Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel Has Comical Response To Dalvin Cook Rumors

Mike McDaniel is one of the more eccentric personalities in the NFL, and fans got a reminder of that Thursday.

The 40-year-old Miami Dolphins head coach doesn’t always take things too seriously. He sent a message about the Buffalo weather through a shirt heading into his team’s matchup against the Bills. And he was accused of vaping on the sideline, an idea that didn’t seem that crazy to fans.

You never know what you’re going to get with a McDaniel news conference, and the spotlight was on the Dolphins on Thursday. The Minnesota Vikings informed Dalvin Cook the team planned to release him, and the Denver Broncos and Dolphins are expected to interested in the running back, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Cook would be a great fit in McDaniel’s outside-zone run scheme and would be another weapon in a high-powered offense that already has Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Miami was linked to Cook around the 2023 NFL Draft, which McDaniel seemed to be aware of.

“March 3, 1983. The day I was born,” McDaniel told reporters, per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “Now, we take a closer look at that date and that in fact was not yesterday. People that are rumored to be tall, short … you’re not gonna get this guy. I’m here, too. What I am excited about is talking about the most important thing, which is the third day of veteran minicamp, and we’ve got a lot of guys that are good players that have an opportunity to get better. Does that answer your question? Unless you’re trying to run me out of town.”

This largely was a non-answer from McDaniel, but at the same time, the Dolphins head coach understood Cook is not officially a free agent, and there might be tampering charges if he were to talk about the 27-year-old running back. Miami lost a draft pick due to past tampering charges with Tom Brady and Sean Payton, so it likely doesn’t want to deal with that again.

The New England Patriots reportedly want to add a “blue-chip back,” and while Rhamondre Stevenson is penciled in as the starter, the team’s reported interest in DeAndre Hopkins likely signals they aren’t afraid to add more talent to a roster that needs it to compete in the AFC East.

Miami knows it needs as much fire power as it can get to compete, too. After all, McDaniel wasn’t born yesterday.