Mike McDaniel Throws His Hat In The Ring For Dumbest Call Of The Year
The Dolphins won this game IN SPITE of their head coach.
I want to pose for you, my dear readers, a hypothetical scenario.
Let's say you're coaching a football game, and it's all tied at 13 with less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Your do-it-all running back just got stuffed on 3rd and goal, and your opponent is out of timeouts and playing with a backup quarterback.
You are hanging out at the 1-yard line with a chance to kick a field goal and take a lead.
I'm sure most of you would take the points in this situation (unless you're an analytics nerd, but we will discuss that in a bit).
Embattled Miami Dolphins coach, Mike McDaniel, thought he was too good to "take the points," and decided to go full send for the lead.
It didn't exactly go according to plan, and he (rightly) got roasted into oblivion for his decision-making.
Let him have it, people!
Okay, let's address the nerdy elephant in the room: analytics says to go for it there.
But sometimes, you really have to just go by the feel of the game.
There was no chance the Commanders were going to march down the field in any capacity after struggling to do so all game.
Take the points and let your defense get one more stop to win the ball game.
To be fair, the Dolphins still won the game, but only thanks to a missed 56-yard field goal at the end of regulation from Washington and an absolutely back-breaking interception by previously mentioned backup QB, Marcus Mariotta.
Miami essentially won this game in spite of their head coach. A head coach, mind you, who doesn't exactly have the best reputation for in-game coaching decisions during his tenure in Dade County.
If this was an isolated incident, I'd chalk it up to maybe relying too heavily on the analytics sheet.
But McDaniel has a propensity to shoot himself in the foot with a high-powered rifle, so I can't let this slide.
It's just the latest in a long list of reasons why the Dolphins should have probably cut ties with their coach weeks ago.
It's hard to fire a coach after a win (though not impossible), but part of me wishes Miami would tell McDaniel to enjoy another week or two in Spain while they cleaned out his office back home.
But, hey, we will always have that postgame troll of the Bills to remember him by.
It's the little things in life, folks.