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The Miami Dolphins look like a totally different team under head coach Mike McDaniel. He boasts a unique offensive scheme that focuses on speed, which has proved very difficult for opposing NFL defenses to handle. The Dolphins will try an intriguing coaching plan in the team's final preseason game against the Buccaneers.
Mike McDaniel will not handle head coaching duties for the entirety of the team's final preseason game against the Buccaneers, per CBS Miami's Mike Cugno. Instead, Dolphins assistant head coach/tight ends coach Jon Embree will handle head coaching duties during the second half.
The idea is to give Embree some experience via this practice run in case Mike McDaniel were ever to miss a game, for example because of COVID. However, McDaniel will still be involved in calling the offensive plays for the entire game.
Some head coaches give their assistant head coach this opportunity as a form of career advancement. Embree can now gain valuable head coaching experience that could make it easier for him to get a real head coaching gig in the future.
Embree and McDaniel have a shared history that goes back to 2017 when they both coached on the San Francisco 49ers. McDaniel brought Embree along to the Dolphins in 2022 when he was hired as head coach.
Embree is all about tight ends. He played tight end at the University of Colorado and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1987 NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Rams. Embree played for four seasons in the NFL as a tight end before moving on to become a tight ends coach. He has done so at multiple NFL teams, including the Chiefs, Commanders, Browns, Buccaneers, and 49ers before heading to Miami.
The NFL reacts to Tua Tagovailoa's comments about former Dolphins coach Brian Flores
Tua Tagovailoa made NFL headlines this week with his comments about former Dolphins coach Brian Flores.
The below viral clip, from the Dan Le Batard Show, shows Tua talking about the toxic relationship he had with Flores.
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#Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa discusses the difference between having Brian Flores as his head coach vs. having Mike McDaniel.
This is a brutally honest answer from Tua… Positive energy and empowering someone goes a long way.
(🎥 @LeBatardShow)pic.twitter.com/DxUJuyfuxg
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 19, 2024
The comments drew reactions from multiple NFL figures, including Brian Flores himself.
“I just want to say, look, I’m genuinely happy for the success that Tua’s had,” Flores said. “I really wish him nothing but the best.”
In his press conference, Flores claimed that he got into coaching to foster a positive relationship with his players.
“You know, I think player relationships are very important to me,” Flores continued. “I think that’s kind of the foundation of coaching. I got into coaching because I was impacted as a young guy by my high school coach, college coach, all the way back to Pop Warner; I got into coaching because I want to make that same kind of impact, positive impact. Pour into young people, help them to become, as [Kevin O’Connell] says all the time, the best versions of themselves. That’s always my goal with coaching.”
Ultimately, this was an unnecessary media storm that the Dolphins had to deal with.
Tua should be able to speak his mind about his experience in the NFL. However, given how this all played out, it wouldn't be a surprise if he is more careful in future interviews.
