The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets were part of a lackluster Black Friday game. In the fourth quarter, the game was well decided, with the Dolphins up 27-6 at this point. That is when Amazon play-by-play announcer Al Michaels decided to pull a rabbit out of his hat.
Because the game was relatively boring at this point, he needed a hook to keep the audience interested. Well, he delivered and then some with a story involving Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. Read below to find out what the story was.
The Mike McDaniel Story
Mike McDaniel had a long road in the coaching world before he ended up being the head coach of an NFL team. Back in 2009-10, he was a running backs coach in the United Football League. During the season, players and coaches of McDaniel’s team went out celebrating after a big victory.
While the team was out, McDaniel apparently saw one of his running backs dancing with a woman. He then called the running back over and told the running back that if he continued to dance with the woman, he would not be on the team next year. Sure enough, the running back left. However, you will not believe what happened next.
Mike McDaniel himself apparently went to dance with the woman. If that was not enough, he would go on to marry this woman in 2014. That woman ended up being Katie Hemstalk, who has been McDaniel’s wife for nine years.
McDaniel’s Rise With the Miami Dolphins
Mike McDaniel has only been the head coach of the Miami Dolphins for two years. However, back when he met his wife, he was going through a difficult time in his life. There was a reason why he ended up in the UFL.
That is because he got fired from his coaching job with the Houston Texans in 2008. At the time, McDaniel had a problem with alcohol abuse. It causes him to be late for several meetings. At the time, McDaniel wondered if he would ever coach in the NFL again.
While meeting his now wife helped, it was not enough to overcome his alcohol addiction alone. McDaniel decided to get sober in 2016. He has not had a drink in nearly eight years. Now, he is seeing all of his hard work pay off, leading the Miami Dolphins to an 8-3 record this season with Super Bowl aspirations.
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