3 areas Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel must improve on this season

After two full seasons with the Miami Dolphins, fun-loving quirky head coach Mike McDaniel is still looking for that next step. The one that takes him from being called "quirky" to "legit." That will come with more than a winning regular season. He needs to win in the playoffs. He knows that.

McDaniel recently told the media that he wants his coaching staff to remember it has been 24 years since the Dolphins last won a playoff game. Some of his meetings start at the 24-minute mark.

With another season ahead, McDaniel has admitted that he needs to do better with his play-calling and fans will tell you he needs to do better with his challenges. McDaniel isn't very good when challenging the call on the field. In fact, according to ProFootballReference.com, McDaniel has made 13 coaching challenges in his two seasons as head coach. He has won three of them. You can also view this as 10 timeouts that he has lost.

That is something he needs to work on and whoever is calling down to him suggesting that he does challenge calls, should probably be reassigned. Still, those are only part of the things that McDaniel needs to work on in 2024. Here is a look at three other areas that he desperately needs to get better at.

3. Mike McDaniel needs to learn to stick with run

When the running game is working, the Dolphins are in control of the game. From speed and tempo to clock management, the Dolphins' offense can control everything when they are able to move the ball down the field on the legs of their running backs. Over the last two years, McDaniel has built a capable cache of running backs, but even when the unit is clicking, the offensive line is balling, and the ball is being run up and down the field, McDaniel gets cute and steers away from it.

One of McDaniel's problems in this area is when the Dolphins are losing. Teams may take away his passing game and can't stop the run, but McDaniel has, at times, allowed the score to dictate his game plan, and that can be a problem. It's a lack of patience, and when the game is giving you run lanes, you have to take them, exploit them, and force the defense to adjust.

This is where McDaniel needs to work harder. If they are down by seven early in the second half, grind it out and take control of the game's clock. Force the other team to make mistakes and make changes. If they alter their defensive approach, then you burn them with your receivers. If McDaniel can take this approach, his offense will be better, and his game plans will look far more balanced and in sync. McDaniel has a great group of running backs, and they need to be used as much as Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.