Dolphins appreciate positive tone of McDaniel, Tua
Viewers watching HBO’s “Hard Knocks” have seen Tua Tagovailoa walk around the locker room, telling his Dolphins teammates he needs to be better, and thanking everyone around him for even the slightest gestures.
Heck, when practice squad linebacker Quinton Bell pushed Tagovailoa after several throws in practice — a request by coaches to prepare him for being harassed by Raiders Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby, Tagovailoa kept thanking Bell over and over.
“Hard Knocks” viewers have seen Mike McDaniel skipping merrily along, encouraging and praising his players like an elementary school teacher might.
None of this is pretense for the cameras.
Players say this is all quintessential McDaniel and Tagovailoa, an accurate depiction of the upbeat, accountable tone they take to work every day. And when your quarterback and coach are perpetually cheerful, appreciative and critical of themselves before others, that makes for the type of environment that Dolphins players relish.
I found it interesting that in separate conversations with two Dolphins players recently, both said essentially the same thing, unprompted, about Tagovailoa.
Asked by a few reporters about his relationship with Tagovailoa after coming in together in the same draft (2020), right tackle Austin Jackson said he loves how “Tua never once has pointed the finger at anyone. He’s very respectful.”
A few minutes later, linebacker Duke Riley was mentioning this about Tagovailoa: “I know one thing: He will never say [anything] is anyone else’s fault. It’s always his fault” in Tagovailoa’s eyes.
Riley said of Tagovailoa: “Even if he has a good game, there are always those plays he goes back to [and wishes he had done it better]. Even if other people are doing bad, it’s always that he needs to be better.
“Everything is always uplifting with Tua,” Riley said. “Uplighting with positivity and always reflecting on how much he needs to improve. He’s a great person to have on your team. Anyone would do anything for Tua.
“Everyone loves him. He spends time with everyone on the team. Everyone on the team has been to his house. I love the guy, his family, everything about him. He’s someone you want your kids to be like.”
Mike White will sit in quarterback meetings and be amazed when Tagovailoa will blame himself for things that aren’t his fault. Keep in mind that only a handful or so people are usually in the room — Tagovailoa, White, No. 3 quarterback Skylar Thompson, quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell,
assistant QB coach Chandler Henley and often, Dolphins special advisor and Hall of Famer Dan Marino.
“It happens all the time, all the time,” White said. “That’s who he is as a leader. That’s why all the guys love playing for him. There will be times he will say something and me and Skylar will look at each other like, ‘Man, that’s not the case.’
“We know so and so messed this up. And Tua will wear it, even when we all know it would be so easy for him to say, ‘Yeah he messed.’ He never says anyone messes up besides himself. That’s what you want out of a quarterback.”
McDaniel’s success as Dolphins coach offers more evidence that you don’t need to be a hollering, cursing tyrant to extract the most from your team.
Dolphins players have talked about McDaniel’s light touch
from time to time during his nearly two years as coach, but additional insight was provided recently by Jaelan Phillips before his season-ending Achilles injury.
“I think everything starts from the top down,” Phillips said. “When you have a coach who is really uptight and [curses] you all the time, it makes everybody tight. So it starts with the head man and then it goes to position coaches and then your position coaches are all stressed out because they’re getting yelled at by their defensive coordinator or head coach, then they’re putting that on you.”
But it’s the opposite with the Dolphins.
“To be able to have that mindset, [it] just frees everything up,” Phillips said. “You’re not worried about trivial things. We go through a lot and it’s really taxing, both mentally and physically. So, if we’re in here and everybody was just dead all the time and not enjoying ourselves, it would make this whole process that much more miserable. We have fun but we’re locked-in and know what the standard is.”
Players say his criticism is designed not to knock you down, but to build you up and show how good you can be if something is improved or corrected.
McDaniel has been open with everyone about his battle with alcoholism and when he
believes he makes a mistake during a game. Alec Ingold said he has never been around a coaching staff that’s tougher on itself after games. Players appreciate it.
“We’re not afraid to be vulnerable,” Phillips said. “We’re not afraid to be honest and open with each other and I think that starts from the head down. That’s how Mike is.”
As Jaylen Waddle said: “Mike is an authentic person. He allows us to be ourselves on a daily basis. When you have an environment and a head coach that allows you to do that, it makes work a lot more enjoyable.”
Jason Pierre-Paul’s first impression of the coach?
“Cool dude, man. He’s himself. I like that. Guys are telling me that’s him.”
CHATTER
While there’s hope Phillips will be fine for the 2024 season opener, it’s hardly guaranteed. Dolphins cornerback Nik Needham needed 54 weeks after tearing his Achilles before he felt entirely back to normal and was activated. Phillips had the typical Achilles surgery, not the unique one that Aaron Rodgers underwent in September.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan,
A on an expiring $28.6 million contract, might be traded, and The Athletic said the Heat and Knicks interest him. But while a trade involving DeRozan
and Kyle Lowry (and a second small Heat asset) would work from a cap perspective, the Heat might be disinclined to do that because Lowry is playing well and fills a need (point guard) and DeRozan isn't the type of floor-stretching long-range shooter needed around Jimmy Butler and
Bam Adebayo. DeRozan is a career 29.3 percent three-point shooter and hasn’t made more than 50 threes in any season since 2018.
Though now-injured Emory A Williams surpassed him this past summer, there are some on the UM staff who like quarterback Jacurri Brown’s athleticism and versatility and believe he has a bright future. But one staffer said he needed to spend the year polishing his touch and learning the offense. He will start the bowl game and next year likely will have the chance to compete with Williams for the No. 2 job behind a veteran starting quarterback that will be added in the portal.
Diamond Sports Group —
A which owns the Bally Sports networks — is likely parting ways with a couple of MLB teams as it goes through an ongoing bankruptcy process. But Bally Sports Florida is expected to carry Marlins games next season.
Whether Heat and Panthers games remain on Bally in the 2024-25 seasons remains undetermined. Both Bally networks in Florida could continue to operate even after Diamond completes the bankruptcy procedure and then potentially strike new or modified rights deals with the Heat, Panthers and Marlins.
But the local teams have explored alternative options if the Bally Florida networks disappear. One advantage that seemingly improves the likelihood of the Bally Florida networks surviving: They own not only the TV rights to the Heat, Marlins and Panthers, but also their streaming rights, which have considerable value.