Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel grew up in Colorado in a single-parent home and calls his mom, “pretty much the foundation of my entire human existence.”
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Donna entered Mike into dance at age 5 because she knew it would require a commitment to practice; he couldn’t just show up and excel. Minutes before a Christmas recital, Donna told a nervous Mike to not focus on the audience, but only on her as if she was the only person attending. It worked. What McDaniel did like in his pre-teens was visiting the card shop in Greeley. “He’s been obsessed with football from the get go,” Donna said, and that included player cards. At the shop, when Mike would arrive, an employee would take a step-stool from the back and place it in front of the display counter so Mike could pick out his cards.“I believe in bribery for children,” she said with a laugh.
By that point, the McDaniels had moved to Aurora. Mike met Broncos assistant video coordinator Gary McCune after a training camp practice in which Mike lost his Charlotte Hornets hat. McCune bought him a new hat and invited his family to practice. McCune and Donna would marry and Mike was exposed to the NFL as a ball boy while attending Smoky Hill High School.
McDaniel was a stay-until-any-hour, do-any-task employee. Coaches would see him as they were leaving late at night … and when they returned the next morning, not completely sure if he had gone home.McDaniel cites Calhoun and quarterbacks coach Pat McPherson as significant early-career influences. They answered every question. They gave him projects. They fed his inquisitive nature. And they coaxed him into a jogging club for assistant coaches before games.
McDaniel made a positive impression on offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, who brought him to the Houston Texans in 2006 as a coaching assistant. Calhoun was the Texans’ offensive coordinator in ’06 and McDaniel sat next to him in the coaches’ box. It was in Houston that McDaniel first worked with Kyle Shanahan, who was the NFL’s youngest position coach and, in ’08, the youngest offensive coordinator.
McDaniel returned to the NFL with Washington in 2011, starting 11 consecutive seasons working with Kyle. McDaniel was an offensive assistant for two years and was promoted to receivers coach. “I remember saying to him, ‘Just watch: One day, you and Kyle will be coaching against each other in a Super Bowl,’” Donna said. “Wouldn’t that be something?”McDaniel calls Donna, “Pretty much the foundation of my entire human existence.”
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