Mike McDaniel reflects on player discipline approach as he talks about Dolphins’ subpar season
The Miami Dolphins’ decision to hire Mike McDaniel in 2022 represents a clear change in coaching style from his predecessor.
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores focuses on defense while McDaniel takes on offensive coordinator duties with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. Discipline takes a different approach.
The New York Jets defeated the Dolphins on Sunday to drop to 8-9. While Miami finished the 2022 and 2023 seasons with a winning record and a playoff berth, a sub-.500 record this season kept the Dolphins from the playoffs for the first time under McDaniel.
Missing the playoffs also prompted McDaniel to do his final media interview before the team’s offseason.
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Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel prepares to call a timeout during a game against the Colts on Oct. 20, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
McDaniel made some pretty telling admissions during his media session, suggesting that he may have given players too much leeway at times. The third-year Dolphins coach also believes the fines lack a level of effectiveness.
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“I can fine people until they’re blue in the face. I can take their money, I can yell at them,” McDaniel said. “But until they understand part of the reason why we’re in [this] The location is controllable, what must we do [have]There is absolutely zero tolerance for anything else, and we must clean up the controllable factors so that we have a chance to succeed together.
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel reacts as Miami Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson is evaluated on the field during a Seahawks game on September 22, 2024 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsay Watson)
While McDaniel didn’t name any specific players, he did suggest the Dolphins had “multiple violators.” He then reiterated his point that fines are not enough, before pointing out that any internal issues that have arisen this season are not widespread.
“Certain individuals… I don’t think it’s across the board… there’s a lot of people who have been fined in some way before but not any fines. Some people have had multiple fines, you know, I think there are different people’s ways of approaching this problem,” McDaniel told reporters. “As a team we have put it forward that it is not enough to continue to fine people, so I will not continue to put all the blame on some of the smallest individuals who have committed multiple offences.”
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel looks at his game sheet during their wild-card playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, New York, on January 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Adrian Krause)
Still, McDaniel made it clear he was willing to make adjustments. “I’m going to adjust my processes and make sure that any time something is done that’s not in the best interest of winning football games, the whole team knows it,” he said.
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McDaniel’s contract with the Dolphins ties him to the team through the 2028 season.
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