Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel went incredibly viral last week as the Miami Dolphins blew out the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Friday, winning going away by the score of 34-13.
Midway through the fourth quarter, broadcaster Al Michaels revealed how Miami coach Mike McDaniel met his wife, Katie Hemstalk. The 78-year-old longtime announcer recounted an incident where McDaniel, during his coaching tenure in the United Football League, threatened to sever ties with a player for dancing with a woman. That woman would be his future wife.
McDaniel didn’t appear to be a fan of how he was portrayed in this telling of events and wanted to set the record straight and add some important context when he met with the local media on Monday.
“It was a cool, light-hearted story that took a [ugly] turn,” McDaniel said.
According to McDaniel, some of the fact got distorted in Michaels’ recap.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
“The skeleton of the story is correct, but there are a couple of important caveats,” McDaniel said.
He stated the “perceived threat,” to former UMass tailback Steve Baylark was an over-the-top joke and wasn’t to be taken seriously.
“It was in jest,” McDaniel said. “My wife was talking about me stealing people’s girl. The dude had met her for 45 seconds….It was a very unique scenario. It was a special place in our memories.
“I feel like I was painted out to be a D-bag,” McDaniel clarifies. “It wasn’t like that at all. It was nice and easy. We were celebrating as a team. I think Steve Baylark was well aware when I made that joke in jest it was more important to me than it was to him. And I’m pretty sure I was right. I have a family now.”
McDaniel and Hemstalk got married in 2014 and have a three-year-old daughter named Alya June together.
The Miami Dolphins being 8-3 for back-to-back seasons signals a sea of change in where this organization is going. The win by the Dolphins and the loss by the Bills pushed Miami’s division lead to two and a half games.
The Bills head into their bye week on a sour note and must now watch the Dolphins take on the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
