McDaniel Plays Coy About Viral Clip

"That's why I like the good old days, the throwbacks of yore where you could trust the Internet and the images, because that is pretty detailed," McDaniel said. "I do live in that area, but I mean, AI, right?"

When it was pointed out to McDaniel that he hadn't answered the question, he doubled down.

"So, I mean, I live in that area, AI is real. That's what I got for you. For the record, I did not answer it. That's the punch line of the humor."

The Elbo Room, which famously hosted the Florida Panthers in the hours and days after they won the Stanley Cup each of the past two Junes, also is the sight for a "Bills Mafia takeover" for those hardcore fans who traveled down from Buffalo for the game at Hard Rock Stadium.

It obviously didn't play out as expected for the Bills and their fans, with Miami administering a 30-13 beatdown on the five-time defending AFC East champions.

It certainly would be somewhat aytpical for an NFL head coach to drive by a Bills fan hangout after a big win for some good old-fashioned trolling, but McDaniel most definitely is not your typical head coach.

The best guess here is that indeed was AI, though McDaniel clearly was having some fun letting the uncertainty linger.

A BIG WIN, TROLLING OR NOT

Regardless, the 30-13 whooping of the Bills was big, if not huge, for McDaniel and his job status.

This was the Dolphins' first outing since the team moved on from longtime GM Chris Grier with multiple reports indicating that owner Steve Ross told McDaniel his job was safe at least through the end of the 2025 season.

But for McDaniel to last beyond 2025 and have a shot at returning next season, the Dolphins needed to be competitive and win at least a few games down the stretch and there was no better first argument for McDaniel than the 17-point victory against the Bills.

Whether it was satisfying enough to justify making sure to drive past a group of Buffalo fans, that's a different story. And McDaniel clearly didn't feel like being the one to debunk it if it indeed was fake.