In the NFL, players-only meetings usually happen after a tough Week 12 loss when a team with playoff aspirations suddenly sees their season in jeopardy. Or, something like that.
Well, that panic move came for the Miami Dolphins following a terrible Week 1 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Following the 33-8 shellacking that was worse than the score indicated, the Dolphins held a players-only meeting.
“Just staying locked in,” Dolphins’ linebacker Jordyn Brooks said of the meeting. “Losing the way we did Week 1, it can be discouraging. Outside noise. People talking. Fans talking. Family talking. … Just kind of making sure that everybody’s together.”
Brooks’ explanation is perfectly understandable. It’s just really odd that this Dolphins team that swore there was a culture change this offseason, had to hold a meeting like this.
Would this be connected to Miami Dolphins’ players not respecting the head coach?
Does this all have to do with leadership and the players thoughts on those running the show (you know who I’m talking about)?
This week, former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan was very critical of head coach Mike McDaniel. Specifically, he said the team plays with no heart for him because they don’t respect him.
“What the hell’s he talking about? You know, maybe he’s on a different level, McGenius Guy, whatever the hell he is. Nerd boy,” Ryan said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Monday. “But anyway, their team has no respect for their coach. They play like that. They’re soft, I’m with you on that. Every part of their football team. They have tons of talent on this team. They don’t play with any passion.”
This comes not long after the Dolphins traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey went to the Pittsburgh Steelers in strongly intimated that the players in Miami don’t think highly of McDaniel.
“I do appreciate the Dolphins and them working with me,” Ramsey said. “Not just, ‘hey, this team called and, you know, we’re going to send you here.’ … Let’s go to a team that’s going to be able to compete. Let’s go to a team where there’s a lot of respect for the head coach.”
McDaniel probably knows he’s on the hot seat with the Miami Dolphins
Following the opening-week debacle, McDaniel said there was humble pie served in the visitor’s locker room in Indianapolis.
“Guys let the bells and whistles of Week 1 get the best of them, and they got dealt some strong humility,” McDaniel said after the game. “We’re a young team going through some growing pains. That’s what the NFL is and what the NFL does — it teaches you some hard lessons sometimes.”
Ok, Mike, but you’re kind of ultimately responsible for a lot of that. You may not have put the roster together (you can thank general manager Chris Grier for that mess), but you’re in charge of getting everyone on the same page and pulling in the right direction.
“I don’t see this job void of pressure,” McDaniel said. “I don’t see entitlement in this job, but I think the most important thing is that I worry about doing my job. I think that’s what the team will get from me, for sure.”
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