Miami Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel should pick captains to avoid Tyreek Hill wearing ‘C’ | Habib
NFL locker rooms are a lot of things. A democracy isn’t one of them. No further evidence is needed than the way these multimillionaire behemoths parrot whatever the head coach sets as the tone for the week, whether it’s “we’re on to Cincinnati” or whatever.
For the first three years of his leadership, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel tried drifting closer toward a democracy than most – a slight departure from the approach Don Shula or Nick Saban could fathom.
Consider this a call for dictatorship, then.
And let’s start with the way the Dolphins choose their captains.
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No more popularity points by players, thank you. This is the coaches’ job. Should have been all along.
And yes, in case you’re trying to read between the lines, this is about Tyreek Hill.
It’s about how the Dolphins can’t take the risk – regardless of how great or small it may be – of letting players place a “C” on his jersey again. It’s the price he must pay for sliding into offseason mode with 15 minutes still on the clock in the Meadowlands, then threatening to bail on his team altogether.
Even if you’re willing to give Hill a pass on this – and management seems to – imagine the optics of having such a player anointed leader. So often, coaches and quarterbacks stress the importance of maintaining an even keel to deal with the adversity every NFL season brings. If that’s not the first quality you look for in team leaders, it has to make the top two.
Does “even keel” fit a player – even one as skilled as Hill – whose immediate reaction to missing the playoffs was to check out?
