How can a 5-foot-8, 175-pound, bespectacled little guy who looks like a puny top of the class and who almost ruined his career because of alcohol become the creative genius behind the explosive offensive machine of the Dolphins?
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This is where the beauty of the NFL lies. Among the ever stronger, faster and more powerful colossi and gladiators, there is room for any weakling whose brain is the main asset.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel fits that definition. If you pass him in the street without knowing him and you are offered three chances to guess what he does for a living, you will probably answer secondary school mathematics teacher, notary or video game designer.
This is absolutely nothing against these noble professions, but at first glance, McDaniel fits more in these professions than in the arena of NFL monsters. And yet…
A good show
Not only did McDaniel find his way to the highest levels of professional sport, but he knew how to implement his ideas to make his team one of the most spectacular on the circuit.
The season is young, but the Dolphins have an immaculate record (2-0) and sit first in passing with 355 air yards per game. They are second with 26 first downs per game and third with 30 points per game.
No need to get lost in the statistics, you see the picture. The Dolphins, who are banking on some of the fastest players in the NFL with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert and a few others, are not currently among the favorites to win the next Super Bowl, but with their explosiveness, anything is possible. The potential for a home run is always there.
Mike McDaniel discusses offensive strategies with his quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Getty Images via AFP
From the bottom to the top of the ladder
McDaniel did not seem predestined for such a life. As a kid in Colorado, he was the typical Broncos fan, hanging out with the team from morning to night in the hope that one of his trinkets would be autographed.
He tried his luck on the field as a wide receiver in the NCAA, but Yale University is more suited to overachievers than to football players who really dream of making it big.
Despite his intellectual exterior, he still pursued his dream of reaching the NFL by turning to coaching. It was the Broncos of his childhood who opened his first door in 2005, as an intern.
He quickly grew close to the Shanahan family, with patriarch Mike, who guided the Broncos to two championships, and Kyle, who now leads the 49ers.
He then accompanied Kyle Shanahan to Houston, Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta and San Francisco, from 2006 to 2021, quietly climbing the ranks.
Consumer issues
Despite achieving his dream, McDaniel quickly took refuge in alcohol to chase away his anxieties. In Houston, he was even kicked out. In Cleveland, bottles of vodka were found under his desk. In Atlanta, the team management quickly noticed that he felt like the bottom of the tank when he arrived at work in the morning and a council of wise men was put in place to take him to treatment and push him to regain control of the game. his life.
Why give so many chances to this skinny guy who did everything to self-destruct? Because the football world saw something special in him quite quickly.
Former Alouettes receiver Andrew Hawkins, who worked with him in Cleveland, has already said he learned more in one year with McDaniel than with any other coach during his entire career.
In 2013, after leading the NFL with 113 receptions, Pierre Garçon called McDaniel “the most brilliant coach I’ve had.”
Ten years later, in his first chance at the helm of a team, the Dolphins have not reached the top, far from it, but he has fun with his players, the media and all spheres of the small closed world that he wanted so much to integrate. He lives the moment fully.
Mike McDaniel stories are beautiful. Because these are the stories that make little guys with glasses like you and me dream.
MY PREDICTION FOR THURSDAY: Giants 13 49ers 28
THROUGH THE NFL…
Bickering in Chicago?
Do the Bears take a dive in a crisis situation? Their quarterback Justin Fields has a career record of 5-22, with 156.5 yards per game and 24 interceptions. In front of the media, he did not hesitate to point the finger at the coaching staff by saying that he had played in a “robotic” way in Tampa last Sunday. “Maybe it’s the coaching, I think. They’re doing their job when they tell me what to pay attention to, but at the end of the day, I can’t think about that when I’m playing. When the match comes, it’s time to be free. “Think less and play more,” he said in a statement before later retracting that he can play better. As if that wasn’t enough, defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned. It’s brewing!
Kareem Hunt returns
The horrific knee injury that Browns running back Nick Chubb suffered Monday night ends his season and it is questionable whether he will be able to return next year. This is the second time in his career that his left knee has been demolished. To make up for this huge loss, the Browns recalled Kareem Hunt, who spent the last four years in the organization. He experienced a decline last year and he returns with a one-year contract that could earn him up to $4 million.
Cam Akers au Minnesota
Running back Cam Akers will try to restart his career with the Vikings. A second-round pick of the Rams in 2020, he’s only 24 years old, but hasn’t been a shadow of his former self since suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon early in his sophomore year. season. Since his return, he no longer seemed to be in the good graces of head coach Sean McVay. In Minnesota, he will form a tandem with Alexander Mattison and will find the offensive coordinator with whom he had the most success at the Rams, Kevin O’Connell, who is now the Vikings pilot.
2023-09-20 19:08:43
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