There are a few pretty bad teams in the NFL this year, but none have underperformed quite to the level of the 1-6 Miami Dolphins. And a lot of that can be laid at the feet of head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
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Tagovailoa, who is getting paid over $53 million a year, sixth-most in football, has been arguably the worst QB in the league this season. He is tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions this year, which computes to an INT rate of about five percent. He’s also putting up a career low in passer rating (82.8) and putting up just 6.4 yards per attempt, the lowest mark since his rookie season.
There has also been a lot of talk about what the team should do with McDaniel at this point. While he is no doubt a genius football mind, he has always seemed somewhat ill-suited to a head coaching job. He’s a great coach, but not really an inspiring leader. As Cam Newton said, you don’t have to necessarily be a great leader to be a great coach, or vice versa.
“Mike McDaniel may not be a great leader, but that doesn’t mean Mike McDaniel is not a good coach… When you’re talking about a leader, I think of Mike Tomlin… I think of Nick Saban… I think of Kirby Smart,” Newton said on 4th & 1.
“Some may say that Bill Belichick isn’t a good leader… Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he’s a rah-rah type of guy. Some even call him socially awkward. But what makes a coach a coach is … the ability to feel the most important statistic in sports: the wins,” he added.
The prevailing thought is that McDaniel will not make it past Black Monday, but some believe he might not even make it to the end of the season. There was a belief that he could lose his job this week, but the Dolphins brass has confirmed he’s still safe in his spot. And even if he does get fired, McDaniel’s NFL career will be far from over, as Newton further explained.
“You don’t have to be a good leader to be a good coach, but you can be a good leader and be a good coach. Just because you’re a good leader doesn’t mean you’re a good coach.”
McDaniel doesn’t have the rah-rah, inspirational leadership chops to be a successful NFL head coach, but he certainly has the intelligence and football smarts to be a very good offensive coordinator for a contending team. There are many examples of such guys, like Josh McDaniels and Chip Kelly on the offensive side or Romeo Crennel, Steve Spagnuolo, and Dick LeBeau on the defensive side.
Losing the biggest job he’s ever had could be a blessing in disguise for Mike McDaniel.
