Mike McDaniel 'Forever Grateful' For Commanders' Dan Quinn's Impact on Career

The Miami Dolphins head coach was able to learn plenty from Dan Quinn during his career in football.

Miami Dolphins' Mike McDaniel on Mike White, Skylar Thompson / Hal Habib / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Washington Commanders are heading to Miami for their second joint practice of the preseason, this time coming against the Dolphins.

It's not uncommon for Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel to host joint practices with opposing head coaches he has a relationship, and that is no different with Commanders head coach Dan Quinn.

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Quinn has helped McDaniel throughout his coaching career, and the two have been able to connect over coaching styles and the general game of football. McDaniel explained their relationship before the joint practice.

“Absolutely. I’m kind of an old guy, so there are a good amount of coaches in the NFL that I do have relationships with," McDaniel claimed, according to Miami Dolphins On SI's Alan Poupart. "Dan Quinn has been a big influence, a gigantic influence on my career. Not only from what I learned under him from a head coaching perspective and just the way he looked at really anything team related and how the culture that he really instilled. There was a lot of breakthroughs in terms of how to approach certain issues with a team, how to really set the tonality of a building each and every day by example. Those things I really got from Dan Quinn, forever grateful for that."

Quinn has a tall task in front of him as he's trying to shift Washington's franchise culture. As McDaniel explains it, Quinn seems to be the perfect head coach for the job, and there should be some confidence that he will succeed in building a strong culture.

Quinn was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, where McDaniel was an assistant and mentee of the now-Commanders head coach. McDaniel learned plenty about football and building a culture and team, though it extended beyond that and helped the Dolphins head coach navigate life in general during a hard time.

"And on top of that, from a whole life perspective or just from my journey, it just so happened that it was under his leadership that I had a crossroads in my life," McDaniel continued. "And to have somebody that supports you, that pushes you in the direction of ‘No, you can,’ that believes in you and that decides on his own accord that you’re worth investing in and believing in – how big of a deal is that? It’s everything."

The joint practice ahead of a preseason contest might mean just a bit more for the two head coaches as they continue to prepare their respective squads for the regular season. For McDaniel to be able to rely on Quinn in such a hard time and praise the way he supported him during struggling times goes to show the character the Washington head coach brings to the franchise.

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READ MORE: Washington Commanders HC Dan Quinn Details Expectations For QB Jayden Daniels

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