When the Miami Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel Sunday night to be the next head coach of their organization, there was a sense of excitement around the team and fanbase that was palpable.
There have been small snippets of McDaniel’s personality that have gone viral over the last couple of weeks, but what makes him an interesting hire is the admiration shown for his intelligence and involvement in offenses by former players and colleagues.
On Monday, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay took part in the NFL’s “Opening Night” event where players from the Super Bowl teams meet the media. McVay, who worked with McDaniel for three seasons in Washington, was asked about the new head coach in Miami, and he spent some time heaping praise on him.
“Great communicator,” McVay said, transcribed by the Miami Herald’s Daniel Oyefusi. “Incredibly smart. Very creative, innovative thought process as it relates to both the run game and the pass game. He gets a lot of credit for being involved in the run game, but when we worked together in Washington, [he was] another guy that sees the game through the totality of all 22. It’s not just what are the offensive guys doing but what are the roles and responsibilities of defense? How can we try to utilize some of the things that they’re being coached to do to take advantage of that and try to manipulate their rules and put them in conflict with their eyes? Mike will do a great job. I think he’ll surround himself with a great coaching staff, but I just think the world of Mike McDaniel. Selfishly, I’m not sad to see him leave our division, either.”
With McDaniel earning the respect of guys like McVay, Robert Saleh, and Kyle Juszczyk, it appears that a lot of people believe the Dolphins may have hired a good coach. However, it will clearly take time to see if they’re correct.
