Mike McDaniel vs. Kyle Shanahan fascinating subplot to high-stakes Dolphins-49ers game

MIAMI GARDENS — Long before Mike McDaniel was being lauded by football players as a "brilliant genius," "mastermind" and "football savant" he was an offensive assistant for the Houston Texans.

This was in the early 2000s and Kyle Shanahan was there too, moving quickly from wide receivers coach to quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator.

"At first, I didn't know him at all," Shanahan said this week. "Gary Kubiak put him in my office and that's how it starts."

Shanahan and McDaniel would go on to work together for 14 seasons, including stints at Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta and San Francisco.

The Dolphins (8-3) are playing a very important football game on Sunday at the 49ers (7-4).

And, yes, the game will be largely decided on the field by the players. But make no mistake, the game plan design and offensive plays called by 49ers head coach Shanahan and Dolphins head coach McDaniel will play a pivotal role in the result.

"It's going to be a really fun game," said Dolphins receiver Trent Sherfield, who played for San Francisco last season. "Shanahan is a great, great play caller. Mike is a great, great play caller and may the best team win."

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McDaniel tried very hard this week to downplay his return to San Francisco, where he coached the previous five seasons with Shanahan, serving as offensive coordinator last year.

But McDaniel and Shanahan, like all great coaches, are very competitive. And so, yes, it would stand to reason that like any mentor-mentee clash, this one is a bit special for both.

Does it mean a little more to McDaniel?

"Oh, yeah, it means a little bit more," said Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert, who also played for San Francisco. "Maybe (McDaniel) might not say it as much, but I know it does."

There are many players who have been effusive in describing McDaniel's behind-the-scenes impact on the 49ers' offensive success in recent seasons. Who knows exactly how Shanahan feels about that.

Shanahan has also been lauded for his offensive acumen. Of course, Shanahan coached his team to a Super Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Year 3 of a rebuild.

That's something McDaniel hopes he can do in the future. It's his first season in Miami, of course, but also Year 3 of the Dolphins' dramatic rebuild.

The Dolphins' offense is built on the 49ers' template. Both teams use outside zone. Both teams want to be fast and physical in the trenches and establish the run.

Miami and San Francisco lead the NFL in pre-snap movement. So, yes, Sunday will be a fascinating chess match with both teams familiar with each other's scheme.

Perhaps McDaniel will have a slight edge because of his intimate familiarity with the 49ers' defensive personnel. The Dolphins have also studied lots of 49ers' offensive film.

"When we were starting with the playbook, we watched a lot of their tape with Jimmy (Garoppolo)," Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said, adding, "You got to see the timing of the footwork with how they did things on certain pass protections, play-pass protections, where the spot was in certain protections. And then the timing and how that married up with the route. I learned a lot from his tape."

Shanahan noted the impact speedy players like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have had on McDaniel's ability to construct a dangerous offense. Shanahan also indicated that after some initial uncertainty about Tua's fit in the offense, he's been sold.

Jeff Wilson, Raheem Mostert motivated

Sherfield has taken McDaniel's lead and downplayed the return to San Francisco, something not quite as easy for former 49ers running backs Mostert and Jeff Wilson.

Wilson requested a trade earlier this season, after San Franscisco acquired Christian McCaffrey. Wilson said this week it was "bittersweet" and that "it just hurt" and that, yes, there may be "extra little passion" on Sunday.

The 49ers and Dolphins each want to run the ball. But the Dolphins and 49ers are also both very good defensively against the run.

We can rest assured that McDaniel and Shanahan have spent very long nights and early mornings this week trying to identify any edge through film study.

"I think both sides are going to have some type of mental edge," Sherfield said. "The way they are able to dissect defenses and the way that they're able to watch tape, is 1,000% similar. I think the way that they approach it. How serios they take it. The passion for it. The sacrifices that they both make."

McDaniel and Shanahan had kinds words for each other this week.

McDaniel said he's "grateful" and "indebted" to Shanahan.

"He knew more than anybody that I’d been around about football," McDaniel said, adding, "He’s always been one of the best, if not the best, offensive coaches and head coaches that I’ve ever had experience being around."

Shanahan suggested McDaniel was motivated, organized and intelligent as a youngster.

"He was our computer," Shanahan said, "Like, 'What did I say on this last year at this time?' and Mike could always retain that stuff and was really good at it."

Shanahan said that while McDaniel was a very good position coach, he felt McDaniel's strength was actually in navigating the larger picture.

Shanahan has seen other former coaching colleagues, like Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur and Robert Saleh, go onto head coaching success.

Each coach has their own approach and personality.

"They're very different," Mostert said of McDaniel and Shanahan. "You know, Kyle is more hard-nosed, whereas, you know, Mikey is a little bit easier, I would say, and, you know, that's just what it is. You know, he's more of a laid-back guy. He's like me, just lay back and chill."

Shanahan said this week he wasn't sure exactly how McDaniel's quirky and intellectual sense of humor would play as a head coach.

“I don't know," Shanahan said. "You'd have to ask that with their owner (Stephen Ross) because each lemonade stand is different."

So far, so great.

Joe Schad is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and 49ers coach Shanahan go way back