Is McDaniel legit?

By: Jake Rajala

Mike McDaniel was once regarded as one of the most creative, risky play-callers in the league. In 2023, the Dolphins offense ranked second in points and first in yards! Well, the Dolphins sputtered out and ranked 22nd in points and 18 in yards this past regular season. With that said, a fascinating question arises: Is McDaniel overrated?

Let’s point out that Tua Tagoviloa missed six games last season. He was 6-5 last season, but he ranked first in completion percentage and he had 19 passing touchdowns to sever interceptions. I believe he was well on his way to making the Pro Bowl.

McDaniel has still struggled to beat foes (with or without Tua) – as he is 3-14 against winning teams in his career!

He simply needs to find a way to be more efficient in key situations. He also has to be more dangerous in his division. He was 3-3 in the AFC East – which included a loss against the New York Jets.

I don’t believe that McDaniel is overrated. He may an have issue is getting every weapon involved (such as Tyreek Hill), but he surely can light up foes “with Tua”. Tua was All-Pro in Sporting News and he also ranked first in jerseys sold out in 2023.

People love to talk about Sean McVay being young compared to most NFL head coaches. Well, let’s not forget that McDaniel is 41 years old. He’s only a couple of years older than McVay. Of course, McDaniel and McVay were once on the same squad in Washington many years ago.

The Las Vegas Raiders once had Jon Gruden on a ten-year contract. I’d love to see the LA Rams and Miami Dolphins copy that strategy and keep their head coach faces around for a long time.