Miami's Next HC - is Mike McDaniel! (4 yr contract)

not me. Gase thought he was smart, this guy really is.

 

you mean the Hall of Fame writer?

 

Presser tomorrow at 10

 

Galant, did you get goosebumps or was the video overstated/hyped?

 

I really like how vivid he speaks when it comes to sharing, he seems like a guy you could hang with and have a good time with.

Not sure what that means but he’s refreshing to listen to

 

I thought it was a god interview and every question received real answers instead of typical NFL fluff. I can see why Travis was excited about it. With that said though, we're not paying our new coach to talk...so we'll see what happens. But I do like his philosophies and drive.

 

The only thing that bothers me about McDaniel in hearing him speak and watching him in interviews is that if there is any truth to the axiom that "the team takes on the personality of its coach," then the Dolphins are likely to play in a way that can be described as non-serious and non-forceful, without a sense of urgency.

I do believe that at the NFL level, leaders among the players are far more influential in that regard than the head coach, but I also believe the head coach's personality plays a role in determining what kinds of players are likely to rise to the level of leadership of their teammates. Bill Cowher for example is likely to inspire Joey Porter and Jerome Bettis as leaders. McDaniel looks like he might inspire Jay Cutler.

 

Watch him speak when he is talking to players while coaching them.

He is very serious and forceful.

McDaniel is able to talk to people in different ways based on the situation.

 

The interview did not evoke that from me at all.

I think what I can see is he will try to achieve Performance levels from his players by communicating to them in a way, individually, where he tries to connect with them, to get the best out of them..

It sounds to me like it’s important to him personally how he gets into players heads to motivate.

 

I think that may work well via McDaniel's apparent demeanor when you're talking about a position coach, or the coaching capacities McDaniel has had so far at the NFL level, but the head coach of a team I believe has to function in a pretty stern and serious manner so as to get the team to take that kind of approach to what they do.

Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Vince Lombardi, Bill Cowher, Andy Reid, etc. -- go down the list of the best head coaches of all time and see if you can find any sizable percentage of them who have a sort of silly, joking demeanor in general.

 

Andy Reid does not fit that group at all. He is an offensive mind and a players coach so if you were trying to make a case for the hire you did so right there. I also look at McDaniel and draw similarities to Sean Payton getting started, very similar to Shanahan and coming on as a HC. If I am lumping McDaniel in with those 3 I like my chances….

 

I don't think you're recognizing the construct I'm using to distinguish McDaniel from the greatest head coaches of all time. I'm talking about their demeanor -- a stern, serious demeanor associated with the vast majority (if not virtually all) of the greatest head coaches of all time, versus McDaniel's apparent somewhat silly, joking demeanor.

Their football acumen (i.e., being "an offensive mind" or something similar) is separate from that. Bill Belichick and Nick Saban are both defensive minds and are stern and serious as hell.

 

Yes acumen aside, I’m not sure you are recognizing the correct demeanor for Andy Reid. I liken him more to Sean Payton then Bill B. Those two are not even in the same realm. His coaching style is very much a players coach vs disciplinarian and stern. Not sure where you are picking up such sternness for Reid. That is why I was saying Shannahan, Reid, Payton to me are a much more similar group in coaching style and I felt McDaniel is more of a fit for that group. I have seen a lot of joking around in practices and interviews with Payton and Reid. I think you will see more of it from shannahan once he feels a little more secure.

 

Holy bad takes. And I mean terrible, no offense man.

For one, how do you know how he is when it's game time? Or at practice for that matter? You're judging him on your imagination of what you think he is, not reality.

 

Pete Carroll is low key and a player's coach as well. As was Bill Walsh, one of the greatest coaches in history. I might toss Mike Vrabel's name in that category as well and he played and learned under Belichick. Nobody should mistake a relaxed demeanor around the press with a lack of intensity or inability to lead others.

 

I could see them trying to sign Cordarrelle Patterson. He is in that Debbo kind of style. Look for that one.

 

I’m not sure you or I have seen enough on the field or in the classroom Coaching and his demeanor to make any determination, but we all have our hunches..

I’m going to camp this year so I will watch very closely

 

The relevance there is that McDaniel's behavior with the press and in general is now a reflection of who the Miami Dolphins are. When you're a position coach or a coordinator your behavior with the press isn't anywhere near as relevant because your demeanor isn't reflective of the team -- there's a head coach above you who fills that capacity and generates that image.

Nobody knows how this is going to turn out, myself included, but I do think McDaniel may want to sit and think a bit about how he's no longer a position coach or coordinator, and how he and his behavior are now a reflection of an entire team. Again if there's any truth to the axiom that "the team takes on the personality of its coach," then how these players approach the game and take the field may have a lot to do with what they're seeing in their head coach -- in the press, in the locker room, on the field -- everywhere.

A position coach can get away with silly behavior if he has a head coach who compensates for that with a serious approach, but if the head coach is silly then there's nobody to compensate for that -- he's the guy at the top of the totem pole.

At any rate, we're on a message board so we can discuss mundane stuff such as this without it meaning a whole lot. The stakes here are very low. Even if we generate a thousand posts about this issue it doesn't necessarily give it any merit.

 

All I can say is he is clearly different in his approach, at least on the outside. I have seen a few clips of him on the sideline and he does get intense. We will see. His Pressers are going to be a lot more interesting than what we've had in the past.

I am cautiously optimistic but I am not getting myself excited about this. We've been down this road far too many times in the last 20+ years. It's Prove IT time with me and it starts with what he does with his staff. Can he put together a quality experienced staff. He is young but he has been coaching in the NFL for 15 years, he must have a list of good contacts.

 

If that's the approach he's going to take and stick to, then I'd venture to say that his success will be a function of whether he has a Tom Brady type at QB -- a cerebral guy who plays very well and functions as a team leader and team culture-setter, like Brady did for Belichick for 20 years.

If McDaniel succeeds it's going to be primarily with his intelligence, and to the degree that he has leaders and team culture-setters who function in a similarly intelligent manner it can overcome whatever his silliness may do to interfere with a serious approach by the players.

If he continues to function with a silly demeanor and he has no team culture generated by the players that functions as an extension of the intelligent side of him, then he'll fail. He'll essentially have a "silly" team that wavers all over the place, with no rudder or team culture generated by intelligent team leaders among the players.

 

As opposed to what? Dan Campbell punching his way to a better team?

What's the alternative to building a team intelligently and acquiring smart players and leaders? I feel like that would be everyones ideal locker room, be it belicheck, mcvay, reid... or mcdaniel.

You went around your elbow to say you don't think McDaniel can be successful cause he's a nerd and likes to have fun. Like he didnt get to where he is, literally starting at the lowest level, because of a serious amount of hardwork and creativity. His players have a serious amount of loyalty to him, and we've heard that from several players.

Additionally, how many people have complained that they don't like the way coaches handle the media. So you got a guy who talks to the media, but you don't like him either.

This fan base is something else. If you don't like him, just say you don't... instead of these half-baked pseudo-intelligent reasons that don't add up to a hill of beans.

 

Mike McDaniel "A good quarterback doesn't win games by himself. He needs good players to throw to and catch the ball, and an offensive line that blocks for him."

Imagine that.

 

Again start with the idea, if it's true, that "the team takes on the personality of its coach." A team identity and culture is therefore an outgrowth of who the head coach is, and the team identities and cultures of highly successful teams are shaped by leaders among the players who function as extensions of the head coach's personality. If the head coach's personality/calling card is intelligence, he needs cerebral team leaders. If the head coach's personality/calling card is toughness (e.g., Dan Campbell), then he heeds tough team leaders. The cerebral Tom Brady was an extension of Bill Belichick's intelligence for 20 years. The ultra-tough Joey Porter and Jerome Bettis were extensions of Bill Cowher's toughness.

The issue potentially is that McDaniel's silliness isn't consistent with the nature of the game of football, and so his success may hinge more than it would for a stern/serious coach on his acquisition of player leaders who are consistent with the part of him (intelligence) that can be consistent with football. The part of him that's consistent with winning football (intelligence) has to be extended into the locker room by player leaders who function in that manner so as to prevent the locker room -- and the team culture -- from being nothing but silly, potentially. If your QB is Tom Brady-like, you're in great shape. If he's Jay Cutler-like, you're in deep ****.

 

He's smart to his own interest, "Yes Man." If he's really smart he knows Tua's not the answer. So we're going to spend years trying to make Grier's failure look like less of one.. and it'll never come to fruition. Tannehill/Gase all over again.

The only UFA's that will play for the Lolphins will only do so for super large contracts. Not because they really "want to win/compete" as much as other players.

People wanted to play for Flores. Nobody wants to play for Miami that loves their job (playing football) almost as much as the $.

I just wish I knew the player on D that said Tua was wasting his career. I'd be an insta'fan. Yeah man, he's wasting your career and ticking away more years of my life as a fan. At least you get paid for the Tua headache random D player.

 

Great coaches create schemes to help the players. That is what McDaniel seems to be.

I would bet on it being X .

 

This is how dumb narratives are born.

 

He didn't tie himself to Tua. He tied himself to a 53 man collaborative effort.

 

What about the 49ers players who clearly loved McDaniel? What reason is there to think players won't want to play for him compared to Flo?

Its also not like players who falling over themselves rushing to play for Miami for Flores. Other than the sexual predator in Houston where is all this demand? And why would they given how quickly he dumped veterans and blew it with Minkah.

 

Did you watch Holland this year? He was silly at times on the field, dancing, parade marching after a fair catch etc... He was also the best hitter on the team, and the best rookie defensive player since Thomas. Or, Wilkins for that matter. Very silly person on and off the field last year. Point is, fun can win. Fun can dominate. Fun can motivate. I have seen posts (not you that I remember) comparing football to the military. And they mostly think of screaming as aspirational and key to having discipline. I doubt many of those posters were ever in the military. The military is very silly. You have to have an outlet for the stress. It cannot be a hard charge 24/7. You have to be focused for long periods of time, and the only way that works for most people is to have times when you are the opposite.

 

I can see that, but let me ask you this: if your NCO (hypothetically) behaved like a silly guy in general, and there weren't respected enlisted men under him who functioned as leaders of their fellow soldiers to keep the platoon in line, what kind of culture do you figure might evolve from that scenario?

I know this is Hollywood, but this is a pretty good depiction in my opinion:

 

lol

 

Yeah... NO. That is one of the least accurate depictions of the military in general. Top to bottom. You may as well cite Hotshots.


You also seem to be treating MM as the guy who brought a rubber chicken and wore a whacky tie to his press conference. That isn't how his humor works.