WEBVTT - Tom Pelissero on Mike McDaniel's Rise up the Coaching Ranks 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:05.640 To us fires touch stop waddle stocked into the end 0:00:05.760 --> 0:00:10.040 zone of Miami Pro Tip window. They had to get 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:16.279 that touchdown on that play, they give it. What is up? 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:20.400 Dolphans And welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of the 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:25.880 Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:29.080 How's it going everybody? I am your host Travis Winfield 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:32.120 And on today's show, Tom Pella Sero joins us to 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:34.920 talk about the Dolphins newest head coach Mike McDaniel, some 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:38.240 weekend tape study and how coach and staff can taylor 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.000 the offense to the weapons they have. Plus that's a 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:43.960 rap on the NFL season, a few things we learned 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:48.159 after crowning a champion on Sunday. From somewhere in South Florida. 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:55.920 This is the Drivetime Podcast Miami Dolphins. We have another 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:58.240 great guest lined up for you today on the show. 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:00.520 Let's go ahead and welcome and NFL net Works own 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:04.880 Tom Pellisero, and I'm joined now by NFL Network reporter 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:08.840 and Sirius XM radio host Tom Pellisero. And Tom, I 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:11.959 heard that we have the hottest super Bowl on record 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:14.720 on tap, I would have pushed all of my chips 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:16.480 to the middle of the table if that would have 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:18.840 been happening here in South Florida, but I guess it's 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:22.520 in Los Angeles this weekend. The difference, Travis is it's 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.800 a drying heat out here. You can just feel the 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:27.240 sun baking on you. You don't feel like you're in 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:30.160 a swamp and gotta change closed five times. Of course today. 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:33.479 That was a summer lesson when I first moved down here, 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:35.560 was that if you go outside at all, you're gonna 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:37.240 have to go back and take a shower, like you 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:41.160 mentioned there. So you know, we talked about California, south Florida. 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:44.240 Pardon the bad transition here, Tom, but from one California 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:46.840 to Florida transplant. Is the new head coach of the 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:50.000 Miami Dolphins and Mike McDaniel and Tom you had mentioned 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:51.680 on one of your hits. I think it was this 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.520 week that you crossed past with coach McDaniel quite a 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:57.440 while back. What do you remember What do you first 0:01:57.480 --> 0:01:59.720 remember hearing about him as he kind of began his 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.160 sent in the coaching ranks and on stood out to 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:05.640 you about him early on. Well, I initially met Mike 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:09.360 through Kyle Shanahan many years ago, and Mike has been 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:12.799 a long time Kyle Shanahan assistant. UM, he had brought 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:16.200 him along to every place he'd ever been, between obviously 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:20.440 being in Houston and being in Cleveland and Atlanta, San Francisco. 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:23.240 I'm sure I'm missing one in there, but they've always 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:26.320 been side by side for a long time. And then 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:28.240 you know, obviously got to know him a little bit 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:31.760 better at the Super Bowl uh five years ago when 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:35.040 the Falcons were in it, and had a fascinating conversation, 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.880 a deep conversation with Mike that started a Super Bowl 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.120 media day and continued on the phone over a couple 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:43.840 of nights. We just Mike talk to me about some 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:45.919 of the things that he's dealt with in the past, 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:47.919 and some of the challenges that he's had to overcome 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.640 in his personal life. The way that the Falcons helped 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:54.079 him through all of that. UM, you know, certainly when 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:55.720 you get to know him, when you talk to him, 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:57.280 and I think that's already a parent for just a 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:00.640 press conferences and and you know the vir videos and 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:03.680 everything else there. He's a multilayered guy. He was certainly 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:08.560 unique individual, highly intelligent individual, and somebody that I think 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:10.960 that the Dolphins fans are going to really enjoy hearing 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:13.840 from five times a week come to see. Yeah, he 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:16.680 did a whole round the whole gamut of media yesterday 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.080 after his press conference, and he kind of has that 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:21.600 dry humor where he'll give you a joke and kind 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:23.960 of see how you react and then continue on. And 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:25.840 a few of the guys got a sample of that. 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:27.720 I got a sample of that. I think I missed 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.360 the boat on my joke opportunity with coach, But I 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.760 guess I'll learn as I go along. I would say 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:35.520 that that's fair. You know. The one thing of Mike 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:38.240 is he's He's very authentic, and Kyle Shanahan said that 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:41.960 recently the Mike is himself. He is and Kyle has 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.280 also referred to him as an acquired taste. He's just 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:46.640 he's a little bit different of a personality than a 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.800 lot of times get from head coaches. But when you're evaluating, 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:52.960 and I think that this goes for teams across the league, 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:55.600 every team is gonna have its own criteria in terms 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:57.600 of what they're looking for in their head coach, and 0:03:57.640 --> 0:03:59.600 not everybody is gonna lead the same way and out 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.560 of her per ssonality is going to fit into a 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:03.920 precise box. And this is what we think the head 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:07.680 coach is going to be. So provided that you feel 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:10.480 like you can translate your skills that you've used in 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:13.160 assistant coaching roles into the head coaching role, it's just 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:14.960 a matter of taking that and going, Okay, can we 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:17.640 see this winner lose? Can this guy be the person 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:19.640 who stand in front of the room winner lose? And 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:22.479 I know the Dolphins did a ton of background on 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:25.000 Mike McDaniels of diget into some of those same issues, 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:26.760 you know, can he be that guy? How does he 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.040 interact with people? What can he draw out with people? 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:31.880 Obviously they found the answers that they were very satisfied with, 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:34.040 and that's why he's their head coach. Yeah, you mentioned, 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:36.120 you know, the Dolphins doing their background research on him, 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:39.159 Stephen Ross at the press conference multiple times, out of 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.520 the box thinker and we've heard that all the time. 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:44.200 And Tom, you're obviously as well connected as anybody in 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.960 this league. And you know, as this and even past 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.839 hiring cycles have come and gone, has there been one 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:52.480 common trade that people kind of mentioned about coach McDaniel 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:56.120 And if so, what is that? One trade. Intelligence is 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:58.640 the number one thing, and that's always been there for Mike. 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:01.080 You know, he went to Yale and he's, you know, 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:04.719 just a very well thought out person. I think that 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:07.560 just in terms of football, A big part of it is, 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:10.560 you know, he has a reputation as an innovator, not 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:14.159 an imitator. In other words, there's so much play stealing 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:16.719 that goes on in the NFL, and sometimes people can 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:19.600 get the impression that somebody's really thinking, you know, has 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:21.799 these new ideas, when really all they're doing is watching 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:25.240 college stape, watching other NFL teams, plucking plays With Mike 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:28.680 and working with Kyle Shanahan. They do some things. They 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:31.680 will show things that nobody has seen. They can take 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.520 a guy like Kylie use Check, who you know, was 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:36.320 a guy who you wonder, okay, you know, kind of 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:38.640 what's his role. They made him like a seven million 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.200 dollar fullback because they saw him as this chess piece 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:43.520 that they can move all over the place. And you know, 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:46.599 that's something that's a comment trade. Within that offense, Mike 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:49.599 has a heavy uh hand in the running game. He 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:51.600 has in the past with the forty Niners. That's kind 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.000 of been a balance there because Kyl Shanahan's obviously a 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:56.240 brilliant past game guy, knows how to get the people open. 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:58.560 Mike was kind of his second set eyes on game 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.120 day too. So the way that Mike can see the game, 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:04.440 he sees things that other people don't see, and that 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:07.040 obviously is something that you know, schematically has been a 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:08.920 serving well as he not only moves into his first 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:12.360 head coaching opportunity, but his first opportunity really calling plays 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:15.200 all the time as well. It's a great trait to have, obviously, 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:17.320 But I'm curious, how do you think that will benefit 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.640 him in both assembling his coaching staff and then ultimately 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:24.080 the collaboration with the coaches he has on staff. Well, 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:25.520 I know the Mike it it put a lot of 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:28.200 time in with the coaching staff. There have been some 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.599 things that have been you know, relatively set up for 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:33.240 a while in terms of the types of people that 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:35.640 he was going to be bringing in. You'll see those 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:38.120 names Trick went out here in the coming weeks. Obviously, 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:40.720 the expectation is Josh Boyer and much of the defensive 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.560 staff remain in place because a lot of people who 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:45.680 are eager to work with Mike. There are a lot 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:48.360 of veteran coaches who are eager to work with Mike 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:52.599 because again, even though his profile was lower and you know, 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:54.560 you don't see him in a press conference, he doesn't 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:56.600 talk away some other guys do. People who have been 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.279 around him know how smart he is. Some of the 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:01.800 smartest coach is in the NFL worked with Mike at 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:06.120 various stops. Talk about the sounding board that he can be, 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:09.560 and so when he gets a head coaching job, absolutely 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:11.880 there are people who want to go into this with 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:14.040 him and want to be a part of it. You know, 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:16.960 he may too. We'll see how the exact composition of 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:18.880 the staff happens. I would not be surprised if you 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.600 bring in a former NFL head coach, somebody who can 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:23.520 help with some of the administrative stuff. You see that 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.400 with a lot of first time head coaches. They'll bring 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:27.160 people in just to kind of ease some of that 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:30.200 administrative burdens just so much that comes with being the 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:32.520 head coach. But I fully believe that it's gonna be 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:35.640 a really strong staff he puts together in Miami, because 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:37.960 that's the type of respect that Mike has in terms 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.040 of being a football line in the league. Yeah, you 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.840 mentioned the respect among his coaching peers. And obviously a 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:44.760 big part of getting a head coaching job is your 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:48.240 ability to round out a coaching staff, but also recruiting players. 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:49.800 I know it's not you know, on the college or 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:53.080 even high school level, but when you when you look 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:56.360 at how his his makeup and his character can possibly 0:07:56.400 --> 0:07:58.560 attract free agents, do you think that also will go 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:00.320 a long way and making players want to come here 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:03.040 and play for Mike McDaniel. I would say that if 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:05.880 any of those players want to do homework on Mike McDaniel, 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.800 they should call the forty Niners players and here the 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:13.160 types of things that those guys uh say about him. 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:15.680 You know, everybody from obviously Kyle Eustchack has been very 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:19.000 outspoken about what Mike means to him. Guys like Deebo 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:22.600 Samuel I know, um, you know, put together some thoughts 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:25.560 that he got to the Dolphins during the interview process 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:27.800 because he wanted them to know he always he was 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:29.960 preparing for a playoff game. Deebo wanted him to know 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.680 how special of a guy that Mike is. You know, 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:35.560 it'll be interesting to see just kind of you know, 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.080 obviously he's he's talked to a tongue by lower already. 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.480 We saw that video, the expectations. He's there, he's a believer, 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:43.440 and he pitched them on the plan for how he 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:46.199 was going to you know, how he was gonna work 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:48.360 with two of It wasn't well, here's our options quarter like, No, 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:49.920 here's how we're gonna get the most out of to 0:08:50.360 --> 0:08:52.400 And that's something we've seen throughout Myke's career. Two is, 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:54.760 there's a lot of quarterbacks. Obviously again he's been with 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:58.040 Kyle Shanahan, but basically every quarterback that that Mike's been 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:01.160 in countering has had their best year when he's been there. 0:09:01.200 --> 0:09:03.440 And part of that because they've run football so effectively, 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.800 and that's a big thing that Mike does, and so 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.760 talent acquisitions. Always the Dolphins are always aggressive in free agency. 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:12.000 They're not afraid to spend money. Steve Ross is willing 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:14.720 to invest in the team. I would anticipate that that continues, 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:17.160 and I think that if yeah, again, if I players 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:19.120 call around to the forty Niners players or even guys 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.559 who have played for Mike in the past, I mean 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.000 guys like Andrew Hawkins, who I worked with here at 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:26.280 NFL Network, will tell you he's one of the smartest 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.199 guys you know that you're ever going to come across 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.199 a lot of people that have a lot of love 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:32.240 for Mike, and I think that word of mouth is 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:34.840 a big part of you know, when you're when you're 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:37.400 kind of analyzing where to end up. Yeah, you mentioned 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.000 the testimonials. I was going to mention that Andrew Hawkins quote. 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:43.760 He talked about receivers room in Cleveland, how he believes 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:46.360 they never got pressed or jammed to the line because 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:49.040 of the techniques and the stuff that Mike McDaniel taught them. 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:52.319 So really good stuff there across the board on those testimonials. 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:54.439 And you had mentioned in your reporting that he kind 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:58.040 of presented some well thought out plans for specific players, 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:00.800 and the idea of developing players and getting the best 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:02.600 out of them is very high on the to do list. 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:04.720 What's the book on his ability to do that, to 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:06.920 take players and take them to their absolute peak of 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:10.440 their performance. It's very strong. And that's another one of 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:13.240 the big selling points with Mike is player development. And 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:16.320 yes he has plans for that for the entire offense, 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.440 but also specifically for developing to a Toko Valoa who 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:21.920 when he was healthy last season to have played well 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:23.880 and they won. Maybe I don't know off the top 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:25.360 of my head you might have what to his record 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:28.040 as the starting quarterback, but it's pretty good. You know, 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:30.280 his issue has been injuries, which was his issue and 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:33.040 at Alabama to all the way through just you know, 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.200 got banged up a lot. This season. He dealt with 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:37.199 the rib injury. I think he had a hand or 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:39.440 a thumb or some kind of injury too, So he's 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:41.320 dealt with stuff when he was healthy down the stretch. 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.600 That's the best we saw in play. Now you bring 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.560 in somebody who this is what they do. They are 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:51.320 a guru. In terms of offense, It'll be interesting to 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:53.800 see two because two has played so much from the 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:55.760 shotgun throughout the course of his career, and that was 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:58.280 kind of the idea when the Dolphins first drafted him, 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:01.559 which was bringing chan gaily run that spread it out, shotgun, 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.760 quick hitting type of an offense. Well, Mike's history in 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:06.959 that offense, the outside zone scheme, it's a lot of 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:08.800 play actions, a lot of blue legs, it's a lot 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:11.640 of under center stuff. So how Mike balance is that 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:14.000 in terms of getting to under center, which I would 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:17.120 I won't guarantee anything, but I would certainly bet they 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.240 will see two under center more than he has been 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:21.160 in the past. And then you know some of the 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:23.640 other fundamentals that offense, things like turning your back to 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:25.920 the line of scrimmage on playthings which a lot of 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.400 these quarterbacks haven't done. So how they kind of teach 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:31.160 some of these elements of the offense while also preserving 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.079 what toa is comfortable with. I think it's going to 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.120 be an important part of how this offense and this 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.079 entire team involves. It's very interesting because there's some carry 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:40.720 over in terms of the Niners lead in the NFL 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.320 last year and twenty one personnel you mentioned Kyle, you 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:44.880 check a big part of that. The Dolphins like the 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:47.520 NFL and twelve personnel with two tight ends, so maybe 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:49.720 there is some carry over there. And earlier, Tom you 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:51.760 mentioned you know your relationship with Mike and it goes 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.240 back quite a few years, and you've detailed some of 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:56.720 the obstacles he's overcome and his coaching career, in his 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:58.920 life and all that kind of ties together. How do 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:04.120 you think that helps him connect to his players? Well, certainly, 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:07.280 Mike had a you know, unique, a lot of unique 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:09.760 things in his life going all the way back to 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:13.080 his childhood. And of course he's addressed, um, the race issue, 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:16.640 which became the sort of Twitter sensation in recent days 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:18.920 because of the current environment. There are things that are 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.600 going on within the league. But growing up with a 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:24.839 black father and a white mother and seeing certain things 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:28.120 that may have been a little bit difficult people experienced. Um. 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:30.680 And then obviously as he got out of college and 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.680 got into the NFL, one thing that that followed him 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:38.280 was problems with alcohol. You know, he had issues going 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:40.200 back to and we talked about all this five years 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.160 ago with the Super Bowl. You know, things like you know, 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.520 being in his office in Cleveland and you know, having 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.040 a drink to try to jumpstart his creativity, and coming 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.760 in Atlanta sometimes you know, smelling like alcohol on a 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:52.760 Saturday morning before I walk through. And he got to 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.840 the point where Mike had the self awareness to go 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:58.400 to Thomas mit Rock and Dan Quinn and say, I 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:00.640 need some help. I think I need did to do 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:03.680 something here, And so he went and he got treatment 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.559 and he's you know, over the past five years here, Um, 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:09.520 you have been a different person. As he told me 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:11.400 at the time, you realize people like him a lot 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.520 more when he's not drinking. You know, that's brought out. 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:17.319 I think even more of the creativity than Mike has um, 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:20.040 just in terms of his ability to focus on not 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.320 having other things that are, you know, going on in 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:24.840 his life. I think that it's a good trade in 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:28.079 a head coach, not in any way you know, compare 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:30.040 personal issues to professional but I do think it's a 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:32.400 good trade in a head coach, sometimes, especially a first 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:34.480 time head coach, to say I can't do this all 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.040 of my own. I need help, I need to delegate, 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:40.000 I need input from different people. And I think those 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.720 are all lessons that Mike is going to apply now. 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.800 Um that he's a head coach and he's gonna be fun. 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:48.360 I'll tell you that too. He's gonna be fun to cover, 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:51.240 he's gonna be fun to watch how his offense involves. 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:53.960 The fans are gonna have fun too. In the end, 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.520 it's all about winning football games, and that's what he's 0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:58.760 gonna be tasked with. You're not taking over a bottom 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:00.920 feeder here with the Dolphin. You're taking over a team 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:02.760 that's had a winning record the past couple of years. 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:05.040 Even though you know, not going to the playoffs, but 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:08.480 certainly been a competitive team, probably too streaky for anybody's 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:11.640 liking long losing streaks, long winning streaks. During the course 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:14.319 of time there, Mike said'm certainly you know, I'm sure 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:16.200 it's gonna try to be smoothing that stuff out. But 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:18.240 he's taken over a team that's got some talent the 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:21.360 guy guys like Jalen Waddle, who's really intriguing young player 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:24.480 on offense, who thought about six billion passes uh this season. 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:27.040 They've obviously got some you know, all pro caliber talent 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.280 on the defense too. Let's see how they bring it together. 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:31.320 Let's see how they do, you know, through free agency 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:33.640 and the draft pers careers there, so you've got continuity 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:36.120 on the personnel side. I think this the whole thing 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:39.680 is gonna be really interesting to watch because Mike is 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:42.280 and again I don't mean to minimize this, but he 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:46.280 is outside the box in terms of you don't immediately 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:50.360 meet him or you know, have a conversation and go, Okay, 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:53.280 that guy's a future head coach, but understanding how smart 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:56.560 he is, the impact he's had on so many different teams, 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:58.440 the way the players view him, the way that everybody 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:02.080 in the building views him. Uh, there is real upside 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:04.760 to him being a head coach, and I'm really excited 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.400 to see it. Well, Tom, I gotta say, you got 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:09.280 me wanting it to be September already. It's it's a 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.120 few months away. But no, please, no, just I'm not 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:14.720 I'm not ready for you. Yeah. I understand you've been 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:16.560 a busy man. This is this last entire season, the 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:19.480 extra week to extend your scheduling for further So we'll 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:21.560 go ahead and enjoy the break in the time off 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:24.040 before we give you that, though, quick, Tom, one more question. 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.520 What do you think ultimately will make Mike a successful 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:29.840 head coach in this league? Well, Tom will tell and 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.280 I think that everybody's got trades. There's a reason guys 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.080 get hired, and everybody believes that, you know, the guy 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:36.680 they're hiring is gonna have the trades to be a 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.800 successful head coach if it pans out that way from Mike, 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:41.520 and if he is able to be as good as 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:44.280 he has the capability of doing. It's just that the 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:47.800 way that he sees the game is very unique. The 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:53.120 way that he can pick things out, innovate, um be 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:56.040 able to push the envelope on certain things, and some 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:57.760 of them may seem minor some of them if you're 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.160 just a fan tuning into the game, it may be imperceptible. 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:04.440 But you're always challenging the status quo. And when you're 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:06.720 doing that, not simply by watching tape of what other 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:09.840 people are doing. You're figuring out unique things that you 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:12.440 can do. You're figuring out ways that you can adjust 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.880 on the fly. It's that ability it's really gonna help 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.120 Mike and what he's gonna have to grow into is 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.280 just the leadership role. Being at the front of the 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.760 room every day. He's obviously been an offensive coordinator. He's 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:27.200 been heavily involved. I've seen him present. You might see 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:29.240 the guy at the press conference and not recognize them 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:30.960 in terms of the guy presenting in the room because 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:33.600 they are a little bit different. Um, he has some experience, 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:36.240 ere it's the first time for everything, so growing into 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:38.280 that that leadership role, in the front of the room role, 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:41.120 but being able to rely on I'm as smart as 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:43.280 anybody in terms of how they're drawing this up and 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.120 the ex's nose and the way that we're gonna game 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.800 plan every week. That is what in the short term 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.440 is going to have the give the Mike the opportunity 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.000 to be really good. Well yeah, I mean it's from 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:54.920 the sounds of it, sounds like when he needs to, 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:56.720 you know, kind of look in the mirror and and 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:58.880 make improvements as he goes along. He's certainly capable of 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.400 that as he gets kind his feet went his experience 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:05.320 here in South Florida. Tom Pellicero, NFL Network, Serious XM Radio, Tom, 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:07.880 really appreciate your time today. I understand you're going back 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:09.439 on the network for a live hit. Keep an eye 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:12.520 out for those scooters out there. Okay, we'll do appreciate 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.920 And there he goes Tom Pellicero, NFL Network. Great stuff 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.160 there on the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins. 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:20.880 And before we get to our first break here, want 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:22.600 to go ahead and just let you guys know that 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.800 we will have the entirety of the coaching staff updated 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:29.399 for you when we haven't finalized and published and everything 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.480 on Miami Dolphins dot com and we announced it. We'll 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:33.560 cover it here on the Drivetime podcast. But I want 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:34.880 to go ahead and let you know that we did 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:38.160 hear from Mike McDaniel on local radio here in South 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:41.040 Florida on Friday that Wes Welker would be joining his 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:44.040 staff as a receiver's coach, and that Josh Boyer would 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:47.400 stay on as the defensive coordinator. Mike McDaniel himself confirmed that, 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:49.119 So that is what we're going forward with. We'll get 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:51.359 you updated on the rest of the coaching staff as 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.159 we go forward. Next, I watched some tape this weekend. 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:55.880 I want to talk about what I saw, so we'll 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:57.879 do that next turn on the Drift Time podcast. Travis 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:01.880 Wingfield keep it locked right here the B block here 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:04.840 on a Monday edition of the Drive Time podcast. And 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.880