MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Long before he was head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel was an offensive assistant and wide receivers coach with Washington.
When the Dolphins (8-3) visit FedEx Field this Sunday to take on the Commanders (4-8), there won't be much familiarity with the team he spent three seasons working for under mentor and then-head coach Mike Shanahan.
"There was a lot less command in Washington when I was there, you know what I mean?" McDaniel said, acknowledging the team's former Redskins moniker. "So, I think it was a different owner, different coaches, pretty much different. I'm not sure who's still there from when I was there."
But there is something McDaniel remembers, perhaps not so fondly – and it doesn't have anything to do with football.
"Do you guys know what stink bugs are?" McDaniel asked reporters Monday. "There's a lot of stink bugs in Virginia. I didn't know what those were until I was there. Don't step on them, because then they stink. OK. That's on the top of my mind."
He also recalled the many letters he wrote to teams throughout the country as he was preparing to graduate from college, looking for graduate assistant jobs. Current Washington head coach Ron Rivera was one of the people who wrote back to him.
"I was writing letters all over the country, and he was one of the first people that actually responded to a letter to try to get me a job," McDaniel told reporters. "Didn't get me a job, but so I have a lot of respect for him."
McDaniel said he's sure Washington will find success again "sooner than later."
"And, hopefully, if we have any say in it, it won't be this week," he said.