When Mike McDaniel was hired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins most believed that tight end Mike Gesicki’s time was probably coming to an end in South Florida.
At the time, Gesicki was set to become a free agent, and he just didn’t really fit into the role that McDaniel asks his tight ends to take on. However, Miami opted to franchise tag the Penn State product, paying him $10.93 million guaranteed this season.
Through 15 weeks, Gesicki has had one of the worst years of his career, recording just 25 receptions for 274 yards and four touchdowns. He’s on pace to have his second-lowest totals in receptions in yards – the first being his rookie season.
Gesicki has been asked about his production throughout the year and has remained a true professional. This week, McDaniel put a lot of the blame on himself for his tight end’s poor showing.
“I look at my portion of the situation in that yeah, he’s a good player and I don’t get him involved enough,” McDaniel said. “I don’t like that he’s having to answer those questions. I don’t like that it feels as though it’s a failure to some degree, I think, for myself, because if I’m to lead this team, I need to set an example. And the example of accountability can’t ever be skirted. And I think, I hope and I believe that Mike looks at it as what could he do to better the situation. I think he’s a pro and it’s been a rough set of circumstances. There’s always more you can do as a coach and he’s a good player.
“So yeah, there’s multiple variables to crack as a head coach, play-caller, all that stuff. I really, really want, in the worst way, to do the best job possible and feel very responsible to these players’ careers. And it’s okay for me to admit when something is staring you in the face and you know that you could do better. I don’t like that he has to deal with that and I need to do as good a job as I can, which obviously, I can do a better job of making him have opportunities. And then he needs to take advantage of those opportunities.”
At this point, Gesicki is being out-snapped by Durham Smythe, his best friend on the team. Smythe is a solid player and is a better blocker than Gesicki, but his play-making ability isn’t really close.
As the final weeks of the season near, it feels like Gesicki may be playing for the last time in aqua and orange sometime soon.
