The Miami Dolphins have a young, talented head coach in Mike McDaniel. Not only has the innovative coach become an instant celebrity because of his flashy style and witty press conferences, but he has also built an incredible offensive scheme surrounding quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The team is packed with talent and backed by McDaniel’s top-notch offensive design and coaching.
While McDaniel focuses heavily on achieving success on the field in Miami, he’s also married. But who is his wife, Katie Hemstalk?
Who Is Mike McDaniel’s Wife, Katie Hemstalk?
McDaniel married Katie Hemstalk in 2014 after dating for five years. The wedding was in Ashburn, Virginia, just an hour outside of Washington, D.C., where he was the wide receivers coach for the Washington Commanders.
The couple also has one daughter, Alya, born in 2020. Neither McDaniel nor his wife have social media, and McDaniel keeps his personal life private. However, he has mentioned his family in press conferences and interviews, and his wife and daughter have also made multiple appearances at games.
McDaniel’s relationship with his wife became a topic of conversation when Al Michaels shared a story on Thursday Night Football.
“It was a cool, light-hearted story that took a [ugly] turn,” McDaniel said of Michaels’ recap of his love story’s origin.
Michael claimed that McDaniel met his wife at a nightclub while his Sacramento Mountain Lions team was celebrating a UFL victory and allegedly stole her from one of his players.
“Mike McDaniel tells us a story today,” Michaels said. “We’re talking to him, and I said, ‘Tell me a Sacramento Mountain Lions story.’ The United Football League, 2010, he’s the running backs coach. They blow out Omaha, they go to a nightclub to celebrate. One of the running backs that he coaches is dancing with a girl, and 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.’”
McDaniel clarified the following week that the story was not entirely accurate. “The skeleton of the story is correct, but there are a couple of important caveats,” McDaniel said. First, the “perceived threat” to former UMass tailback Steve Baylark was an over-the-top joke, according to McDaniel.
The story of how Mike McDaniel met his wife is too funny 😂 pic.twitter.com/QvEtUTZ75A
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2023
“It was in jest,” the Dolphins’ coach said. “My wife was talking about me stealing people’s girl. The dude had met her for 45 seconds. It was a very unique scenario. It was a special place in our memories.”
Hemstalk is a professional esthetician and cosmetologist. She has been licensed since 2005 and worked as a licensed cosmetologist from 2011 to 2023.
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McDaniel’s NFL coaching career reaches the 20-year mark this season after an expansive journey around the football landscape. He has lent his talents to many teams, starting as a coaching intern for the Denver Broncos in 2005. His first coaching position was as a running backs coach for the California Redwoods/Sacramento Mountain Lions.
After meeting in 2010, McDaniel garnered his first NFL coaching job as a wide receivers coach in Washington. The couple lived in Ashburn until McDaniel got a job with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and then with the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 through 2016.
McDaniel’s most tremendous coaching success, however, came in San Francisco. After joining the team in 2017 as run-game coordinator, he became the offensive coordinator in 2021. The Dolphins saw his success and hired him as their head coach. The trio resides in a gorgeous Ft. Lauderdale estate.
Due to his coaching responsibilities, McDaniel doesn’t have an abundance of time, but he still finds time for his family. He spends his off days with them and even instructed his team to take six consecutive days off during their bye week during the 2022 season.
Miami agreed to a contract extension with McDaniel just before the start of the 2024 regular season. While the details surrounding the amount aren’t known, the deal keeps him with Miami through the 2028 season. The extension allows McDaniel and Hemstalk to lay down roots in the Florida area after years of constant moving early on in their relationship.