Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is certainly not short on words. He’s quickly become one of the more, if not the most, characteristic head coaches in the NFL and definitely has a way with words and stories.
McDaniel shared a story regarding his history with Jets head coach Robert Saleh this week, a history that goes back to 2006, when both were on Gary Kubiak’s staff with the Houston Texans (Saleh was a defensive quality control coach, McDaniel was an offensive assistant.
McDaniel has this to say about Saleh:
“Well, he was a squatter when he first got the job in Houston, which was hilarious. So I came with Gary Kubiak and Troy Calhoun, really, from the Broncos. In Houston, what was then Reliant Stadium, we had an office that there was one guy in there when I got there, and it was Robert Saleh, and he hadn’t been terminated. He was, I think, working with Dom Capers before. He hadn’t been terminated, I think he had like two more weeks of pay or something.
So he did an excellent job of just forcing his hand and getting face time with the head coach. He sat in there all week. I think I got there on a Tuesday, and he just sat across from me in this awkward room like, ‘Hey, dude, do you got a job?’ ‘No, not really. I’m trying to see Gary Kubiak,’ and he just waited there until I think like Friday, barged in and told him, ‘Hey, I’d really want to work for you.’
There were a lot of those stopgaps at the beginning of Robert Saleh’s career. Always a sponge. Always unbelievably smart. He would always blow my mind because we’d have a problem with our printer, we’re trying to print Visio or Excel or something, and he wouldn’t call IT. He would just open up this manual and figure out how to figure this stuff out. So he’s always (been) super smart, but had some hiccups in his career, which I really, really respect because he just really stayed true to himself (and) kept pressing.
Finally, (he) was a little more fortunate when he was with Seattle as an assistant there. But he’s never been given anything, just like he wasn’t given the job with Gary Kubiak in 2006. I think when he went to San Francisco in 2017, it was under the impression he would be the linebackers coach, and then he asked to interview for the defensive coordinator spot.
Long story short, he hasn’t been given anything, and every time he has been given an (opportunity), he’s taken advantage of it. I’m very, very close with him as a human being. I really respect him as a man. But from a professional standpoint, he’s lived the whole mantra of, ‘You don’t define me, I define me.’ He’s pushed through and really (is) one of the better defensive coaches and head coaches I’ve ever been around.”
Sunday will absolutely be a test for Saleh’s defense against wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, though the Dolphins will obviously be without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on Sunday after his injuries suffered over the past two games. It should be an interesting battle between Saleh and McDaniel in New York.