Miami Dolphins extend coach Mike McDaniel through 2028 season, AP source says

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins want Mike McDaniel to be around for a while.

The head coach who was just the third Dolphins coach to make the playoffs in each of his first two seasons at the helm signed a contract Friday that extends him through the 2028 season. His initial contract was going to expire in 2025.

A person familiar with the deal confirmed the news first reported by ESPN, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced.

The Dolphins have gone 20-14 in two seasons under McDaniel, who was hired in 2022 to replace Brian Flores. In the first head coaching job of his nearly two-decades long career, McDaniel led the Dolphins to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2000-01.

McDaniel made a name for himself rather quickly in Miami, whether for his tendency to go viral for his quick wit and quirky idiosyncrasies, or for the rapid offensive success that he’s ushered in on a Dolphins team that had long struggled on that side of the ball.

Creative play calling and an elaborate rushing attack have been McDaniel’s calling cards as he has tweaked and enhanced parts of revered offensive mind Mike Shanahan’s scheme that he learned working with the former coach in Washington.

Under McDaniel, Miami led the league in total offense, passing offense, yards per rush and explosive plays of more than 10 yards in 2023.

He's also had a knack for getting the most out of his players. The biggest success story of his tenure is the turnaround of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The fourth-year pro has repeatedly praised McDaniel for building up the confidence he said he lost playing for Flores.

Tagovailoa's future in Miami was very much in doubt after a tumultous start to his career. But he has had the two best statistical seasons of his career under McDaniel, leading the league in passing yards in 2023 and setting career highs in completion rate and touchdown passes.

After signing a four-year contract extension last month, Tagovailoa said he appreciates McDaniel’s positive coaching style compared to the negativity he endured under Flores.

“To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong doing what you do, that you shouldn’t be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven’t earned this right. ... And then you have somebody else come in and tell you, ‘Dude, you are the best fit for us, you are accurate, you are the best.’ How would it make you feel listening to one or the other?” Tagovailoa said in an interview that aired this month on “The Dan LeBatard Show”.

Tagovailoa said the criticism beat him down to the point that he began to believe it. He was the No. 5 overall draft pick in 2020 and won the starting job but was pulled twice in the fourth quarter of games for Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Yale-educated McDaniel got his coaching start on Shanahan’s staff in Denver in 2005. With his new extension signed, the next big goal for McDaniel is winning a playoff game. Miami has gone 24 years since its last postseason win, which is the longest drought in the NFL.

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Alanis Thames, The Associated Press