Getty Mike McDaniel looks on during a Miami Dolphins playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mike McDaniel likely wished it was a bit warmer on Saturday.
The Miami Dolphins coach — who gained some notoriety last season for wearing a shirt that read “I wish it were colder” ahead of a game in frigid Buffalo — was seen looking very cold on the sidelines during the team’s January 13 playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Saturday’s game was played with wind chills that dipped down to minus-30, making it among the coldest games in NFL history.
McDaniel’s cold sideline look attracted some viral attention, with many sharing the image on social media and recalling his boast from last season.
Mike McDaniel Bundles Up
Video from the Peacock broadcast of Saturday’s game showed McDaniel wearing a winter hat and heavy coat on the sidelines, his face red from the cold. Bills reporter Matt Parrino reposted the image, recalling that McDaniel said he welcomed the frigid weather last season before his team traveled to Buffalo.
“Wanted it to be colder,” Parrino wrote. “Got his wish. Looks uncomfortable.”
Wanted it to be colder. Got his wish. Looks uncomfortable.
There was more backstory to McDaniel’s “I wish it were colder” shirt last season. The Dolphins had beaten the Bills in September 2022 in a game played in sweltering heat in Miami, leading some Bills fans to complain that it was unfair for the Dolphins to have their sideline in the shade while opponents were in the full sun.
Mike McDaniel may be regretting this 🥶
Other Bills fans recalled his boast when they reposted the image of McDaniel looking cold on the sidelines against the Chiefs, suggesting it was a bit of karma for the Dolphins coach.
Mike McDaniel on the Dolphins sideline
Dolphins Coach Says Cold Weather Not an Excuse
The Dolphins have not had much recent success in cold weather, losing 10 consecutive games when the temperature is 40 degrees or colder. As The Associated Press noted, the streak stretches back more than six years.
“The Dolphins’ cold weather losing streak began with a loss to Pittsburgh in 2017, when it was a balmy 17 degrees at kickoff,” the report noted. “It continued through games in Buffalo, Cleveland, Green Bay and, yes, Kansas City, where the Chiefs beat the Dolphins 29-13 on Christmas Eve in 2017 when it was a mere 23 degrees at the start of the game.”
McDaniel acknowledged this week that the weather would be a challenge, but said his team would not make it an excuse.
“If we’re playing in any playoff game that isn’t at home, it probably will be cold,” McDaniel said, via The Associated Press. “It will be the same for both teams. For us and for the individuals in the locker room, I know they will not use that as an excuse.”
Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe, who grew up in Pennsylvania, noted that he and other members of the team have plenty of experience playing in cold weather.
“I don’t think it means that we are soft or scared of the elements, just because the weather is better down here,” Smythe told The Associated Press.
“The guys in that locker room, obviously we come from all over, too. It’s not like we all lived here in Miami our entire lives. We’ve dealt with elements before.”