Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel gets roasted online for his Miami transformation

MIAMI — The internet has a new favorite meme: Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel.

Following Wednesday morning’s news conference, McDaniel’s new look went viral in part due to how much people believe the Dolphins coach’s appearance to have changed since he was hired in 2021. The biggest difference, however, is that he appears to just be growing out his hair and beard.

“Mike McDaniel look like he hit Miami exactly once (1x) for spring break and had his whole life changed,” CBS Sports personality Aaron West wrote.

“Me on LinkedIn vs. Me on Instagram,” another user wrote.

Even Miami radio personality Lucy Lopez joined in on the fun with a video comparing what each version of McDaniel does and says.

“This guy looks like he said ‘whoopsie’ twice today,” Lopez said, point to an early picture of McDaniel before switching to the 2024 version of the coach. “This guy starts off every sentence with ‘Bro.’ ”

And while most of the tweets broadly poked fun at McDaniel’s appearance, some of the jokes referenced substance abuse, something that was not as funny considering his battle with alcoholism. McDaniel was fired from his first NFL gig — an offensive assistant with the Houston Texans — due to his drinking. Alcohol almost derailed his career during subsequent stops with the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons but in 2016, he decided to get sober.

“All of a sudden my product as a human being, as a husband, as a coach, was a completely better product and something that I think those lessons really, in that time in my life, sealed the deal for me,” McDaniel told the Palm Beach Post in July 2023.

The Dolphins coach’s fashion has been well-documented since his arrival in Miami. His love for sneakers is apparent — McDaniel can often be seen in Yeezys and Off-White Nikes — so much so that it wouldn’t be a stretch to call him the flyest coach in the NFL.

“I love me just a crisp, clean pair of shoes,” McDaniel said in 2023.