The Dolphins lost in surprising fashion to a Titans team they probably had no business losing to back in Week 14. Miami made up for the loss by pounding the AFC East-rival Jets in Week 15, but not before coach Mike McDaniel tapped into a different side of himself.
McDaniel, known for his quirky sense of humor and mad scientist-level schemes on offense, seems to have a more laid-back approach to coaching than some of his peers. But McDaniel ditched that style for a moment, delivering an impassioned—and NSFW—speech to the Dolphins with HBO’s Hard Knocks cameras rolling.
It’s worth watching in its entirety.
Mike McDaniel’s speech after the Week 14 loss is why he’s one of the great motivators in the league. 👏
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2023
New episode of #HardKnocks with the @MiamiDolphins tonight at 9pm ET on @StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/6qwcuUN1ph
“When you lose a game like that—that was embarrassing, humiliating. But, what I do know is if you’re trying to do anything this league, bottom line is, you have to go through s— together. Together! We lost that together. But I know who’s in this room and what we’re going to make of it. You with me? So we’re going to hit this, if it’s brutal, f— yeah! Bring that s---.”
In an electric speech, McDaniel told his team that the loss to the Titans was the “greatest thing that ever happened to them,” because it’s adversity that they went through together.
It appears that the Dolphins responded, as they throttled the Jets despite multiple players’ missing the game due to injury.