The first test of Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s career will arguably be his biggest as he welcomes Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots to Hard Rock Stadium. So how’s he holding up ahead of that big matchup?
Speaking to the media this week, McDaniel had a few laughs about their win disparity before making it clear that he knows how well-prepared Belichick will be for him. He said he looks forward to the matchup and will be on his toes.
“Yeah, I mean, can there be a larger disparity in career win-loss total? It would be a bigger deal, I think, if coach Belichick and I were on the field maybe doing like an Oklahoma drill. But I don’t foresee that happening,” McDaniel said. “I don’t think the fans would really pay for that.
“I know one thing, that coaches in the National Football League, especially experienced NFL head coaches, especially arguably the best coach of all time, Bill Belichick, he’s going to be prepared. So you know that as a head coach, you better prepare your team and leave no stone unturned. Otherwise, you’ll end up kind of coaching with regret after the fact. Luckily, the schedule came out a long time ago, so I digested that and knew what Week One was. And luckily, it’s the Miami Dolphins versus the New England Patriots, not a one-on-one square off between head coaches.”
Few non-playoff teams consistently give Bill Belichick as many headaches as the Miami Dolphins do. The Patriots have lost three straight to the Dolphins and haven’t strung back-to-back wins over them in over five years.
No doubt Mike McDaniel would like to keep it that way. Fortunately, the team he’s built up should have the goods to give the Patriots a good game.
Will McDaniel score his first NFL win as a head coach over Bill Belichick?
The game will be played at 1 p.m. ET and will air on CBS.