"MIAMI GARDENS - Sometimes Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel walks around the team facility carrying a wooden baseball bat in menacing fashion. Occasionally McDaniel will take the bat to a team meeting. The bat has meaning. " I think it's a reminder to be violently present in everything you do," fullback Alec Ingold said. "I think it's a reminder to lock in on the moment. That's kind of his tool that he's been using this year.""
"McDaniel, who is thought to be fighting for his job, might be doing his best coaching this season. The baseball bat is symbolic of McDaniel's ability to breathe life into his message to players, it's an example of transforming an idea into a tangible instrument. Apparently it's working. Granted, the Dolphins (7-9) are assured of their second consecutive losing season. But they've won six of their last nine games."
"The way left tackle Patrick Paul recalls things, the bat appeared out of nowhere around midseason, around the time the Dolphins went from 1-6 to 2-7 and then 3-7, 4-7 and so on. "At some point in the season, I just saw him with a bat, and I was like, 'Alright,' " Paul said with mild curiosity. "...but now it does make sense. It's like, 'We're still in this, we're fine.' ""
Mike McDaniel carries a wooden baseball bat through the Dolphins facility as a tangible symbol to demand presence and focus. Players say the bat reminds them to be violently present and to lock into the moment. The bat appeared midseason as the team recovered from a 1-6 start and helped shift mentality during a six-of-nine finish. The bat sets a combative tone, symbolizes bringing weapons and fighting, and is shared among players who parade it during warmups. Multiple bats circulate, reinforcing unity, rallying players and translating a coaching idea into a physical rallying tool.
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