Give Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel credit score for not making Sunday’s recreation in opposition to San Francisco about him and his good friend, Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers head coach, in any approach. Sometimes that’s a positive line to stroll.
McDaniel repeatedly insists this week’s recreation is about two of the NFL’s hottest groups — the Dolphins (8-3), who’re driving a five-game profitable streak, and the 49ers (7-4), who’re driving a four-game profitable streak.
This recreation, McDaniel says, is just not about him and Shanahan.
And McDaniel, in what’s develop into typical style, has chosen to deal with the state of affairs along with his trademark dry humorousness.
“I will not be undertaking any Oklahoma drills … this week on the field with him,” McDaniel mentioned about Shanahan.
Compare how McDaniel has dealt with issues to how Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles dealt with a query a couple of teaching matchup with Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin earlier this season. Bowles’ response blew up into nationwide headlines when he was requested about dealing with a fellow Black head coach.
Bowles mentioned he didn’t assume it was a giant deal.
“We don’t look at what color we are when we coach against each other,” Bowles mentioned. “We just know each other.”
Bowles later added, “I think the minute you guys stop making a big deal about it, everybody else will as well.”
Boom. National headlines.
McDaniel received’t journey that street.
Clearly, one of many large storylines this week is McDaniel’s relationship with Shanahan.
McDaniel was Shanahan’s run-game coordinator after which offensive coordinator in San Francisco for the earlier 5 seasons. McDaniel has recognized Kyle, and his father, Mike, since 2005, when McDaniel was an intern for Mike when Mike was head coach in Denver.
McDaniel and Kyle Shanahan started working collectively in 2006 in Houston. It was certainly one of 5 stops collectively — Houston, Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta, and San Francisco.
McDaniel has mentioned he received’t be trying on the coach on the opposite sideline, and that’s normally the case in these highly-publicized teaching matchups. Coaches don’t take note of the opposite coach.
“It’s a tough test,” McDaniel mentioned of the 49ers, “and that’s the bigger deal.”
He’s proper. And that’s one of many stuff you like concerning the 39-year-old McDaniel. Even amid his whiz child offense, his rejuvenation work with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and having the Dolphins sitting in first place within the AFC East, McDaniel opts to maintain the concentrate on his gamers, not himself and never the teaching matchup.
There have been a ton of those high-profile teaching matchups by the years for a wide range of causes.
Indianapolis’ Tony Dungy and Chicago’s Lovie Smith grew to become the primary Black coaches to oppose one another in a Super Bowl when their groups performed in Super Bowl XLI in Miami.
Last season, Pittsburgh’s Tomlin and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott confronted one another within the opener. The two had been as soon as teammates at William & Mary. Tomlin’s Steelers received, 23-16, giving Tomlin a 1-2 report in opposition to McDermott.
Also final season, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay confronted his good good friend, Green Bay coach Matt LeFleur. The Packers received, 36-28. The Packers additionally defeated the Rams within the 2020 playoffs, 32-18.
New England’s Bill Belichick has confronted a number of assistant coaches by the years and has normally dealt with the state of affairs appropriately, that means it didn’t blow up into one thing that overshadowed the sport.
Likewise, Kyle Shanahan, when requested about McDaniel on Monday, stored the concentrate on the crew, not the person or their relationship.
“He’s doing what he always does, moving guys around well, using his personnel very good,” Shanahan mentioned.
“The quarterback seems to be playing at a very high-level. Their receivers are as scary as it gets and I know just from seeing some of the crossover of that defense and things like that over the years, how active they are, how aggressive they are in their blitzes, how aggressive they are in their coverage. And, to me, it’s not a coincidence why that team’s playing so well.”
So there you go. Two males who know one another very nicely, and face one another Sunday, might have made headlines, however they’ve opted to make the sport about their groups, not themselves.
“The bigger thing is that we’ve been progressing week by week,” McDaniel mentioned, “and within the NFL if you happen to’re aspiring to do large issues, it’s a must to play big-time soccer in December and January in opposition to big-time groups.
“That’s something that I think our team will be excited for, and I know the 49ers will be excited to play football like they always are each and every week.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com