Earlier this offseason, it was prematurely reported that Vic Fangio had signed on to be the next defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins, but Fangio apparently wanted to take the scenic route on his way to South Florida.
Speaking with Mike Silver on his YouTube show “Open Mike,” Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel discussed his affinity for new defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, before speaking about some of the mystery surrounding the hire.
“I thought the best thing that I could possibly do for the football team would be to have a scenario where we could get the foremost expert in a defensive scheme in house and he would want to be here. So, it was like, under the guise of, alright, well, he wants to be here. I was confident in that. I was confident in the roster that Chris Grier had worked for years to build and I, from all testaments of my understanding of who he was and all the relationships that I’ve had with different people that have conveyed things to me about him, it seemed like it was a perfect fit between him and I and then what the team needed. Once that started as a thought and then I met with him… I was pretty confident that it would work out.”
McDaniel then explained the confusing scenario that unfolded this offseason during Miami’s pursuit of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. McDaniel seemingly took the blame for the premature reporting of Fangio’s hire.
“Vic’s been in the league a long time, so there’s certain things where he has the utmost of liberty, and should, in terms of contract negotiations and all that stuff. For semantics, I could tell, I thought he could tell, the fit was perfect for all parties involved, so it was something that I was very confident in. Since [then], [I can tell] holy cow, was I right.”
Call it willing it into existence, but Mike McDaniel was able to land his “head coach of the defense” in Vic Fangio. McDaniel probably learned to leave the definitives for when the ink is dry on the contract next time, but outside of a few nervous days for Dolphins’ fans on social media, no harm came from the head coach’s early excitement this go around.
For Mike Silver’s full interview with Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, click here.