Mike McDaniel is having a great year. In his first season as an NFL head coach, he’s not only got the Miami Dolphins out to an 8-3 start but has developed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa into an bonafide MVP candidate.
He’s also developed a reputation as an honest, self-aware head coach. Sometimes that manifests through hyping up his young passer in hopes of pushing him to new levels. Sometimes it’s calling his QB’s form “trash” right to his face. Sometimes he’s just a press conference goofball.
But that personality has shined on the field and off. So when Tagovailoa missed Tyreek Hill on a deep ball, then was forced to call timeout rather than earn a delay of game penalty one play later, McDaniel honestly owned up to his culpability in the string of errors in a very Mike McDaniel way.
Rare words from a HC. You don’t hear that much in the moment. pic.twitter.com/49O5xXEd6H
— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) December 4, 2022
After Tagovailoa appears to ask his coach what happened, McDaniel seems to earnestly respond “No, I [expletived] up.”
That’s the kind of personal responsibility that can strengthen the relationship between a coach and player. McDaniel could have blamed the burned timeout on his offense not rushing to the line in time. Instead, he seemingly shouldered the blame for getting the play call in too late. While that didn’t pay immediate dividends — in fact, Tagovailoa would be sacked on the ensuing play — it’s a proper example of why this Miami team works as well as it does.
