Mike McDaniel established himself as the best quote among NFL coaches last season as the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. He’s defended that title this year after being hired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. McDaniel politely asked Justin Fields to stop running all over his defense, compliments his team on broken tackles the way skateboarders compliment kickflips, and gives mathematically certain injury updates. Mostly, he just seems like a chill bro in a way that’s totally antithetical to how most football coaches act.
Mike McDaniel told Tua Tagovailoa his high school tape was ‘trash’
Please mic up Mike McDaniel for every game.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
On Sunday, the Dolphins continued their surprising success this season with a 30-15 win over the Houston Texans. It was another solid game for QB Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 299 yards and a touchdown in the win. Tagovailoa has blossomed under McDaniel this season, going from a quarterback who at times looked like a bust to someone who been one of the better QBs in the AFC so far this season. Adding Tyreek Hill to the wide receiver corps of course hasn’t hurt, either.
McDaniel was mic’d up for the game against the Texans, and put his sense of humor on full display when talking to Tagovailoa. McDaniel told Tua he was watching his high school tape on YouTube and called his technique trash. Watch the clip here:
Here’s more from McDaniel mic’d up on the sideline against the Texans:
McDaniel might have thought Tua’s high school tape was trash, but it’s important to remember he’s been considered an elite prospect by evaluators every step of his career. Tua was ranked as a five-star recruit and the top dual threat QB in the class of 2017 by 247 Sports coming out of St. Louis High School in Honolulu, HI.
Tagovailoa of course committed to Alabama, and helped the Tide win the 2017 college football championship by throwing the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime. The next year he was runner-up for the Heisman before eventually being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. We had to see Tua’s high school tape for ourselves after McDaniel’s comment. This isn’t exactly breaking news, but he looks a lot better now than he did then.
Tagovailoa is a solid starting QB at worst, and McDaniel looks like an awesome head coach. The Dolphins had one playoff appearance in the last 13 seasons entering this year, but seem destined for the postseason this year after an 8-3 start. Tua’s technique doesn’t look like trash anymore, but we love McDaniel’s quips all the same.
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