A Study in Team Culture

[Dolfanalyst]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwkpbbM7NRk

The team in the video above is 3-7 on the season, functioning squarely at the level of failure overall.  They and their head coach have never accomplished anything extraordinary in the league.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpOG9K02F_g

The team in the second video above had just finished winning the first of three road games in the playoffs as a wildcard team, before ultimately winning the Super Bowl that year, a highly improbable feat.

The difference in "culture" from the head coach on down is easily discernible for just about anybody.

The team in the first video is clowning around, despite being 3-7 on the year, and despite that it could have a goal of turning its season around.  3-7 can become 10-7!

There is no clowning around in the second video, despite that the team had just won a game with tremendous significance, as an underdog.  That team's seriousness, drive, and determination is palpable.

I think you have to ask yourself why you aren't seeing the same drive and determination in the first video, when that's exactly what's required to turn the Dolphins' season around.

And I think the answer is that the team has a clownish culture in the locker room that follows from the clown-like personality of its head coach.

The team in the second video has no such clownish culture.  They're driven, determined, serious, and aggressive -- just like their head coach.

A team takes on the personality of its coach, as they say.  And I believe you see that here -- easily.

The problem is that the 2025 Miami Dolphins' "personality" isn't consistent with winning at a high level in the NFL, where seriousness, drive, determination, and aggression are what wins on the field in the rough and tumble game of football.  The game is inherently physical and aggressive, and being embedded in a clown-like culture makes winning less likely when you're facing teams with serious and aggressive cultures -- features inherent to the game.

If both of the teams in the videos above were identical in every way (physical talent, coaching, etc.) other than the way in which they're conducting themselves in their locker rooms in those videos, and you were a player on a team they could be facing next week, which team would you rather face.

Not hard for me personally to make that choice.  I'd believe I could tee off on the clownish Dolphins, and I'd believe I'd have to steel myself up quite a bit to face the driven and determined Steelers.

[Spider-Dan]

This doesn't read like any sort of "analytics."  It has nothing to do with scheming, or net yards per play, or opponent success rate.  No, it's more of the classic "You have to be mentally tough" and "We're going to come out and punch them in the mouth" and all the rest of the tired cliches from talking heads on ESPN.

This has nothing to do with factual analysis.  It is (again) astrology for men.  It is absolutely emblematic of the approach to "culture" that every single one of Belichick's flunkies has taken away from New England as the only thing they learned; a consistency matched only by the complete failure all of them experienced as head coaches.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

While there is some correlation that weaker teams celebrate regular season wins more than stronger teams, you have the causation backwards.  Teams that win a game in which they are heavy underdogs celebrate their wins to a greater extent than a winning team that was a heavy favor.  This is true at all level of sports and is true for fans as well. 

[Dolfanalyst]

While there is some correlation that weaker teams celebrate regular season wins more than stronger teams, you have the causation backwards.  Teams that win a game in which they are heavy underdogs celebrate their wins to a greater extent than a winning team that was a heavy favor.  This is true at all level of sports and is true for fans as well.

There is "celebration" occurring for both of the teams in the above videos.  It's the nature of the celebration that's significantly different -- one is silly and clownish, the other serious, driven, determined, and aggressive.

I wouldn't want to face that Steelers team the following week.  That Dolphins team I would consider a cream puff by comparison.

Players who have been a part of this team during the McDaniel era have called it "soft."  This is why.  The culture in the locker room is soft, and that translates to the field as well.

There is absolutely nothing "soft" about that Steelers team.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

There is "celebration" occurring for both of the teams in the above videos.  It's the nature of the celebration that's significantly different -- one is silly and clownish, the other serious, driven, determined, and aggressive.

I wouldn't want to face that Steelers team the following week.  That Dolphins team I would consider a cream puff by comparison.

Players who have been a part of this team during the McDaniel era have called it "soft."  This is why.  The culture in the locker room is soft, and that translates to the field as well.

There is absolutely nothing "soft" about that Steelers team.

Given that the Dolphins won their next game are you sure you want to double down on the idea that the celebration hurt them.

[Dolfanalyst]

Given that the Dolphins won their next game are you sure you want to double down on the idea that the celebration hurt them.

The nature of the locker room celebration itself isn't a causative factor in anything.  It's the team culture it reflects that's causative in winning and losing.  Locker room celebrations in themselves don't cause winning and losing -- team cultures do, however.  These locker room celebrations are simply reflections of their teams' cultures.

Likewise the nature of the Steelers' locker room celebration itself in the video above didn't propel them to their playoff win on the road the following week.  It was their culture that was significantly responsible for that, as well as for accomplishing the highly improbable feat of winning three playoff games on the road as a wilcard and then the Super Bowl.

As a Patriots' fan I suspect you were well aware of the power of the team's culture 2001-2019.  You don't have that kind of dynasty without a powerful team culture in my opinion.

Beating now 3-8 Washington without its starting QB by 3 points in overtime on a neutral field hardly dispels the notion that this team is soft, and that its culture is responsible for that.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Team culture is a factor.  And what is important is that the team is working as a team.  I see nothing in that video to suggest there is an issue.  Red flags for bad culture is a wide receiver pouting after a win he was not targeted enough.

Outstanding cap space management was a much greater factor in NEP's success than Belichick's sour demeanor.

Belichick's success didn't not come because of his personality, it came because he is brilliant at football.  The reason why his coaching tree is so horrible is folks copy his personality rather than his football accrument.  You don't need to be an asshole to be a successful coach.  Belichick won in spite of being an asshole not because he was an asshole.

[Dolfanalyst]

Team culture is a factor.  And what is important is that the team is working as a team.  I see nothing in that video to suggest there is an issue.  Red flags for bad culture is a wide receiver pouting after a win he was not targeted enough.

Outstanding cap space management was a much greater factor in NEP's success than Belichick's sour demeanor.

Belichick's success didn't not come because of his personality, it came because he is brilliant at football.  The reason why his coaching tree is so horrible is folks copy his personality rather than his football accrument.  You don't need to be an asshole to be a successful coach.  Belichick won in spite of being an asshole not because he was an asshole.

A head coach doesn't have to be an asshole to win.  A clown he cannot be, however.

[masterfins]

A head coach doesn't have to be an asshole to win.  A clown he cannot be, however.

+1

[Dave Gray]

I love his clownish qualities.  That's old fart-ism to think that you need to be gruff and serious all the time.  It's "his girlfriend is ugly; he has no confidence" vibes-based bullshit.

I love what he did in that press conference, where he snuck in and then asked a question.  The team hasn't quit on him.

[Dolfanalyst]

I love his clownish qualities.  That's old fart-ism to think that you need to be gruff and serious all the time.  It's "his girlfriend is ugly; he has no confidence" vibes-based bullshit.

I love what he did in that press conference, where he snuck in and then asked a question.  The team hasn't quit on him.

His personality isn't an issue as a person and in life in general.  There is nothing wrong with a clownish, quirky, offbeat guy as a person.

The problem comes when you put him in the capacity of head coach of a professional football team, where "the team takes on the personality of its coach," and the team is playing the rough and tumble game of football.

Then being a clown is a problem.  It's fundamentally inconsistent with the job.

If McDaniel were coaching a tiddlywinks or a pickleball team for example, two sports completely different from football, his personality wouldn't be a problem.  In professional football it makes him woefully inadequate, however.

There is a reason there is no exceptionally successful head coach in football history (college or pro) who had a personality like his.  It's because it isn't consistent with the nature of the game.

Go back and watch Bill Cowher in the video linked in the original post.  That fits with football.  McDaniel does not.

Nothing wrong with him just as a person in general.  In the capacity of the head coach of an NFL football team, plenty wrong.

In life in general he's a square peg in a square hole.  As the coach of a pro football team, he's a square peg in a round hole.  He simply doesn't fit.

[Spider-Dan]

I just saw a coach in unserious capri pants walk into a locker room and "go ballistic" after a week 11 win like his team just won the conference championship.  So unserious!  Yet more evidence that only Serious Coaches win in the National Football League.

[Dolfanalyst]

I just saw a coach in unserious capri pants walk into a locker room and "go ballistic" after a week 11 win like his team just won the conference championship.  So unserious!  Yet more evidence that only Serious Coaches win in the National Football League.

You measure head coaching success in the NFL via the winning of mere single games?

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

You measure head coaching success in the NFL via the winning of mere single games?

Huh?  how is the relevant to what spider posted?

[Dolfanalyst]

Huh?  how is the relevant to what spider posted?

First of all, the post isn't even relevant to the topic at hand, because the coach depicted in the article linked in the post does not have a clownish personality in general like McDaniel.  One can hardly say that if "the team takes on the personality of its coach" in Sean McVay's case, the team will have a clownish personality. Unlike McDaniel, McVay is not a clown in general.

So, "what Spider posted" isn't relevant here to begin with.

Even if we wanted to put all that aside for moment and just focus on the nature of the team celebration in the video linked in the post, the celebration is far more akin to the Steelers' celebration than it is to the Dolphins' celebration in the videos in the original post.  There is nothing silly and clownish occurring in the locker room in that video, regardless of whether the head coach is "wearing capri pants."

In other words, Sean McVay doesn't have anywhere near the clownish personality in general McDaniel does, and there is no evidence in the locker room celebration video linked that his team has a silly and clownish culture.

Moreover, the Rams are 8-2.  The Dolphins in the video in the original post were 3-7.  Even if there were some silliness going on in the locker room on the Rams' part, it would've been occurring in a completely different context in terms of how the team has performed overall.  There should be no such silliness on the part of a team at 3-7 that should be functioning with dead set seriousness on turning its season around.  Silliness in that context is an indication of team culture dysfunction.