Report: Mike McDaniel has had ‘a lot of motivated, passionate meetings’ with players ahead of season’s final stretch

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and the team reportedly have held “motivated” and “passionate” meetings as they continue to chase a playoff spot in the AFC over the final weeks of the 2024 regular season.

“McDaniel revealed ‘there has been a lot of motivated, passionate meetings’ with players, ‘whether it has been led by myself, Frank Smith, Anthony Weaver or by players,’” the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson wrote.

“He said he told players that ‘it’s not always a bad thing when people say they can’t do stuff’ and cited the fact he was 4-foot-10 in seventh grade ‘and there were a lot of people who said I couldn’t’ do something.”

The Dolphins currently have a 14 percent chance to make the playoffs after their Week 14 win over the New York Jets, according to NFL.com, as they still remain two games behind the No. 7-seeded Denver Broncos.

Denver was on a bye in Week 14. The Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens – the No. 7, No. 6 and No. 5 seeds in the AFC right now – are all 8-5 through their first 13 games of the season.

Miami (6-7) picked up a massive comeback win in overtime against the Jets in Week 14. Miami trailed 23-15 and 26-23 in the fourth quarter on Sunday, but it scored a touchdown – and a two-point conversion – to tie the game at 23 before kicking a field goal late in regulation to tie the game at 26 and force overtime.

In overtime, the Dolphins ended up getting the ball first, and they went right down the field, scoring a game-winning touchdown on a Tua Tagovailoa pass to Jonnu Smith.

It seems like McDaniel and the Dolphins believe that they can still make the playoffs this season, but they’ll need to finish strong over their last four games. Miami plays the Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and Jets over the next four weeks.

Miami made the playoffs in the 2022 season and the 2023 campaign, McDaniel’s first two as the team’s head coach. However, this season has been an uphill battle with Tagovailoa missing four games due to a concussion earlier in the year. The Dolphins went just 1-3 in the four games without their starting quarterback.

For now, the Dolphins can only focus on winning each week and hope that teams ahead of them stumble in their final games of the 2024 campaign.