Mike McDaniel successfully used his daughter as a human shield during his postgame press conference on Sunday. Screen grab: Miami Dolphins
By Ben Axelrod on

As he entered his postgame press conference carrying his toddler-aged daughter, Mike McDaniel was well aware of the potentially poor optics.

So as the Miami Dolphins head coach took the podium, he acknowledged the elephant in the room.

“I figured you guys would be nicer to me if my daughter was here,” McDaniel said. “Alright, ask me anything you want.”

The first reporter on the dais opted to play along.

“Why are you such a good dad?” he asked.

“Ahhhh,” McDaniel replied with a smile, wagging his finger. “More questions from you.”

Despite his initial comment, McDaniel clearly wasn’t using his daughter as a human shield as he seemed to fear some might accuse him of doing. That’s mostly because the 41-year-old head coach didn’t have much he needed to hide from following the Dolphins’ dominant 34-15 victory over the New England Patriots.

Contrast that with what happened earlier this season when Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni brought his three kids to not just the press conference, but the actual podium, following a lackluster 20-16 win over the Cleveland Browns. Sirianni’s decision to have his kids accompany him to his press conference — which came after the same game in which he was seen shouting with an Eagles fan from the sideline — was met with immediate backlash, prompting the fourth-year head coach to deny he was using them to shield himself from potential criticism from the media.

McDaniel, however, won’t have to worry about such controversy, as there clearly wasn’t any nefarious intent behind him bringing his daughter to Sunday’s press conference. Rather, it was merely a cute father-daughter moment, with the head coach’s self-awareness regarding how it might be perceived by some on full display.

[Miami Dolphins]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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