Football’s ‘melting pot’ helped give Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel comfort and sense of identity

New Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is known for his innovative approaches on offense, particularly in the run game and his ability to get success out of players — key attributes for a coach.

But the initial reason he gravitated toward football in the first place was because of a more human element of the game.

“Where you came from didn’t matter,” McDaniel said in a 2021 interview with NBC Sports. “What people thought of you to be, perceived you to be, didn’t matter. It was a melting pot, so to speak, from its core.”