Coach Mike McDaniel meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

Coach Mike McDaniel meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

How’s it going, Mike? Good, man. Good morning. So, in the NFL and the NBA, the coaches are usually the public face, the franchise, and you get them rather than the GM. So, forgive me for asking you a question. is probably better suited for Chris. since you’re you’re the only one here. So, when it became clear after a couple weeks that you all could not that that that you all could not stop the run and didn’t have enough from a defensive line standpoint, why did the organization decide not to try, correct me if I’m wrong, try not to get upgrades on the defensive line, whether it was via trade like the Chargers did for head rusher last week, whether it was bringing in Wilkins to see how his foot is. Why did you not try something before you got this low this below 500 to try to address that need? I I was confused about that. Uh uh because the frankly your your uh first and foremost if your first viewing or your first quarter of the season or your first game if we took um the the results of that game and uh and mandated that that was an absolute that the players that did whatever they did that day that’s who they are forever. um that we’d probably miss out on a lot of uh major players in this league as as you grow um as a young player. So, what you’re doing is you’re you’re uh you’re taking a snapshot of uh what that was conceivably how what can you coach um and and improve with the player? uh is there things that they are unable to do through coaching and then you match that versus what’s available to you. So um the by when you when you don’t just because you’re not active doesn’t mean by any stretch that you’re you’re complacent. You’re the easiest answer is grass is greener. Um but you have to really um focus on uh all right well what do we what are they able to do what are they doing how can we adjust and um you know the wi-i with the thought of their best stuff is uh better than um what we extrapolate is available and um so it’s our job to try to get them to do their best stuff and it improves Um, like I like I told you, the run defense wasn’t exclusively at one position. Um, and uh, and specifically with, you know, the it’s the bigger gains that have really ate up the clock, gotten first downs, and um, that that has to do with all three levels when that those occur. Um we had less um uh which is uh less than we did um the week be before and that was absolute um the sole focus. I saw the real um growth in the the unit um on uh the most um clips that I’ve seen thus far this year. So you’re you’re making sure that there’s um uh that the that the really performance improves whether that’s the same name plate or someone different. How fair is it to say that the on and off field absence of Kus Campbell has been significant? Um how fair? Yeah, I he’s he’s a very good player um that uh provides a lot of a lot of things. Um, and you, you know, there’s, uh, each team is unique to their own. Um, you know, I I have a lot of high a lot of positive things to say about him, but to just say that things are this or that. Um, uh, however, you know, he’s a he’s a good player and um, I’d like to have him on our team. as players have come back for the week of practice. Do you still see Tua’s comments as an internal topic or did he address it with teammates and everyone’s kind of set it behind them now? Yeah, that’s uh the first um last and only thing um if I have anything to say about it, and I did in in several meetings today, uh is the Cleveland Browns and our focus um within that regard. Uh absolutely. He uh he communicated with his teammates um uh both in a um in group and individually. Um and uh there’s much bigger fish to fry um in our team’s opinion in my opinion. So that was earlier today or um the there was Monday and I know he’s talking to some of the guys that he didn’t catch um uh you know uh on Monday today, but the uh I I think the uh we have we have plenty to occupy our minds with our football play versus um a what will be a motivated Cleveland Browns team on the road. Is left guard an open competition or do you want to continue to invest in Jonah as a starter because you see the talent there? Well, I think um you know Jonah had a uh uh I’m sure you guys noticed the the play that he’d want back. Um outside of that, I think uh he had um you know probably his best technique game. Um he’s again there’s it’s very fluid. Um, and you’re uh the NFL and teams are made up of a a coach player relationship that there needs to be a purpose for the coach to exist and that’s to improve the player and um players uh you know by nature of the exper or the relationship with the coach are challenged to improve and that process um needs to occur or you evaluate other options. You know that that’s just the nature of all of it. So the the it is a primary importance that um you know our best coaching is done through um improvement of failure and that um you’re the the idea isn’t black and white where um you high five uh result good um no eye contact result bad type stuff like this is we’re we’re working together to achieve the best result. Um, and that takes investment um, and mutual uh, ownership. Mike, uh, you’ve got a 29 and 28 regular season record as Dolphins coach. I’m wondering how you view the Mike McDaniel era of Dolphins football to this point. Whoa. Uh, I’ve I’ve I’m not uh in the in the mindset of uh reviewing eras. Um I don’t think uh my job title lends anybody to benefit by me sitting back and reflecting upon uh I have problems to solve. My job is a um problem solver quite literally uh and you know bringing um there there’s new issues to address and attack and I’m I’m very much focused on uh you know you don’t control necessarily um the circumstance or situation um entirely on your own ever in life. Um, I I’m trying to be the very best head coach for this this team. um who uh who you know needs a um needs their coach to be focused on the stuff that they actually can contribute of value to them which is preparation um conviction uh detail on on on on their craft and um you know ability to communicate how uh all individual pieces uh connect to one and that’s um so I don’t I don’t mean to not have something good say quite literally I would just be talking. Um I’m focused on uh trying to win a game versus the Browns. Mike, you know how Jaylen Phillips can be pretty critical of his own play and he obviously had the play at the end of the game the other day. How do you see him responding from that? What signs? Well, I think I think he’s um hiding in plain sight. you know, I I get to see a m the maturity of a player live speed or or uh a player that, you know, hasn’t always Sometimes you can be your own worst enemy. Um when you really want to do well and then something doesn’t then you don’t um you can make your play worse. And that’s something that um more often than not, players in this league have to figure out how to continually take um uh critiques and adjustments in their game and stay confident and press forward. what I’ve seen um from his response um you know I would I would worry about maybe the first year I was with him um potentially not being a able to um understand that both things can be true. He’s absolutely capable and and wishes that he made a play at the end of the game, but understanding that games are an accumul accumulation of uh various situations that um he can’t look at it like he lost the game um and then at the same time ignore the fact that he uh his pursuit uh kept on I think the second drive kept uh the offensive player to only three yards, forced a second and seven, which resulted in a takeaway, which resulted in the next play being a touchdown. So, everybody’s play is interconnected. Uh you got to continue to get better um and be hard on yourself with good reason and productivity. Um, and I think he’s understood uh the how capable and how to address stuff moving forward without making himself worse by the delusion of that play being the only play that existed in a game of 159 plays. Miles Garrett, how do you balance the idea as you go through your game planning and getting ready for, you know, what you’re going to do on Sunday? How do you balance the idea of letting a Patrick Paul, for instance, just take him one-on-one versus committing a bunch of help to a player that’s so dominant in this league? Well, I think that’s uh part of the challenge of this particular defense and why they’re um playing so well. Uh because you if you overcommit to one player, you leave yourself extremely vulnerable um to uh to the the other players uh not focused on. And uh this group has um a plethora of uh really really good defensive linemen. So you have to balance it. Um you have to understand that it’s no single person’s job when you’re talking about um one of the best players in the in the league at any position. And that um it, you know, may take um you know, some it may take a receiver um uh adding an extra um uh bump to his pass rush or a chip um to to help um you know, Pat block him. Or it it may take the appropriate receiver route and uh quarterback timing to block him. um and and to beat his pass rush by timing. Um or it may take a turn or it may take um we may account on one play three guys on him. Um uh and you know, but you you you do that in a collection of plays um over the course of the game and it’s never one person’s responsibility. um you you prioritize him in the in the game plan um and and focus on him for sure uh while uh spreading the the duty of uh trying to uh contain an elite player ac across a a group and not an individual. Has T dot cleared concussion protocol? Um, I I’ve heard uh I don’t think officially yet, but I think it’s um uh I I think I haven’t heard anything that would uh have me uh be skeptical of whether or not that will occur. So, um no bad news in that on that front. Patrick Paul versus Miles Garrett might be an interesting matchup. Yeah. What um how do you think he’s doing? How do you think he might approach that one? Um, see if you guys are listening. He’s the only person that’s going to block Miles Garrett this game. Um, okay. All right. So, you guys are listening. Um I it I think uh I think uh as as competitors um you want players on your team that uh look you know look for the competitive challenge of you know attacking some of the league’s best. Um I think you know uh it it will be probably the second time that uh Patrick’s blocked him. did he did was able to play against him last year and um knows all the problems that that he can present. Um so that’s a it’s a a good challenge for Patrick. Um that again is not his and only his. Um you spread that over a unit when when you’re dealing with a player of that magnitude. Become a high volume player. Well, going back to last year in terms of receptions with Tyreek out, you’re utilizing him more with I don’t know if you call them gadget plays, but plays designed for for that were designed for Tyreek. Uh what is the pros and cons of that in terms of teams game planning for him and then maybe getting him out the back field? So, that’s a great question because you you have to be for me to be responsible with that usage. You have to be very um uh proactive um and utilizing all of your time with the player. For what do I mean by that with with Devon? Um it’s why the spring and the summer um uh the OTAAS and training camp are so important because you can kind of uh work into the teaching progression some of the things that you may or may not use during the course of the year. One of the things we did this off season um was try to take advantage of um some of his skill set as a as a receiver and actual route runner. Um and so uh during the season um it it’s all good unless he gets worse at his tracks or running the football. That vulnerability, you know, I’ve had experience of um uh uh various players that had uh multifunctions. So you you in planning you get ahead of it and teach them the core principles of that position so that in game plans um you’re not trying to uh start from scratch which is an opportunity cost that even if you get let’s say you want to teach him a completely unique route. Um there there’s a cost in that in terms of his you’re going to have to spend time and focus and energy on that. um that means he better be on top of his uh all of his other responsibilities in his game. So I think that uh you know both uh you know planning from our perspective but then his commitment to uh the the nuances of the position over the entirety of the off season um allow him to uh to feature various aspects of his skill set that are unique and um help help us uh with advantages over over opponents. Do have you ever had a player comparable to Devon before? Um, no. It’s similar problem solving reverse engineered as Debo. Debo’s a receiver that you had to So then you you kind of use that format inverse for the for the receiver. That’s the only person I can really think of that we were um putting in the back field. and being a receiver, he was just the opposite starting point. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Coach Mike McDaniel meets with the media

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