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.
2. The Dolphins need to look beyond Tyreek Hill
When you have the best WR in the league, it is hard to look away. That is a problem for McDaniel, who at times needs to look away. His offense is based on speed and timing, but for the Dolphins head coach, he needs to look beyond Hill and Jaylen Waddle and realize that he can easily use his other receivers to move the ball downfield productively.
It is one thing to have a group of wide receivers who are not as reliable in catching the ball, but in Miami, that isn't the case. The receivers as a whole are good enough to win one-on-one coverages and exploit linebackers and safeties outside or inside. McDaniel has designed plays for guys like Braxton Berrios and River Cracraft, which we have seen in the past, but he needs to do more to utilize his deeper WRs.
Opposing teams will double team Hill and at times roll coverages to take away the middle of the field and force Tua Tagovailoa to throw somewhere else. This is a play-calling problem for McDaniel. When these types of coverages are thrown in front of him, he needs to have more than a play or two designed for quick reads by his quarterback that will utilize the linebacker coverage or slot corners to his advantage. This is where Odell Beckham Jr. and the other WRs should shine.
If defenses want to take away Hill and Waddle, then burn them inside or on a shallow quick hit crossing pattern over and over again until they change. McDaniel has to stop trying to force-feed Hill the football when the opportunity isn't available. Loosen up the passing game and force the defense to make changes, not challenge what they are doing because you have a great wide receiver.
1. Mike McDaniel needs to use his tight ends
Finally, McDaniel has his best tight end on the roster. Mike Gesicki was a great pass-catching tight end, but his game ended there. He wasn't much of a blocker, and as a result, the Dolphins didn't use him as much as they should have.
Jonnu Smith is not Gesicki. He is a good pass-catcher and can be a solid blocker. He is as good as Durham Smythe as a blocker and better as a pass-catcher. In 2024, Mike McDaniel needs to realize that Smith is a weapon that expands his offense, makes it better, and gives him more options. Somehow, McDaniel needs to find a way to use him.
Nothing would serve the Dolphins offense better than seeing Smith on a delayed route. McDaniel would also be smart to use Hill and Waddle to draw coverages downfield and then run Smith up the middle with linebacker coverage. It's an easy throw for Tua.
If the Dolphins want to be better offensively, it won't come by getting the ball in Hill's hands or Waddle's hands more often. It will come by getting the tight end involved more in the passing game. Through his two seasons as a head coach, opposing teams don't care about the tight end because McDaniel rarely uses them. It's leaving a player on the field to do nothing more than provide extra protection.
Here is the rub: If McDaniel feels it necessary to keep his TE blocking, then he doesn't have the right offensive tackles on his line. Using the TE to block in the run game? Perfect. Now, get him involved in the passing game as well.