Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
“War Daddy” shirts a bonding force with Dolphins.
T-shirts and hoodies reward best efforts
DAVIE — There’s a fashion trend sweeping through the Miami Dolphins locker room. Walk through on a given day and you’ll notice a couple of shirts being worn featuring the phrase “War Daddy.”
They’ve become a staple inside the team’s Davie facility, and for Dolphins players, they are a prized possession that falls just short of a game ball.
The “War Daddy” Tshirts are given to selected top performers each week, with a premium put on “team football,” according to Miami’s coaches.
“What we look for is just an effort and a level of playing for the whole game that is above and beyond,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen said. He added that “he really is a guy who just sold out at whatever role we gave them.”
“You might be the left guard and you come out of the game and you have no touches, you’ve got no carries, you’ve got no interceptions, and no tackles — but you laid it on the line for 75 snaps in there,” Christensen continued. “That’s a way to honor those guys that maybe the numbers don’t show up on the stat sheet.”
“War Daddy” is defined at urbandictionary.com as “a term used to describe a particularly impressive football player, mostly offensive linemen of substantial girth. Originated in the deep south and used primarily by southern football coaches.”
The consensus in the locker room is that either defensive end Cameron Wake, who is on his way his fifth Pro Bowl, or backup tailback Damien Williams has the most “War Daddy” shirts.
That’s right. Williams, the third-down specialist who has scored six touchdowns this season, has more “War Daddy” shirts than Jay Ajayi, who has rushed for 1,213 yards and is tied with receiver Kenny Stills for the team lead with eight touchdowns.
Being labeled a “War Daddy” isn’t about yards, touchdowns or sacks. It’s about effort, drive and determination.
It brings recognition to the players who possess a never-quit mentality, which is what has sparked the Dolphins’ resurgence and return to the playoffs.
“Each phase is able to hand them out,” head coach Adam Gase said, explaining the “War Daddy” selection process.
“It’s something that coach [John] Fox did when I was in Denver and Chicago, and something that we brought down here,” Gase continued. “I always thought it was a great thing that he did for the players, and players like it, but we had to do to different tiers because Cam was getting too many of the same shirts, so we felt like there needs to be separation of when you get so many.”
That’s how the even more coveted “War Daddy” hooded sweatshirt came into existence.
Williams said he got his “War Daddy” hoodie — which he customized by cutting off the sleeves — because of “knockouts, really. I have a couple of knockouts, that’s why I got it.”
“Means you were making plays,” second-year linebacker Neville Hewitt said of his “War Daddy” status.
“This is the top of the top,” Hewitt said of the hoodie he was wearing Thursday. “Everybody don’t have this one.”
Ja’Wuan James, the Dolphins’ starting right tackle, has a rare, orange “War Daddy” T-shirt.
His theory is that the Dolphins’ equipment staff changed up the color because players were getting multiple versions of the same black shirt.
James likes the color variation, but he does have a clear-cut goal for the season finale and Miami’s upcoming playoff game.
“Some people got upgraded to hoodies for getting it like five or six times,” James said. “The hoodie ‘War Daddy’ means you’ve done something special. I don’t know what it is.”
But James knows he wants it, and he knows how he has to play to earn it.