Read the full transcript from Head Coach Mike McDaniel's press conference on August 14, 2025.
Q: What is the prognosis on LB Chop Robinson?
"He'll practice today."
Q: How much of a relief is that to see after that scare yesterday?
"Any time a player is down, the best-case scenario could possibly be they could participate in practice without risk of further injury. It was a rib hit that we had to make sure we were responsible and didn't have any fractures or anything like that. He's definitely sore, but he'll be practicing today."
Q: Yesterday, QB Tua Tagovailoa expressed frustration, other players did, not up to your standard. What did you see? And what do you expect today?
"It's interesting, Tua (Tagovailoa) said that right after practice, right? We're very process-driven but as competitors, it's impossible not to really, really get annoyed and pissed off when the results aren't what you'd expect. And quite honestly, I didn't like a majority of the results on plays, but for me, I think what players on the team that have been with me have learned, what people learn every single season in the NFL, is you are addressing a challenge of independently addressing your craft with positive or negative feedback. Negative results, positive results. Are you going to take your foot off the gas and start doing less because you've had positive results? Or are you going to assess what your positive results are (and) assess what the negative ones are? And for me, I didn't like practice because there was a lot of negative results tied to things that we've been working on in our process. I'm cool with contested losses; I'm not cool with bust. I'm cool with a DB making a great play; I'm not cool with the receiver running the wrong route, those types of things. Overall, the day was – the environment was what I expected, the tonality and the energy of who we're practicing against was what I expected. We signed up for this because it's invaluable August work for things that we'll continue to have to work on regardless of results in September, but they'll actually count. Based upon their responses, we'll see how valuable yesterday was or how much the lessons weren't learned from certain things. But I'm always careful, I'm glad I don't have press conferences immediately after practices every day because practice, unlike games, you really, really have to lean into what are we working on. If you get distracted by the results, positive or negative, and don't focus on what you do to create the results, you'll end up leaving yourself short-handed at the end of the season."
Q: For the energy to be lacking like, which is what QB Tua Tagovailoa said after practice, does that irk you as a coach when players should be hyped to face an opponent? And how do you combat that?
"Oh yeah, I was irked, but it's layered. There's 90 people and it's an energy of – there's like accumulation of all those people, the collective creates an energy. Is that how they started the day? Are they too focused? Are they letting results dictate their energy? These are all things that fall under the umbrella. You go down the line, take your time and try to assess, figure out what you think it is, and then address it with the players in meetings. The biggest thing is, if you have a team that has the intent and desire and then you go against a team that has very much strong intent and desire, the residuals are actual things for you to get better at. There's a lot of things I ask players to work on and they wouldn't work on it if they were results driven. There's guys in one-on-ones doing techniques against really good players that they've never done before. I would hope you would want me as a coach to tell them to go ahead and work on those, and if you get beat, it has to be purposeful. I don't like when things happen over and over and over, the same thing, and guys know that. So the things that I very much didn't like from yesterday, I showed them and I'm expecting those things to be fixed."
Q: Yesterday, you said WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle would be monitored. Jaylen played more, Tyreek didn't. He stepped on the field for a minute, is there more today for him?
"I think it would be unfair to not, with absolute, just being concrete – if Tyreek (Hill) didn't have to answer to anybody, he would have practiced yesterday, and I fear we might be talking about an injury that's a lot longer term. He wanted to practice, however he had to give honest feedback when asked direct questions to our training staff and myself. In that competitive nature, he was very much at risk for an injury that would keep him out a lot longer than he's been out right now. I'm just happy that our training staff understood the magnitude of further or bigger aggravation of something and was proactive. I think you'll see (Jaylen) Waddle today. I don't think you'll see Tyreek based on that, but 100% is on our training staff and myself because he absolutely wants to practice but trusts us enough to know that we're trying to help him."
Q: When you say longer term, are you saying days, weeks?
"If he would have done more yesterday, we would have been talking something. That's why we didn't, because we thought that was a realistic, not like just a slight chance, a realistic possibility if we'd let him go, so we refrained."
Q: Do you expect LB Jaelan Phillips to practice today?
"Not today."
Q: What's the latest on FB Alec Ingold? Where is he in the concussion protocol?
"He's in the protocol. He's doing well, and I would assume that we'll be back in Miami Gardens before he can go through the full clearing process, but he's doing well."
Q: Just philosophically, what do you think the most important thing is for a coach to do to connect with his players?
"Establish a relationship of trust. Players come from all walks of life. You don't know where they've been necessarily, you don't know their experience. A lot of times, players have scars, just like all people, and you have to earn their trust and relationship and curate that relationship to be able to get them to do things that they otherwise would be uncomfortable with. Generally, with coaching, for it to be purposeful, we have to have instruction that a lot of times takes them out of their comfort zone. For them to continue to lean into that and to be able to do things possibly that in the short term render worse results but in the long term render much greater results, they have to trust you, they have to trust your intent. For me, I try to earn every single player's trust, not only on the front end, but you try to earn it every single day by being true to your word, showing your proper intent and investing in them."
Q: How will you know if today is a successful practice?
"It will be tricky. Results do help, for sure. I'm hoping for better results. However, quite honestly, I don't really care about results that aren't measured in some sort of challenge. So like if we were getting completions because of a drop coverage or we're getting a tackle for loss because of a busted blocking assignment, that doesn't matter to me. I want to see either contested wins or losses. I want to see guys improve on specifically the things that we've been focusing on and most importantly to me, as simple as it sounds, the best teams, the best players in all sports, specifically in team sports, starts with individual and making that as important as a practice rep just because if your individual shows in team, now you've banked something that's closer to a standard of how you play. I want to see our individual be highly motivated, and then I want to see that application in team periods and to me, the more I see that, results will definitely be more positive. How positive? Again, results of a score that doesn't matter don't drive and motivate me ever."
Q: You said previously you might play starters in another one of the two preseason games. Will this practice go a long way in determining whether or not that happens?
"As of right now, I'm not planning on playing the ones in the game. This practice does participate in the overall final assessment that I'll make with the coaching staff tomorrow but as of right now, went into this practice planning for the ones not to play."
Q: What have you noticed about DT Jordan Phillips so far?
"Relentless approach, very good pad level, super strong, super tough and his teammates like him a lot. You can tell – you don't have to ask teammates, you can tell which rookies the veterans like the most every practice. Watch teammates celebrate when someone makes a play. When it's their play to make and they make a play as a rookie, I think when basically any time (No.) 94 makes a play, both the sidelines and the players on the field erupt. I think that tells you a lot."
Q: I saw LB Chop Robinson lining up against Lions T Penei Sewell in the one-on-ones. He seemed to lose the first couple, but he seemed to gain more ground each loss. What can you benefit from going against a Pro Bowl athlete like that?
"That's why you do stuff like this and again, there's no substitute for reps and for wisdom at the position. You have one of, if not the best tackle that's doing it, who has history with skill sets like Chop (Robinson). I'm not coming here for Chop to win every one-on-one, I'm trying to have Chop intentionally apply his technique. If that wins, great, but sometimes the losses, for a guy like Chop, the losses are even better, because now he's not figuring out that – the issue that was presented by the blocker, he doesn't have to figure out in the second quarter of a game versus a player like him. Maybe he can go in the game with the mindset of what he learned from the couple reps and progressed. It's monumental. Some of the best parts of these joints is because guys who they're going against, they know the names and they want to make an impression on the person they're going against. I think iron sharpening iron is a residual win for both teams and hats off to the one that wins it in August. Hopefully the winner in August, if the Dolphins are the winner, hopefully they're not satisfied with that win because it's kind of irrelevant. We've got to keep working."
Q: With no starters being the plan right now on Saturday, is it looking for guys to make the team, guys to move up from three to two or positions on the depth chart? Is that kind of what your focus is?)
"My focus today is against a very challenging opponent that attacks the day and competes to apply through individual all the way throughout across the board, at every position. I want to see fast, physical with elite technique at every position group in individuals and have that go to one-on-ones and then have that go to team, and how many times can we get back to that? Having said that, when my focus is like that, generally guys find a way to make a new name for themselves. Every time we compete in a preseason game or a joint practice, you learn more about your team. There's a different level of just energy in the air and the stakes aren't – when we're practicing against ourselves, either somebody's winning the down and someone else is losing but getting better from it. Right? This one, you learn about competitors, you learn about guys that the moment might not be too big for them, but that's all through technique and fundamentals, which is very difficult to do, which is why, in those days where I make it clear what I'm looking for to the team and to whomever wants to listen, there's always guys that you're like, 'Wow, I didn't know he was capable of covering that ground, setting that edge, filling that gap, stepping up in the A gap to block that linebacker.' All those types of things, they show themselves without searching."
Q: What happened with OL Germain Ifedi to land on IR and why is OL Yodny Cajuste the choice?
"It's a torn tricep. And (Yodny Cajuste) basically was the guy that we were the most excited to add to the team based on his ability to pass protect and what we think are traits to be able to do well in our run game. Excited to have him. It's always unfortunate any time you lose a member for the season, but as we move on, and that's kind of the nature of football, we have a new teammate to ingratiate and look forward to seeing him soon."
Q: What did you about the cornerback unit yesterday?
"Well, first of all, I got to learn so much about the cornerback unit because it challenged a lot of guys to do semi-uncomfortable things against super good receivers in one-on-ones. First and foremost, people actually trying what we're doing in one-on-ones against – I mean (Amon-Ra) St. Brown is about as good as they get. Him in particular. So you learn, OK, what type of boldness that person has or are they just going to rely on stuff that's worked before?' Having said that, what a great rep of seeing how people respond after they get punched, and that's all that matters. A lot of guys got competitively challenged and that's the number one thing. In this league, you better get ready for how you're going to respond to a play being made. You have to. There was some really, really good, decisive discipline run fits and some good matched coverage from guys that I already knew had a play that they didn't like in one-on-ones. How awesome is that? Because I really get a better insight into who each person is and how to coach them and how to progress to the next day."
