MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel on Monday was eager to set the record straight on his family’s origin story.
Three days after Amazon Prime broadcaster Al Michaels relayed the story McDaniel had told him about meeting his wife at a Sacramento, Calif., nightclub, McDaniel cleaned up some of the details.
How Miami Dolphins Coach Mike McDaniel Met His Wife
Michaels filled garbage time late in the Dolphins’ win over the New York Jets by unspooling the following yarn about McDaniel’s time as an assistant for the United Football League’s Sacramento Mountain Lions in 2010:
MORE: Who Is Mike McDaniel’s Wife? All About Katie Hemstalk
“They blow out Omaha. They go to a nightclub to celebrate. One of the running backs that he coaches (Steve Baylark) is dancing with a girl. Mike says, ‘Listen, you’re not dancing with her anymore, or you’re not playing with this team next year.’ So the guy says, ‘What can I do?’
“So then McDaniel starts dancing with her. That’s the beginning of the story. Four years later, they’re married. Katie. That’s how he met her. ‘Hey you: Get off. I’m dancing with her.'”
The story of how Mike McDaniel met his wife is too funny 😂 pic.twitter.com/QvEtUTZ75A
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2023
Turns out, Michaels left out some important context — at least according to McDaniel, who was asked about his life’s pivotal night during his Monday news conference.
“So yeah, I would say the skeleton of the story is correct. But there’s a couple of important caveats,” McDaniel said with good nature.
“First of all, the perceived threat I made to a player was over the top a joke considering both he and I knew that as the running backs coach, I had no ability to say if he was there or not. It was more in jest. And then second of all, my wife was telling me people were talking about me stealing people’s girls. The dude had met her for 45 seconds.”
But you called dibs? — a reporter asked as a follow-up
“I kind of did, but no, it was a light-hearted, very unique scenario. It was a special place in our memories, but I don’t think it was — I feel like I was painted out to kind of be a D-bag, and it wasn’t like that at all.
“It was all nice. We were celebrating as a team, and it was something that I think, Steve Baylark, the player that was dancing with her, was well aware when I made that joke in jest that it was more important to me than it was to him. And I’m pretty sure I was right. I have a family now. Good decision.”
Was it the dance moves that won her over?
“Clearly. It wasn’t my physical disposition, I promise you that. It was a cool, lightheaded story that I felt like took a turn, so I appreciate you following up.”
Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!