Mike McDaniel Addresses Viral Photo After Dolphins' Victory
After the Miami Dolphins triumphed over the Buffalo Bills with a score of 30-13 on November 9, head coach Mike McDaniel found himself at the center of a social media frenzy. A photo surfaced showing a man resembling McDaniel outside Elbo Room, a bar popular among Bills fans in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
When questioned about the authenticity of the image during a press conference on November 10, McDaniel offered a cryptic response. “The good old days, the throwbacks of yore, where you could trust the Internet and the images,” he remarked. “Cause it is pretty detailed and I do live in that area, but I mean, A.I., right?”
His noncommittal stance raised eyebrows when a reporter noted that he didn’t explicitly deny the photo's validity. McDaniel shrugged and reiterated, “I live in that area. A.I. is real. That’s what I got for you.”
The image gained traction on social media after user Josh Martin posted it on X, featuring himself in a blue Bills t-shirt and a backwards cap, with a figure resembling McDaniel in a car behind him, sunglasses on and arm hanging out the window.
“Just spoke with Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel outside of Elbo Room,” Martin captioned his post. “I did congratulate him on the win, but I also let it be known my distaste for his football team. He CLEARLY came by to rub it in. Ultimately, we parted ways amicably.”
To further clarify the situation, Martin shared a video the following day to counter claims that the image was digitally manipulated. “For those who think it’s A.I. (which is an alarming amount of people). Here’s a video my buddy took. It’s been circling the internet too,” he wrote. “Again, I posted this because it was laugh-out-loud funny. We all need to laugh more these days. Be good. Do good. God Bless, and Go Bills.”
This victory marked a significant turnaround for the Dolphins, ending a seven-game losing streak and improving their record to 3-7 for the season. In his post-game address, McDaniel pushed back against narratives suggesting his team had lost motivation.
“I think it’s pretty obvious from the play they didn’t believe that their season was over,” he stated. “That’s difficult to do when everyone’s talking to you about the season being over.”
The win came just days after McDaniel faced criticism for his sideline behavior during a previous loss to the Baltimore Ravens, where he was seen visibly frustrated as fans booed him while he removed his headset and expressed his displeasure with the team.
“You want to fix stuff, and yeah, it sucks. That sucks,” he told reporters after that game. “All of that does. But I think it’s a pretty consistent formula of fans enjoy winning and so our expectation is that we have to do the work and do the right things for fans to enjoy the experience and unfortunately, we didn’t do that tonight, so we got to get back to work to give them something to cheer about.”
Looking ahead, the Dolphins are set to travel to Madrid for their next matchup against the Washington Commanders on November 16, with kickoff scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET.
