With the firing of Brian Flores, the Miami Dolphins created a buzz. So did the ex-coach later with his accusations of racism. This topic was also on the agenda during the introduction of his successor Mike McDaniel.

Munich – The Miami Dolphins took a long time to find a successor for the surprisingly fired Brian Flores. In the end, the signing of Mike McDaniel almost went down in the face of his predecessor’s accusations of racism against the NFL in general and the Dolphins in particular.

Even during his introduction, the former offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers did not let go of the topic. For he is officially considered a member of a minority.

McDaniel explained the background, not without noting: “It’s very strange that there’s this idea of classifying someone in a certain way. “

Mike McDaniel: “I am a human being “

Further, the 38-year-old said, “I think people classify me in certain ways, but I simply see myself as a human being and my father is black. No matter what you want to call it, there are definitely people with similar experiences.”

For him, he says, it’s all about being a good person. His background also opens his eyes, he says: “I don’t really have any experiences of racism because I’m categorised as someone who doesn’t resemble anyone. I know my mother had those experiences when she got married. And I know my father has had those experiences, it’s part of my family. But that makes me a human being who can better identify with other people’s problems. “

Mike McDaniel takes weight off Tua’s shoulders

Problems of a different kind are facing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who still doesn’t seem to have quite arrived on South Beach after two years in the NFL. Flores is known to have been working on a trade of Deshaun Watson.

So now McDaniel has also been asked about his most important player. “I’m not sitting here worried about how good Tua can become. But more about how we can grow as a unit, because that’s how you win games,” the longtime assistant, who first appeared in the NFL back in 2005, stressed. “I’ve really never seen a quarterback win a game by himself. “

“I want Tua to want to come in every day and work on himself “

Tagovailoa is dependent on his face-offs, on his protectors in the O-line, but also on the defence, which has to prevent scores by the opposition, he said. “But the most important thing regarding Tua for me is that he wants to come in and work on himself every day and that’s what I’m assuming,” McDaniel added.

The same is expected of him, of course. After all, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross fired his predecessor despite two seasons in a row with a positive record. Meanwhile, the club boss, who has recently come under fire for tanking allegations by Flores, revealed that he received unexpected help from the competition in his search for a new head coach.

“I’ve had coaches from his former division call me and tell me how great he is,” the 81-year-old billionaire reported, “and I asked them, ‘Why are you calling me about this?’ They responded, ‘Honestly, we want him out of the division.'” Instead of NFC West, it’s now AFC East for McDaniel.