Dolphins begin Mike McDaniel era vs. Patriots and Bill Belichick, the standard in the AFC East

Before Mike McDaniel sat at his designated table and addressed reporters at the NFL’s owners meetings in late March, he was approached by Bill Belichick.

The first-year Dolphins coach and longtime New England Patriots coach, out of their team-issued apparel and dressed down in resort attire, had a brief chat. The side-by-side offered a snapshot of the old guard and new guard in the AFC East, of the type of success — if even a fraction — that the Dolphins faithful have been longing to experience.

“I feel like I’m a couple of wins behind him in the win/loss column,” McDaniel joked at the time. “That’s somebody that if you’re a football guy and you have a pulse, I have the utmost respect and admiration for a coach of his caliber and one of the best ever if not the best to ever do it.”

On Sunday, McDaniel will look to get his first victory as an NFL head coach when the Dolphins open the 2022 season against the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium.

Speaking Monday about the coaching matchup, the witty McDaniel once again poked fun at the wide gap between his record and Belichick, whose 321 regular-season and postseason wins only trails George Halas and legendary Dolphins coach Don Shula, who sits atop the list with 347 victories.

“Can there be a larger disparity in career win-loss total?” McDaniel said. “No, it would be a bigger deal I think if Coach Belichick and I were on the field, maybe doing like an Oklahoma drill, but I don’t foresee that happening. I don’t think the fans would really pay for that. … Luckily, the schedule came out a long time ago, so I digested that and knew what Week 1 was, and luckily it’s the Miami Dolphins versus New England Patriots and not a one-on-one square-off between head coaches.”

When they face off in Week 1 for the third consecutive year, the Dolphins and Patriots will be perceived as two teams fighting for second place in a division where the Buffalo Bills have emerged as the overwhelming favorite to win the AFC East and even take home the Lombardi Trophy in February.

A more microscopic view could also tell the story of two teams trending in different directions after drastically contrasting offseasons.

After the Dolphins fired Brian Flores in January, they replaced him with McDaniel, the 39-year-old former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator who has brought a refreshing and inviting dynamic to an organization that had reached its end with Flores.

The front office doled out $145 million in guaranteed money in free agency, primarily to rectify an offense that hasn’t finished top 10 in scoring since the 2001 season. Established veterans, such as wide receiver Tyreek Hill, left tackle Terron Armstead and running backs Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert were added to better support third-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in a critical season for his evaluation. A potentially dynamic offense and a stingy defense has many in and around the team’s practice facility eyeing the franchise’s first postseason appearance since the 2016 season — and its first playoff win since the 2000 season.

While the Dolphins were guided through the summer by McDaniel’s clear vision, the Patriots — at least outwardly — were shrouded in uncertainty, more so than usual with the taciturn Belichick. One year after splurging in the 2021 offseason, the Patriots reverted to their typically prudent ways. They lost top cornerback J.C. Jackson and longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who left to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. McDaniels was an instrumental voice during many of the Patriots’ Super Bowl runs and in the development of second-year quarterback Mac Jones.

McDaniels’ departure left a void that Belichick never officially filled. He didn’t name a new offensive coordinator and relied on a pair of assistants, Joe Judge and Matt Patricia, who have returned to New England after failed head coaching stints. Foxborough-based reporters documented frequent struggles throughout training camp and confusion surrounding the team’s play-caller situation. Patricia, the former Detroit Lions coach who was New England’s defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2018, is expected to call offensive plays Sunday, a role he has never held in the NFL.

Though the Patriots won 10 games last season and reached the playoffs for the first time since their separation from Tom Brady in 2020, they face additional questions about the talent ceilings of their offensive playmakers, including Jones. The general consensus is the Patriots are at least a tier below elite teams in an AFC that was infused with premier talent in the offseason.

The recent matchups between the division rivals have favored the Dolphins, too. The Dolphins have won their last three games against New England — all starts by Tagovailoa — and seven of the last nine in Miami Gardens.

However, Dolphins coaches and players noted how well prepared Belichick-led teams are and how they might have to be ready for the unexpected. Instead of traveling to South Florida on Saturday, Belichick brought the Patriots to Palm Beach Atlantic University, a private Christian university an hour north of Hard Rock Stadium, to practice during the week and acclimate to the scorching heat and humidity.

“Who knows what to expect?” said Hill, who has scored five touchdowns in five games against the Patriots. “I’m sure Coach Bill has a plan up his sleeve. But I feel like our coach has one up his, too. So, you never know.”

McDaniel and several players acknowledge there is a palpable hype surrounding a team that hasn’t had this level of star power since, arguably, the early 2000s. The franchise sold out its season tickets for the first time ever and created a wait list in the summer for the 2023 season.

“You could feel that excitement back when training camp first started,” fifth-year inside linebacker Jerome Baker said. “All the fans came out and you could just feel the energy. For me personally, I’m just so excited because it’s been awhile that we’ve had this excitement. So I’m going to really be appreciative of what’s happening. I’m excited for Sunday. We have a good team, great offense, great coaches and great people — it’s going to be good.”

The intrigue surrounding the Dolphins spans many levels, from whether Tagovailoa can cement himself as a legitimate franchise quarterback, to if McDaniel’s quirky personality can truly work in an industry accustomed to stone-faced leaders.

McDaniel is aware of it all, leading a franchise whose playoff win drought has seemingly coincided with the Patriots’ two-decades-long dominance in the division. He’s also aware of the overzealous reactions, whether positive or negative, that come from the Week 1 buildup — and how little they matter.

“I do feel like we have a chance to really compete, and that’s all you really want,” McDaniel said. “I think we deserve to be in the party. And really, that’s the cool thing about football is you’re not guaranteed results. You just go all in and if you have the right talent and mix of people, you really give yourself a chance to do something pretty cool. So I’m very confident in the team. I’m very, very, very proud of them for where they’re at. And then the name of the game in the National Football League is you put it all out there, it’s game one, and then one of two things happen. We’re either crowned or we suck. Either way, we have Week 2.