Coach of the year

McDaniel has to be nominated for what he's doing as the Dolphins head coach. This team believes in itself for the first time in I can't remember how long. So glad the cancer Flores is out of Miami!

Flores represents that "I'm a perpetual victim despite everyone bowing and kowtowing to me my whole life, look at how oppressed I am, REEEEEE!" mentality.

McDaniel on the other hand brings that gigachad sigma male energy. It's crazy, because looking at those two you'd swear it would be the other way around.

Of course the mediots (and a lot of DolFans sadly) won't ever admit how foolish, stupid and wrong they were for yammering about how the Flores firing was the worst mistake by anybody in the history of humankind. But fuck 'em, the real ones know Oh yes, we know...

McDaniel is a godsend. The team believes.

Flores was really, really good on one side of the ball, and really really hopeless on the other. But his lack of people skills was ultimately the biggest thing that did him in.

Gase was lousy in all three areas, including the area of his supposed expertise.

Mr. Magoo was just never meant to be a head coach. Todd Bowles would have been the best of the bad choices that time around. Hell, even Jeff Fisher would have been better than Philbin.

Sparano: by default, the best Fins HC of the 2000-2021 period.

Cameron: Makes even Mr. Magoo look better.

Saban: Seriously, quit at the first sign of adversity. Talented game day coach, but that first sentence disqualifies him.

Wanny: 'nuff said. Flores without the desire to completely destroy the organization on his way out and less of a victim mentality (he wasn't entirely without one though). Then again, he had already destroyed the organization while he was here, so what was left to take down on his way out....

Jimmah: He too turned out to be pretty bad on the offensive side of the ball. Most talented defensive mind we've ever seen in Miami though. I don't think Arnsparger was as good.

McDaniel has a chance to show us he's a complete coach, which would be our first since Shula. Please let it turn out to be true.

HalCHorn wrote:Jimmah: He too turned out to be pretty bad on the offensive side of the ball.  Most talented defensive mind we've ever seen in Miami though.  I don't think Arnsparger was as good.

You had me until this. I don't recall Arnsparger's D choking away so many late leads. Then again if JJ was so COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY INEPT at adding offensive talent then maybe the Fins would've been ahead by more than 3-7 points more often. And his mission to sabotage Marino puts anything Flores did against Tua to shame!

McDaniel has a chance to show us he's a complete coach, which would be our first since Shula.  Please let it turn out to be true.

As I suspected, the Fins D has been hemorrhaging yards with an offense-oriented head coach and the same suspect DC as last season. The one thing 've seen from McDaniel (whose offense has really only one good game out of 3 so far) is the ability to adjust in-game and to lead, which somehow no other Fins coach this century's really been able to do or at least do well.

Even I, the Potentate Of Pessimism, think this team will now at least reach the playoffs. The last two seasons they were a game away even WITH Flores, who just keeps looking worse as time goes by.

Jimmy as a defensive guru deserves his props. He identified terrific talent on that side of the ball in both NFL stops, and didn't miss a beat after losing Wanny in Dallas (first clue that the guy wasn't all that great a coach) and did just fine with George Hill here.

But he was no Shula as far as being a complete coach who could adapt to any personnel.

McDaniel plays to win. One could second guess his decision to throw on 3rd down with the Bills out of timeouts with 1:33 left, but I applaud it. He again gave his QB a chance to win the game right there. It didn't work this time, since we had to punt it back, but I applaud letting your QB try to win the game. Hell, I think Shula is the last coach who would do THAT, even JJ tried to take the ball out of Marino's hands all the time.

I would actually call this a good offensive game for the Dolphins. The passing game was great (and would have been better if Ingold hadn't dropped the perfect deep ball from Tua down the sideline) and the run game was effective if not pretty. The problem was, they just couldn't get into a groove because they were on the sideline forever. There were two Buffalo drives where the Dolphins offense was on the sideline for 20+ minutes in real time...one time was almost 30 minutes! Really hard to generate offense like that - but Tua managed to lead the team to 3 TDs anyway.

As for Jimmy's defenses: they would have been much better if they got anything at all from the offense.

HalCHorn wrote:

McDaniel plays to win.  One could second guess his decision to throw on 3rd down with the Bills out of timeouts with 1:33 left, but I applaud it. He again gave his QB a chance to win the game right there.  It didn't work this time, since we had to punt it back, but I applaud letting your QB try to win the game.  Hell, I think Shula is the last coach who would do THAT, even JJ tried to take the ball out of Marino's hands all the time.

Yep, and how about that playcall on 3rd and 22??? WOW!! He trusts his players to make big plays at crucial moments.

JMP wrote:I would actually call this a good offensive game for the Dolphins.  The passing game was great (and would have been better if Ingold hadn't dropped the perfect deep ball from Tua down the sideline) and the run game was effective if not pretty.  The problem was, they just couldn't get into a groove because they were on the sideline forever.  There were two Buffalo drives where the Dolphins offense was on the sideline for 20+ minutes in real time...one time was almost 30 minutes!  Really hard to generate offense like that - but Tua managed to lead the team to 3 TDs anyway.

As for Jimmy's defenses: they would have been much better if they got anything at all from the offense.  

Remember the infamous '09 Colts game, when the Fins had the ball for *over* 45 minutes and somehow lost anyway? I remember it for the debut of Degarmo as well.

FINALLY a Fins' opponent had it happen to them. I'd like to believe Degarmo's soul had a little something to do with it, so I will

Oh yeah, I remember that game. Wish I didn't!

I know Degarmo has a big smile on his face right now.