03 May 2023 , 17:20
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Miami Dolphins ' Mike McDaniel might be one of the more exciting young head coaches in the league but he is not afraid to admit when he might have a mistake.
Seen as one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL, McDaniel had been a long-time assistant under San Francisco 49ers head Kyle Shanahan - being a key coaching figure in a number of the league's best offenses.
In his first year as head coach of the Dolphins, he lead the team from having the 25th highest scoring from the previous year, to finishing as the sixth in 2022 - with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa having the best year of his career to date under his coaching.
The Dolphins went on to finish with a solid 9-8 record to make the play-offs, where they fell to the Buffalo Bills while having to start rookie Skylar Thompson at quarterback.
McDaniel would have every right to feel satisfied from the work and improvements that the team had made last season. However, he has admitted that he made a crucial error throughout the campaign.
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Coming from the Shanahan coaching tree, McDaniel has been an instrumental part of offenses who had predicated their style on being run-heavy - with the team being built to run the ball effectively with lightning quick running backs.
However, they finished the season having the second-fewest attempts in the league - with McDaniel personally apologising to his running back Raheem Mostert, who told NFL.com: "I had a talk with him during the exit interviews at the end of the season.
"One thing that he was very apologetic about was the fact that we didn't run enough and that he was going to do his best to change that for the upcoming year. When he talks like that it just gets me fired up even more."
Dolphins head coach McDaniel personally apologised to Raheem MostertMostert had a solid season last year, with 891 yards, averaging an impressing 4.9 yards per carry - while splitting time with Jeff Wilson (both running backs were teammates under McDaniel with the Niners).
Given the style of offense, it was a surprise to see the Dolphins choose to run the ball less frequently as they did. However, McDaniel's comments to Mostert as well as his draft choices show a need to get back to doing just that - selecting running back Devon Achane in the third round.
Achane had been seen as one of the more explosive runners in the draft, and will likely be in rotation with both Mostert and Wilson heading into the season. The decision to run the ball will also aid quarterback Tagovailoa - who have to drop back as a passer less than what he did last season, leading to two scary concussions.