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Mike McDaniel tells amusing story about how he found out the Miami Dolphins were hiring him

Mike McDaniel Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins are starting a new era, as they recently selected former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel to be their new head coach.

McDaniel recently told an amusing story about how he found out the Dolphins were hiring him.

“It was 2:46 Pacific time,” McDaniel said. “I had just taken a nap. I was playing the waiting game. I was just trying to sleep the time away. Actually, George Kittle woke me up FaceTiming me from the Pro Bowl on the sidelines. So, I was awake. I wasn’t completely asleep and then got the call at 2:46. I’m a big pacer when I get on the phone, so I had the in-laws in town, and they were kind of freaking out, and I FaceTimed my mom and had a pretty special moment there.”

One can only imagine the emotions that McDaniel felt in that situation. It’s surely something that he and his family will remember for years to come.

Kittle has long been a staunch supporter of McDaniel, so it makes sense that he’s somehow involved in this story.

The 38-year-old McDaniel has spent lots of time around the NFL, having worked for teams like the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns among others. He had been with the 49ers since 2017 before being hired by the Dolphins.

McDaniel is surely hoping to lead the Dolphins back to the postseason, a place they haven’t reached since the 2016 season. Miami came close to making the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, but it wasn’t able to secure postseason berths in either of those campaigns.

Miami moved on from Brian Flores, firing him one day after the completion of the 2021 regular season.

Although he’s only been head coach of the Dolphins for a short period of time, McDaniel has seemingly won over many fans with his personality and unorthodox techniques. He has also shown lots of confidence in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is set to be the Dolphins’ starter once again in the 2022 campaign.

McDaniel and Tagovailoa will need to work well together if the Dolphins want to have any shot at making it to the playoffs.

Only time will tell what ends up happening, but the future certainly looks bright for the Dolphins.