Tag: Mike McDaniels

Giants vs. Dolphins: 6 things to know about Week 5

The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins square off on Sunday afternoon in Week 5, so here are six things fans should know.

The New York Giants (1-3) travel to South Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins (3-1) at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, October 8. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on FOX.

Here are six things to know about the Week 5 game.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans looks forward to coaching against Mike McDaniel

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is excited about the prospect of coaching against Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel during joint practices.

HOUSTON — There is nothing like old friends reuniting with one another, catching up on life, and telling stories from the past. Those things will happen between Houston Texans first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans and second-year Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel when they hold joint practices at Houston Methodist Training Center on Wednesday and Thursday before the two teams meet for the second preseason game at NRG Stadium.

The two have had a bond since 2006 when the Texans drafted Ryans out of Alabama in the second round of the NFL Draft, and McDaniel was hired on as an offensive assistant under former head coach Gary Kubiak.

“When I was here and knew McDaniel as a young assistant, he was kind of tied at the hip with coach Kyle Shanahan and just doing anything that was asked of him,” Ryans said after practice on Monday. “I think working hand-in-hand with Coach Kubiak, and Kyle and the offense, I think that’s where he cut his teeth, and that’s where he learned this offense, and he’s done a great job throughout his career.”

Ryans and McDaniel reunited in Santa Clara, California, when they became a part of the San Francisco 49ers staff in 2017. After the 49ers hired Kyle Shanahan as their new head coach, he employed Ryans as the defensive quality control coach and McDaniel as the run game specialist. The two would later become coordinators in 2021 for their respective sides of the ball, marking their final time working together as the Miami Dolphins hired McDaniel during the offseason in 2022 to become their head coach. Ryans would be hired by the Texans one year later.

Saturday will be the first time both men have faced each other as head coaches, but not the first time the two have matched wits on opposite sides of the field. During his first year as head coach for the Dolphins, McDaniel returned to California late in the season to take on his former team, the 49ers. Miami was riding high with a five-game winning streak, and McDaniel’s high-powered offense hit the Ryans-led defense with a 75-yard touchdown pass on the game’s first play.

That would be the only excitement from the Dolphins on that day as San Francisco routed Miami 33-17 to halt the winning streak and give Ryans some bragging rights over his friend.

“It was good going against him last year,” Ryans told the Texans Wire on Monday after practice. “I am pretty sure he was coming into the game thinking he had us. They hit us with a first-play-of-the-game touchdown. He was on the sideline, walking up and down, strutting, and then we had to lay the smackdown on him. It was fun competing with him because I know he is going to give you as many complex looks as possible.”

During the 2023 NFL combine in Indianapolis, McDaniel was asked by the Texans Wire about Ryans being hired by the Texans as their new coach.

“I am just glad that I didn’t have to interview against him,” McDaniel said. “That guy is unlike any other coach I have been around. At every juncture, he has been a first-class and high leveled human being. The bottom line, as a head coach, your job is to make everyone around you better, and at every walk that I have been able to view him from age 22 and on, that is all he has ever done.

“It is very rare that you get such a leader of men that is willing and able to be a coach after having the illustrious career as he did. The best is yet to come for that franchise, and I know he couldn’t be happier being there.”

Ryans did not hesitate to return the sentiments when he was given the quotes about him from McDaniel by the TexansWire.

“It means a lot,” said Ryans. “McDaniel has shown me tremendous respect throughout my playing career, but also as a coach. It is good to see a guy who has been grinding behind the scenes, nobody knowing who he was, but knowing the work he put in and the amount of time he spends perfecting his craft. I am proud of what he has done.”

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Texans’ DeMeco Ryans, Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel proscribe joint practice scuffles

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans and Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel want quality work from their joint practices, not scuffles and distractions.

HOUSTON — The Miami Dolphins cannot make it to town soon enough for their joint practices this week as the Houston Texans players may be fed up with one another in practice.

For the second consecutive day, tempers flared at Houston Texans training camp. On Sunday, linebacker Christian Harris and running back Devin Singletary had a flare-up that caused teammates to rush quickly to the skirmish and break it up. Monday, it was the offensive and defensive units going at it during 11-on-11 team drills. No punches were thrown, but there was a lot of pushing, shoving, and trash talk going on.

Once again, it was the defensive unit, which had taken on the bravado of their head coach DeMeco Ryans that started the commotion when backup safety M.J. Stewart made hard contact with a running back and continued to try and knock the ball loose even after the play was over. During the altercation, an unidentified defensive player leaped from his feet to jump into the pile of teammates.

“There was a little scuffle today, nothing important,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans about the uproar. “It’s football. It’s training camp. It gets a little testy. We’re probably at our wits’ end going against each other, so it will be really good and refreshing to have Miami come in over the next three days.”

The last two days have shown why general manager Nick Caserio vigorously pursued Ryans with the urging from Cal and Hannah McNair. He has brought the renewed energy missing from Texans’ training camp over the last two seasons.

With his former colleague with the San Francisco 49ers, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel heading into town early for the joint practices and second preseason game on Saturday at NRG Stadium, Ryans conversed with McDaniel to ensure the safety of both teams.

“Mike McDaniel and I had a conversation, and both of us view it the same way,” Ryans said about controlling the environment at the joint practices. “We don’t want to turn it into a shoving match; we just want both of our teams to get better at football. So, we want to practice. We don’t want to lose time on guys wasting time on stuff that doesn’t matter about football when it comes to shoving and fighting.

“We don’t want those things, so in our agreement, if anybody throws a punch, just like what happens in a game, we’re going to play within the rules. If you throw a punch in a game, you’re kicked out. It’s the same thing in practice. Now, if anybody’s throwing punches, we have to get them out of practice, but we just want these practices to be productive. That’s what it’s about and we’ll handle it that way.”

The last time the Texans held joint practices was in 2019 when the Detroit Lions visited Kirby Drive ahead of their second preseason game.

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Tua Tagovailoa looks to change the narrative, speaks up for himself

Tua Tagovailoa has heard the noise, and he’s ready to respond

To say [autotag]Tua Tagovailoa[/autotag]’s NFL career has been off to a tumultuous start would be an understatement. From differences with former head coach Brian Flores to recovering from injuries, Tagovailoa hasn’t quite reached his potential.

However, the Dolphins are quickly providing aide by drafting former Alabama teammate [autotag]Jaylen Waddle[/autotag] in the 2021 NFL Draft, and trading for All-pro receiver Tyreek Hill. As well as revamping their entire offensive line which has been among the worst in the league the past two or three seasons.

Tagovailoa has received much criticism online this off-season about his performance, but under this new regime he is firing back. At today’s practice Tagovailoa completed two deep bomb touchdowns to Hill, and the Tua of old seems to be resurfacing.

New head coach Mike McDaniels has been very complementary of Tagovailoa and says to be himself, and he is finding his confidence as a result. Tagovailoa realizes he can’t worry about what the “keyboard warriors” have to say because they aren’t in practice every day.

Tua has been hearing all of the noise, and he is ready to get his revenge.

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Dolphins sign former 49ers WR River Cracraft

He’s done some returning and has played sparingly on offense.

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The Miami Dolphins have made their first signing since the team hired Mike McDaniel as their new head coach.

The team announced Thursday that they’ve signed former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver River Cracraft, who has spent the last two seasons jumping back and forth from the active roster and the practice squad. However, he was waived on January 29 and was never picked back up.

Cracraft went undrafted in 2017 after a decent four-year career at Washington State. He was signed after the draft by the Denver Broncos and was on and off the roster for three seasons. After being waived by the Broncos, he signed with the Eagles practice squad but was never called up.

In his five-year career, the 27-year-old has appeared in 24 games, recording seven receptions for 85 yards. He also did some returning, averaging just 4.7 yards per punt return between Denver and San Francisco.

Cracraft joins his former head coach in Miami and will look for an opportunity to make the roster this summer for a team that has six wide receivers that are set to become free agents.

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