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The Miami Dolphins once again couldn’t play in cold weather. And they got a warm blast of hot air from Troy Aikman. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel responded to Aikman’s brutal and thorough Monday Night Football criticism, according to a post on X by David Furones.
“Ultimately, I knew, based on the amount of possessions we needed, that we were going to have to convert at least one onside kick,” McDaniel said. “So, the major focus to me was getting the ball in the end zone. So, if the possessions don’t time out, and basically you know you’re going to have to onside it, with a three-score differential, that was kind of my focus, which was trying to get the ball in the end zone.”
OK, make of that what you will.
It started as a terrible season, with the Dolphins losing seven of their first nine games. McDaniel’s time with the franchise seemed to be ending.
However, the Dolphins won four straight and still had a chance at the playoffs. But the cold weather bit them again in a 28-15 loss to the Steelers.
In the game, the Dolphins fell way behind but didn’t meet Aikman’s standard for urgency late in the game.
“This is just a bizarre last few series,” Aikman said. “They don’t go hurry-up. Now they’re going hurry-up and calling timeouts. It’s just, it’s hard to understand exactly what the philosophy or what they’re trying to do.”
It wasn’t an easy loss for McDaniel to take, according to NBC Sports.
“I’m supremely disappointed at the outcome,” McDaniel said. “Flat out, their team was better than our team.
“Everybody has to do better. You have to coach better. Passing, a lot of times, people squarely put all the focus on the quarterback. Several times tonight, he was about to make the right read, and we had our [receiver] fall over. It’s been a multitude of things. It has to be better for us to be able to win games when you’re not owning time of possession or controlling the game on the ground. That limits you a ton. So it’s not up to standard.”
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