Five Takeaways from the Mike McDaniel Press Conference

ABH February 11, 2022 1

Five Takeaways from the Mike McDaniel Press Conference : New Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel showed off his personality and sense of humor when he met the South Florida media for the first time, After doing some interviews for the Miami Dolphins' social media platforms earlier in the week, Mike McDaniel was introduced to the South Florida media Thursday when the team held his introductory press conference.

McDaniel, accompanied by his wife Kate and young daughter Ayla June, doesn't necessarily look like a typical NFL head coach, so it would only make sense that his introductory press conference wouldn't sound like one, either.

Here's what stood out from my vantage point at the Baptist Health Training Complex during a press conference that lasted almost an hour.

McDANIEL HAS A GREAT PERSONALITY

Yes, I understand, this will not win games come September ... but maybe it'll help in the long run.

McDaniel's press conference wasn't so much about a coach laying out his vision as a speech in answer to every question as much as it was a normal guy having a conversation and answering questions as thoroughly as he could, throwing in self-deprecating jokes and interacting with the media.

For example, he invited ESPN reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques to sign the next verse after MLJ (hope he's OK with me using that) said, Welcome to Miami, which is of course part of a Will Smith song. 

Part of being a good head coach is the ability to lead, but that doesn't necessarily mean being an authoritative figure.

McDaniel offered a great example when he recounted his first job as an offensive assistant in Houston where he got to work with the great Andre Johnson. McDaniel explained that all NFL players just want to get better and they'll respect and listen to anybody they feel can help them do that.

Something else that stood out was that during his opening remarks, McDaniel became visibly emotional when he mentioned his agent, Richmond Flowers, and then looked at his wife (also getting emotional) before joking, "Don't do this to me, I'm in the middle of a press conference."

THE DOLPHINS ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

While this day was about welcoming McDaniel as the new Dolphins head coach, it's just impossible to completely forget or even set aside what else is going on with the organization, namely the Brian Flores lawsuit and more specifically his allegation that owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019.

Ross and GM Chris Grier, who Flores alleges told him that "Steve" was made he was winning games in that 2019 season, both offered remarks about McDaniel before the new head coach took to the stage but did not field questions.

This, of course, was not surprising because the last thing the Dolphins wanted on this day was for the lawsuit to overshadow McDaniel, and even with a warning to ask only about the new head coach or the coaching search, a reporter or two undoubtedly would have asked anyway — and that's based on experience.

McDaniel did have to field a question on the topic, and it was the very first one after his opening statement.

He was asked whether he considered the lawsuit a red flag and something that he needed to have addressed before accepting to become Miami head coach.

Here was McDaniel's full answer:

"I can honestly say there was absolutely no red flags. And the reason why was because I’m stepping into an organization with a boss that I don’t think people give their proper due, Stephen Ross. There's no cost too high for winning for him. And when you're in multiple organizations, you realize that's not always the case. The city of Miami really, really is lucky to have an owner that, right, wrong or indifferent all he cares about is winning and as a coach that's all you're literally looking for. So red flags? No, there’s no red flags for me.”

TONING IT DOWN WITH TUA

Among the social media posts released by the Dolphins this week was McDaniel's FaceTime phone call with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that began with the coach telling his quarterback he was looking forward to an "extensive relationship."

If those words raised the bar for Tagovailoa as he looks ahead to his third NFL season, McDaniel made sure to keep expectations in check Thursday.

Asked about his belief in Tua, McDaniel replied: "My belief in Tua is that he's a football player on this team that's trying to get better. ... My job is to make sure he has the best chance to showcase his talents."

McDaniel pointed out that Tagovailoa needs somebody to catch the ball and he better not get tackled before he has that chance, the point being that the offense isn't all about Tua but rather about the whole group.

Yes, that kind of goes without saying, but it still felt like a needed reminder after the video the Dolphins posted Tuesday.

McDANIEL AND THE WEST COAST OFFENSE

Perhaps the biggest news nugget from the press conference was McDaniel's revelation that he would be calling the plays on offense, though he insisted he wasn't doing it entirely on his own but rather after getting input from other coaches.

So right there we've got more clarity and transparency when it comes to play-calling duties than we've recently had, which certainly is refreshing.

As to what that'll mean, well, McDaniel was involved enough in the game planning and scheme with the 49ers that it seems like a natural decision for him. It's even been suggested in some places that McDaniel was the one calling plays for the 49ers with Kyle Shanahan having veto power, though we've been told that's not accurate.

Staying with the offense, the expectation is that it's going to look an awful lot like it did in San Francisco, but McDaniel made it clear it's adaptable to the personnel and that could be significant for somebody like tight end Mike Gesicki.

As a great example, McDaniel pointed to quarterback Robert Griffin III who Washington selected with the second overall pick in the 2012 draft — over head coach Mike Shanahan's objection. McDaniel explained that coaches ran a lot of zone read plays for Griffin to take advantage of his physical ability, even though none of the offensive coaches had ever used that schemed before.

Washington, it should be pointed out, won the NFC East title in Griffin's rookie year, though things went south after that.

THE DOLPHINS CHAIN OF COMMAND

Who has what power has been a hot topic around the Dolphins for a few years now, but Ross laid out during his opening (and only) remarks when he indicated that McDaniel will report to Grier, and Grier will report to Ross and Vice Chairman/President/CEO Tom Garfinkel.

But McDaniel's ensuing comments about Grier having "no ego, no agenda" seemed to suggest there would be a lot of dialogue when it comes to personnel decisions and the two would find a way to form a consensus.

This, of course, is where we revisit Ross' comments from Jan. 10 when he talked about the importance of collaboration and communication.

It's also interesting to note that Grier's father, Bobby, was in the Houston Texans front office from 2006-08 when McDaniel was an offensive assistant with the team.