Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel marches to the beat of his own drum, but his strangely dark opening to a press conference earlier in training camp was unique even for him.
When a reporter said “good morning” to the fourth-year head coach, he was corrected by McDaniel who told him it was a “great morning.” When asked why it’s so great, McDaniel offered a quick explanation: “because we’re another day closer to death.”
The moment eventually went viral, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter posting the clip on his social media.
But McDaniel says there’s another explanation for his comically bleak answer.
“I chose to unveil that setup — not a punchline — to … it’s what I do to players and and people when I sense you’re going through the motions or there’s a monotony to your tone of voice,” McDaniel explained on The Rich Eisen Show on Thursday. “But the setup is not the punchline. The punchline is received a little different. I said the setup and dude just kept it moving. So he’s either not listening to me or it didn’t impact him. So then I was just left with a dropped mic.”
The intended message, according to McDaniel, is a lot more cheerful.
“The idea of the statement is to magnify the fact that life is not infinite and so this day shouldn’t be taken for granted. And you know it’s a beautiful statement with an impactful front end.”
Alas, the coach never got around to making that much brighter point.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Mike McDaniel says there’s an explanation for his viral ‘day closer to death’ moment
Reporting by Adam Stites, Dolphins Wire / Dolphins Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
