New Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel quickly ascended to his first NFL head coaching job. And Peter King wrote in Football Morning in America that McDaniel owes some of that success to the leap made by Deebo Samuel.
“The story of the new Miami Dolphins coach is actually a story about Deebo Samuel,” King wrote. “How McDaniel, the 5-9, 165-pound former Yale wide receiver, climbed the ladder from unpaid coaching staff intern/gopher in Denver in 2005 to the exclusive 32-coach fraternity is instructive. In fact, it says everything about McDaniel, who looks far more like a Geico account executive than one of 32 NFL leaders of men.”
McDaniel took the story from there.
“So,” McDaniel began, “Deebo. we [the 49ers coaching staff] had him on our team at the Senior Bowl the January before we got to the Super Bowl. We had a saying: From Mobile to Miami, because the Super Bowl was in Miami that year, with our players. And we actually did it. He started calling me his favorite coach then. I don’t really know why. We were always close and whatever.
“This past season, I had a talk with him in the offseason. I was meeting with Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo at 6 am every day during training camp because we needed them to step up. I asked Deebo, ‘Are you the best player on the offense?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘The time is now. Do you really want to be great? Greatness is hard. That’s why it’s great. It’s not easy. It’s a burden, really.'”
Samuel fared well with that burden, putting up a career year and turning into one of the NFL’s most dangerous all-purpose threats. He caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns, all of which would have been enough for a terrific season, except that he also added 59 carries for 365 yards (6.2 yards per rush) and eight scores on the ground.
McDaniel said on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz that he hopes to tap into similar potential in Dolphins wideout and former Alabama star Jaylen Waddle.
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“Waddle!” McDaniel said, when asked which player other than quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that he could get the most out of. “I just talked with him on Monday, and I think he understands his leadership role on this team. He’s a phenomenal talent, and guess what, the best and easiest way to get yards is give it to a really talented player. The 49ers, the last four or five years, have led the league in YAC. The reason is because we were addicted to getting our skill position players that are good with running the ball the ball. So yes, I would start him in fantasy. Beyond that, I think you should see some jumps in the Miami Dolphins’ offense next year. What those look like will be determined this offseason and the way the players work and attack things moving forward.”
