Mike McDaniel is one of the NFL's best coaches — and the story of how he got there is WILD. It involves a fortuitous meeting at 10 years old, an academic scholarship to Yale, getting fired by the Houston Texans, a stint in rehab, and much more. Here's what you need to know 👇 Mike McDaniel grew up an hour outside of Denver. His dad died in a car accident when he was 4 years old, and he was raised by a single mother (with no siblings). McDaniel fell in love with football and would ride his bike 20 minutes to Denver Broncos Training Camp practices at the University of North Colorado. This is where it gets interesting... McDaniel was ten years old when he lost his hat at one of the training camp practices. He ran up to Broncos assistant video director Gary McCune crying and asked him to help find the hat — but it was nowhere to be seen. Still, Gary McCune felt bad about the hat, so he went to the mall that night, bought McDaniel a new hat and invited him and his family out to practice the next day. McDaniel brought his mom to the practice, McCune and her hit it off, started dating, and eventually got married. No, seriously. This isn't a Hollywood script. That's actually what happened. This was great for Mike because he got to spend more time around the Denver Broncos, securing a job as a ball boy during his senior year in high school. McDaniel then went to Yale on academic scholarship. He walked on the football team. But he wasn't very good — McDaniel is just 5'9" and 180 pounds today — and he was more known for his ability to predict plays. So after graduation, McDaniel used his connections to land an internship with the Denver Broncos. That led to a full-time job with the Houston Texans — this is where he met Kyle Shanahan (more on that later). The Houston Texans stop is important because Mike McDaniel was fired by head coach Gary Kubiak. McDaniel showed up late twice to a 6:00 a.m. meeting and Kubiak had enough, firing him on the spot. So at 25 years old, Mike McDaniel was out of the NFL. He squandered an amazing opportunity and wasn't sure if anyone would ever give him a second chance. But rather than give up on his dream, McDaniel became the running backs coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the now-defunct United Football League. It was long hours for terrible pay — but it worked. Kyle Shanahan left the Houston Texans to become the Offensive Coordinator of the Washington Redskins, and he called Mike McDaniel to offer him a job. It was just an offensive assistant position, and Washington's staff was already loaded with talent — future head coaches Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, and Matt LaFleur were Washington assistants — but McDaniel saw it as his second chance and accepted. This turned out to be a crucial moment for him. That's because Mike McDaniel became Kyle Shanahan's right-hand man, following him to Cleveland in 2014, Atlanta in 2015, and San Francisco in 2017. McDaniel was then named head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2021 — and he's been excellent. But I love this story for one simple reason. Many people believe Mike McDaniel is a football genius who quickly rose the ranks to become one of the NFL's best head coaches before the age of 40. And that may be true — but Mike McDaniel's life and story are also filled with a lot of other things, like fate, humiliation, despair, and triumph. For example, Mike McDaniel struggled with an alcohol addiction while coaching in the NFL (he says he drank every single day for years). But he checked himself into a 3-week rehab center in 2016 and came out clean. Furthermore, Mike McDaniel now heads to work at 2:30 a.m. every morning to ensure he isn't late again. McDaniel also carries an index card with the number 865 on it — the exact number of days he was out of the NFL after getting fired by the Houston Texans. That's his way of reminding himself how far he has come and the importance of the second chance he was given. So who knows if Mike McDaniel would have ever become a head coach if it wasn't for that fortuitous meeting with Gary McCune 30 years ago. But it doesn't really matter — Mike McDaniel's story is already incredible and it's really just getting started. ** If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my 3x weekly sports business podcast (Top 50 in sports). Subscribe below so you don't miss any episodes in the future. Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas… Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/5PLKKW…