Is Mike McDaniel tough enough to do the job?

The immediate criticism of Mike McDaniel’s hiring is now rearing its head again.

One of the themes of Mike McDaniel’s tenure with the Miami Dolphins has been discipline or lack thereof. When McDaniel was first hired, the main concern coming from the media, especially former players, was if he was a “leader of men” or if he could “command a room full of alphas?”

My answer to that initially was that he’s done it to a certain point and well respected by his current and former players, but he was never going to be that, or need to be.

Two types of coaches thrive in the NFL. One is the de facto “leader of men,” you know, the Mike Tomlin, Jim Harbaugh, or Mike Vrabel types. Then there’s the “player’s coach”, the buddy-buddy guys that some things slide as long they’re winning. I’m sure you know which category McDaniel would fall into.

Being a player’s coach is acceptable and, at times, more desirable from a general perspective. Players want to play them, fans easily fall for them, and they’re usually beloved around the facility, whether it’s daily workers, media members, or executives.

McDaniel, for example, looked as if he was the second coming of Don Shula with those shades, the high-powered offense, and the witty jokes during media sessions.

It’s all fun and gravy until the team starts losing like the Dolphins did in 2024, and boy, it might be taking a turn for the worse right now.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Heading into the offseason, there are plenty of problems to fix with the Miami Dolphins, but two of the most glaring ones are accountability and discipline with the players.

Accountability is a big problem with McDaniel himself and general manager Chris Grier, especially with their most recent press conference, but we can get into that another time.

The problem with being a “player’s coach” is that when they start losing, the tires begin to fall off the wagon fast.

A room full of alphas could look at the coach as weak and start to take advantage of it by being late to meetings, giving less effort in practice, or even quitting on the team, and we saw examples of all three throughout the season.

McDaniel addressed this issue yesterday, saying that they’ve been fining players for problems they’ve had internally, but it hasn’t worked.

McDaniel and the Dolphins have identified and understand the problem, but what can he do to fix it going forward?

Can he convert into a “leader of men,” and start ruling over the team with an iron fist? Can he start spinning like Jim Carrey in “The Mask” and turn into Bill Belichick? The answer is no, and he shouldn’t do that.

If McDaniel tried to now come off as the bad cop, it’ll be phony, and players would instantly recognize that. There are more than enough leaders bought in to self-police the locker room. The players are grown men and should be able to hold each other accountable.

For anybody that will still be a problem in year four of the McDaniel era, like Will Manso points out, it might be time to either have a come to Jesus meeting, such as the one they just had with Tyreek Hill, or ship them out. It’s still to be determined if Hill straightens out or gets traded, but that’s a meeting he needed and a few others could use.

At the end of the day, you practice how you play, and the Dolphins had the ninth most penalties in the NFL. That’s called undisciplined football.

The penalties have stalled out more drives than I can remember and needs to be cleaned up. It’s not just the play on the field, it’s tendencies in practice, in meetings, and how everything is structured in the facility.

Dolphins breakout star tight end Jonnu Smith spoke to this recently:

It comes down to accountability, practicing what you preach, and ultimately winning. Winning games cure everything.

With the way the season turned out and the newly added pressure of not only winning but commanding the respect of all the players will be a tough job and not for the faint of heart.

Is Mike McDaniel the man for the job, or will the Dolphins have to go in a new direction?