Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel hammering home 24-year playoff-win drought: 'You get what you emphasize'

Walking away from the bitter-cold sting of an AFC Wild Card loss last season to the Kansas City Chiefs, Mike McDaniel and the Miami Dolphins extended a dubious run of postseason futility for the franchise.

The Dolphins have not won a playoff game since the first season of this century.

McDaniel is emphasizing the history to any coaches or players who may not realize that Miami has spent 24 long and fruitless years without a postseason result to celebrate.

“Your emphasis drives your results,” McDaniel explained on Thursday, as per the team’s transcript. “So, why not make a conscious effort to emphasize completion in everything we do? Make it an obsession. Why not, for half of the off-season, experiment with scheduling staff meetings at different hours of the day? I arranged each meeting to start at 7:24, 3:24 or 5:24 – the number 24. It may seem insignificant to you, but that number represents the years it’s been since the organization last won a playoff game. This is a fact that will be inevitably brought up during the playoff season, don’t you think? In my view, by doing this, we are preparing our team for what lies ahead. It’s about understanding and facing the challenge head-on, not avoiding it.”

Arriving in Miami before the 2022 season, McDaniel has made a significant contribution to the offense, accumulating yards and points which helped the Dolphins make consecutive trips to the playoffs. Their 2022 playoff berth ended a five-year streak of not making the playoffs. However, their recent record shows opening-round losses in the last two seasons, and in their last five overall playoff appearances. This highlights a struggle not only to reach the postseason, but also a complete lack of success once they have secured their place.

With a starry roster that includes talents such as Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey and many more, there’s no guessing on what the onus is. Getting back to the playoffs isn’t enough, it’s time to make a run.

McDaniel is not avoiding that reality.

As the 2024 season approaches, he is set to remind his team that it’s time to break another streak of failure. He understands that the media and fans will bring this up anyway, so he might as well be the first to address it.

“Narratives are shaped by the past and future speculations,” said McDaniel. “Therefore, I believe it’s crucial to anticipate these narratives, especially for the players who will experience it first-hand, and embrace them. It’s amusing when people say, ‘Now you’re under pressure,’ in this industry. Are you oblivious to your surroundings? It’s either you perform now or face the consequences. This is similar to saying, ‘Things have occurred.’ The last two seasons ended in a certain manner, and 30 to 40 percent of the team participated in that. The remaining part of the team did not. However, what can we learn from this and how can we adapt our current strategies to hedge our future bets? Whether it’s a single game or improving our end-of-season performance, every little thing counts.”

The Dolphins, often criticized for underperforming in important games, had an impressive 11-6 record in 2023 – their best since 2008 – before they lost to the Chiefs with a score of 26-7. The previous season, they had been knocked out in a close 34-31 match against their rivals, the Buffalo Bills, in similar chilly, away conditions.

McDaniel won’t wait for another chilly December to bring up the topic. He’s addressing it this spring.

“Let’s face it head on and work towards achieving something collectively,” said McDaniel. “I bring this up knowing well that irrespective of how much I advise people to ignore it, it’s impossible not to hear the impending noise. There’s always going to be some disturbance. Regardless, let’s confront it and go about our duties with a conscious and deliberate effort today that can be beneficial in the future.”

Naturally, the Fins’ playoff struggles stretch back long before McDaniel arrived in South Beach.

Dave Wannstedt was the head coach of the Dolphins during their last playoff game victory and he also initiated the unsuccessful postseason run.

The 2001 Dolphins team under Wannstedt only lasted a season. The same was true for Tony Sparano’s 2008 Dolphins and Adam Gase’s 2016 team. Now, it’s the same story for McDaniel’s first two teams.

Despite the franchise being troubled by this issue for a long time, McDaniel is not avoiding individual emphasis as he enters his third year.

“When I was hired, I clearly stated in my first team meeting that I had 22 years of experience,” said McDaniel. “You don’t hire someone for mediocre performance or failure, but for victory. I understand that this is our goal, and that hasn’t changed. I don’t feel any additional pressure because the job itself is challenging enough.”

I don’t require anything else – there’s nothing more to it. You’ve been hired for a purpose which you understand, and you’re contributing to, facilitating, and being integral to a team that aims to overcome the failures of the past 22 or 24 seasons. I was fully aware of what this job entailed when I signed up for it.