Mike McDaniel considers his path to become head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
NFL Week Four gets underway on Sunday night with the Miami Dolphins taking on the Buffalo Bills. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sky Sports. The New England Patriots play the Dallas Cowboys, while the Kansas City Chiefs play the New York Jets.
A welcome departure from the traditional NFL head coach appearance is Mike McDaniel. He is a factory of quirks, a schematic nerd, and a little awkward. He is one of the league’s most charming managers of men in addition to being one of its brightest football minds.
After years of studying behind the scenes in some of the most effective systems in the game, he finally got his dream position as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, which he used to shape the team into an offensive juggernaut and contender.
Learning the football Xs and Os was one thing, but teaching that information to every player on the roster was quite another. For a man leading a team that just defeated the Denver Broncos with over 700 yards of offense and 70 points, things are going well so far this season.
“I believe that the human experience has a lot of similarities,” McDaniel stated to Sky Sports. As a coaching staff, I believe that traveling with the NFL allowed you to watch as well as experience a great deal of firsthand knowledge. Furthermore, its interconnectedness is evident.
“I was very fortunate to have had to work as a coach at the NFL level at a young age; my first two positions were when I was 22 and 23 years old.
“Early on, you already realize that, hey, you don’t really look the part. I therefore have to be able to assist a player. As you turn the page, you see that they don’t give a damn about how it appears as long as you can help them. That was very significant to me.”
Prior to joining the Dolphins, McDaniel worked with Kyle Shanahan for five years in the San Francisco 49ers, where he was a key member of one of the most inventive rushing offenses in the NFL. He had previously worked for Mike Shanahan as a quality control coach, a position that typically required long hours of studying film, creating play designs, recording statistics, and being ready to provide all of the aforementioned information to staff members upon request. They are the ultimate undercover observers, and their work is crucial to the smooth operation of a whole team.
