MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel spoke to reporters Monday, a day after his team’s 27-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers — a game in which the Dolphins blew an early 17-0 lead.
“You do everything you can as a head coach and responsibility falls on your shoulders with all failures of a result,” McDaniel said. “The bottom line is there is no time to waste. No egos involved. It has to be urgent and no time to waste. I have a locker room and coaching staff to believe in and we’ll collectively move forward.”
McDaniel said the focus now must be on accountability and execution, not blame.
“Guys have to spend little to no time pointing figures,” he said. “It was very frustrating for things that I think are controllable. There were some solutions that I saw on tape that I think the collective whole can execute.”
He added that while the team continues to talk about improvement, what matters most is performance.
“Bottom line is it’s frustrating because there’s a lot of talking and we need to major in doing,” McDaniel said. “You have to get better at things or you’ll continue having the same results.”
McDaniel said he spoke with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross at the end of Sunday’s game. He said Ross was “frustrated” but remains supportive as the team prepares for its next opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, will once again not have some of their key offensive linemen against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
McDaniel said Austin Jackson (toe), Liam Eichenberg (undisclosed) and James Daniels (pectoral) will likely miss “several” more weeks due to their injuries. Cornerback Cornell Armstrong injured his hamstring in Sunday’s loss and will not play in Week 6.
Addressing Miami’s defensive struggles, McDaniel said he didn’t sense an energy letdown but acknowledged breakdowns in communication and execution.
“All parties will be specifically instructed that all those things don’t exist to the end of having a team win that is connected to fundamentals,” McDaniel said.
“As the game progressed I didn’t feel an energy letdown, but there were some individuals that don’t understand some responsibilities to the unit,” he added. “It wasn’t just one group to blame but a collective effort that starts with me.”
The Dolphins come into Week 6 with the league’s worst run defense after allowing 206 yards on the ground (234 total) to Panthers backup running back Rico Dowdle.
“In the heat of battle there was too many times that guys were overlapping responsibilities,” said McDaniel. “We don’t stand to improve at all if people are searching for it to be someone else’s fault. You have guys that are missing tackles because of the punchout attempts to get more takeaways.”
McDaniel added, “We need to improve and at the end of the day, nobody cares about your problems.”
The Dolphins (1-4) will look to rebound when they host the Chargers (3-2) on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
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