What to Make About McDaniel's Comments About Troy Aikman

The ESPN analyst was critical of the Miami Dolphins' fourth-quarter approach in Week 15 and now will be a consultant for the GM search

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel looks on during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Ever since word came out that Hall of Fame Troy Aikman would be helping the Miami Dolphins' GM search, there's been some debate as to what that might mean for head coach Mike McDaniel.

There's a school of thought that Aikman now being in owner Stephen Ross' ear could be bad news for McDaniel in light of what Aikman said about the Dolphins in his role as ESPN analyst in the fourth quarter of the team's humbling Monday night loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15, a loss that eliminated Miami from the playoffs and led to the benching of starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

At his final Friday press conference of the regular season, McDaniel was asked whether he had a relationship with Aikman and if that worked in his favor in helping his job security, which very much appears on shaky grounds.

"OK, so I can answer your first question with, yeah, I was in conversations that I won't share beyond with ownership," McDaniel said. "I was aware and I think ... I'm not opposed to more information ever. I think prioritizing the importance of a decision, you educate yourself. And I think, Troy Aikman speaks for himself in terms of his relationships that he's had within the National Football League and knows a lot of things that, yeah, that information is a positive to me. And being able to resource that, I think, we're fortunate. I'm excited for that as far as everything else.

"Again, I'm not going to spend one second of this job prioritizing what my job is under some other, does this work for me or my priority is all right? I'm a head coach, and I'm going to take those responsibilities as they relate to everybody involved in the organization and take those serious and focus on that. And I'm not joking, lying, misleading. I don't think about all those questions ever. It's a waste of my time and I don't try to waste my time on other people's."

UNPACKING McDANIEL'S COMMENTS

First off, McDaniel didn't really answer the question of whether he had a relationship with Aikman, though at the very least the two have gotten together before ESPN telecasts involving the Dolphins, such as the Week 4 game against the New York Jets and that Week 15 game against the Steelers.

Aikman spent his entire NFL playing career with the Dallas Cowboys after playing at Oklahoma and UCLA in college, and McDaniel doesn't have ties to either of those schools or that organization.

The other part that was interesting was McDaniel indicating he's gotten a heads up from ownership that Aikman would be coming on board, which maybe isn't something you would anticipate if Ross were leaning toward replacing McDaniel.

McDaniel has been playing everything close to the vest in terms of his job status, and we'll know for sure before too long, but the suggestion again that Aikman's arrival means bad news for his prospects just doesn't wash from here.