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When the New York Jets hired Robert Saleh in 2021, there were only two real candidates for his offensive coordinator role — Mike LaFleur and Mike McDaniel.
The Jets HC went with LaFleur — the younger brother of the best man at his wedding, Green Bay Packers HC Matt LaFleur — but he could have easily chosen the other route as the pair practically ran the offense together under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco.
For two seasons from 2019-20, Mike LaFleur and McDaniel worked hand-in-hand as the passing game and run game coordinators for Shanahan. Not only that, the two had almost identical career tracks since 2014. The only difference is the latter has been doing the job a bit longer, which makes sense considering he’ll get to be an NFL head coach first with the Miami Dolphins.
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LaFleur vs. McDaniel
As senior NFL reporter Albert Breer explained, “Kyle Shanahan’s had a lot of brilliant coaches work under him the last 14 years and there’s only one he’s taken everywhere with him, from Houston to DC to Cleveland to Atlanta and SF.”
That person is McDaniel, although the quote is somewhat misleading. Shanahan has also taken LaFleur with him from place to place but his NFL coaching career only began in 2014, while McDaniel’s career as an NFL assistant spans back to 2005.
Based on his older brother and his last name, LaFleur’s rise has been more meteoric while McDaniel’s journey has been a slow burn.
That’s not to say one is any worse of an offensive mind than the other, their paths just began a little differently. After starting as an intern with the Denver Broncos, McDaniel joined Shanahan in Houston as an offensive assistant. He kept that role with Washington before taking over as wide receivers coach for one season there and one in Cleveland, then back to an offensive assistant with Atlanta (Super Bowl appearance), and a run game specialist with the 49ers before finishing as the run game coordinator (another Super Bowl appearance) and eventual offensive coordinator in 2021.
LaFleur joined that traveling staff as an intern in Cleveland, then mirrored McDaniel from that point on. The Jets OC just focused more on the passing side of things.
“Mike McDaniel has spent more coach years with Kyle Shahahan than just about anyone. So I’m expecting Dolphins to do a lot of Shanahan zone run scheme but he’s also known through the league as big ‘new idea guy.’ All the buzz words you’ve probably heard — innovative, creative, etc,” tweeted Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.
You guessed it, these AFC East rival offenses could look pretty similar in 2022.
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Saleh’s Relationship With McDaniel
After a rocky start, LaFleur has settled in as an offensive coordinator in New York. Still, you have to wonder if Coach Saleh chose right when he left McDaniel in San Francisco.
The Jet Press joked that the “Dolphins hired second-rate Mike LaFleur” on Twitter but you could argue it’s the other way around.
Saleh and McDaniel go way back. In fact, they “were entry-level assistants together with the Texans in 2006” according to NYJ beat reporter Brian Costello.
The only reason LaFleur and him go back further is that he used to crash at the LaFleur household often when Mike was still a teenager.
“[Saleh and Matt LaFleur] were trying to save every cent they could because they were GAs,” Mike LaFleur told beat reporters back when he was hired. “They knew that my parents were right down the street, so they were going to come eat our food and watch all the TV that I was trying to watch and use our pool. I got to know Saleh at a pretty early age.”
That relationship — as well as McDaniel’s bond with Shanahan — probably led to the amicable split in 2021. Of course, that didn’t stop Saleh from praising his new divisional rival at the Senior Bowl.
“Mike, he is phenomenal,” Saleh began. “His mindset, the way he creates things, his outside-the-box thinking, his ability to communicate with people — he’s as good as they get. He’s been with [Shanahan] longer than any of us have… He’s brilliant and he’s every bit as deserving to be a head coach, and would not like him to come to the division but if it happens, so be it.”
Well, coach, it happened, and that Mike Shanahan NFL coaching tree keeps on growing.
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