There was a lack of respect because he (McDaniel) didn't try to show respect."
What's interesting about these comments is that they come less than a month after Mostert appeared on another podcast and said McDaniel was too nice.
These comments are a far cry from what recently retired 14-year veteran Lavote David said when he was on The Rich Eisen Show. David was asked about his time with former coach Bruce Arians. David said the team had an "ME-Chart" and that if you were on it more than once, Arians would cuss the player out. He said that Arians held the players accountable, something McDaniel never did directly with the Dolphins.
David believed that Arians' arrival changed the team's culture. It paid off as he took the team to a Super Bowl championship in his second season and to the divisional round the next year before retiring.
Mostert said that McDaniel never demanded respect. He said that "Guys were on the sidelines cussing coaches out." That isn't going to bring a team together, and it didn't in Miami. The Dolphins' 2023 season abruptly ended in the first round of the playoffs, but the team blew a three-game lead over the Bills with five games left in the season.
2024 began to show the internal cracks within the Dolphins organization, and there were a lot of fans who thought McDaniel should have been fired after that season. Stephen Ross didn't see it the same way and considered keeping him after the 2025 season as well.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the environment in Miami had started getting toxic more than a year before McDaniel was fired. Mostert played just two seasons with the Dolphins. He had a career year in 2023, but started the 2024 season behind De'Von Achane.
The narrative is an interesting one. Many have said that McDaniel was too nice at times and tried to be everyone's friend. This is the complete opposite of those reports.