Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s victory lap after his team beat the Buffalo Bills stretched well into Sunday evening.
He went viral after a picture circled online of someone who looked strikingly like him driving by a popular South Florida beach bar known as a gathering spot for Bills fans.
The image quickly ignited social media chatter that McDaniel had shown up to troll Miami’s AFC East rivals in person after Sunday’s 30-13 win.
“That’s why I like the good old days,” McDaniel quipped Monday when asked about the photo. “The throwbacks of yore where you could trust the internet and the images — because that is pretty detailed. I do live in that area, but AI, right?”
So, was it him?
“I live in that area,” McDaniel said. “AI is real. That’s what I got for you.”
Regardless of who was or wasn’t there, McDaniel took pride in watching his team celebrate a galvanizing victory — one in which the Dolphins built a 16-0 halftime lead, forced three turnovers and played with a cohesion that has been missing much of the season.
McDaniel and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver chest-bumped each other on the sideline during the game, players celebrated with laundry bin races afterward, and 59-year-old Dolphins wide receivers coach Robert Prince broke out with a short breakdancing routine during the postgame locker room celebration.
“I think it was an earned celebration,” McDaniel said. “I think you saw a team that was exuberant based upon the execution of something that they knew they held the belief that they could do entirely themselves.”
The Dolphins (3-7) still believe they can turn their season around, and Sunday’s game was a reminder of what they can be — if they can find a way to sustain it.
“We’re all delusional, man,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb said. “We know what we can do. And we believe that if we put our minds to it, we can play complementary football like we did. The sky is the limit. It’s not delusional at the end of the day because we know we can do it.”
Next, the Dolphins travel to Spain, where they will play the Washington Commanders in Madrid on Sunday before heading into a bye week.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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