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Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel comfortable being himself in a role where many are expected to act the same

david furones, south florida sun-sentinel
·4 min read

MIAMI GARDENS — During his first media session in Germany, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel introduced his trademark humor to a large room of about 100 international media members.

“I know what you guys are thinking,” the 5-foot-9 coach started. “I’m bigger in person. You’re right.”

The next time he spoke to reporters, two days later, he displayed the German he had learned over his first few days in the foreign country: “Guten tag,” he said as he approached the podium, which translates in English to “Good day.”

Whether it’s his jokes in the press conference setting, humorously racing a cameraman following him ahead of halftime on national television or just dressing in his own unique style at practices and games, McDaniel is not afraid to be himself while in a position as an NFL head coach where many feel they need to act a certain way that fits in.

“I just think it’s important to be yourself,” McDaniel said Tuesday, as his team enters its bye week 6-3 following Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs overseas, “and for me, I think that comes from preparation, and really what I see my obligation to be towards the team. I think for me, as long as I cut no corners on the front end of things, I can really stay true to what this game is about.”

McDaniel is comfortable in his own skin because he shares a common notion with many of the players that he coaches: That what they’re working together on is of the utmost importance because of what it took for everyone to reach the NFL.

“You work your whole life to be in the situations that you’re in, whether it’s a player or a coach or all of those things, and there is a balance to it,” he continued.

“I think people respond best to authenticity, to know that nothing that you say or do is fabricated. So I just try to stay true to my personality and I feel like that’s owed to people. You have to give yourself, if you’re in a leadership role where you’re serving other people, you have to give people yourself and so I just try to pride myself on that and hold nothing back because I feel like that’s what people deserve.”

McDaniel doesn’t have public social media accounts, and he has said he doesn’t spend much time on the internet. So he ends up largely oblivious to how viral some of his on-camera moments become.

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“It’s easy not to get caught up in virality if you spend little to no time on the interwebs,” McDaniel said. “For me, I have so many people that I would feel very guilty if I wasn’t completely and utterly present for them.

“The second I leave the office, I’m already behind the eight-ball with my daughter and my wife, in my eyes, so there’s no real room for that.”

And McDaniel’s reactions when the camera’s on him are truly genuine, as he still hasn’t completely become comfortable with the idea it’s always on him. An example: As the American national anthem played at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt ahead of the Chiefs game, he was shown on the videoboard. He could be seen mouthing “that’s me” in mild amazement.

“I still haven’t mastered the art of acting like a camera isn’t there,” he said. “So when I see a camera, I feel super awkward to pretend that I don’t know it’s there already. If it’s running away from it or it’s just something I’m doing in the moment, hopefully that isn’t what I’m known for ultimately, when my tenure is done, whenever that time is.

“I’d hope that it would be my concrete dedication to every person that’s involved and every person that I’m responsible for. I’m hopefully in the process of, however things unfold, that I leave people better off with having me than not having me. That’s kind of how I look at it and all the other stuff, it’s easy to not get caught up in viral moments when you have to be told that you went viral and you don’t really experience it yourself.”