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Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel joined The Rich Eisen Show on Friday. He discussed several Dolphins-related topics, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Eisen couldn't help himself, though.
The host had to as McDaniel about another quarterback—the San Francisco 49ers' soon-to-be second-year signal-caller, Trey Lance. After all, if anyone outside the 49ers building has some insight into last year's No. 3 overall pick, it's McDaniel, who served as the team's offensive coordinator last season.
Most expect Lance to be the 49ers' starter in 2022, with the team likely to trade veteran Jimmy Garoppolo in the coming weeks. Eisen wants to know what the Dolphins coach thinks about Lance as a potential starter.
In case he forgot, McDaniel reminded Eisen that he is no longer with the 49ers organization before answering.
"My time with him, it was exciting," McDaniel said. "My time with him, you talk about a dude that was willing and able and wanting to be great, that he himself knew there was a lot of stuff to work on. … You've got to remember, these draft picks coming out, especially the ones that most of the season gets canceled, you're just preparing for a pro day, nonstop, for a calendar year."
The pandemic limited Lance to just one game in the 15 months leading to last year's draft. He started just two games for the 49ers this past season—hardly a solid sample size to judge the young quarterback.
"And then after you do your pro day, you're doing more workouts," McDaniel continued. "Then you get drafted, and you jump into football. So, it's a grind for them.
"I'm not sure, my time in San Francisco, I wouldn't even know what to say in terms of that judgment of it. He started football games and won football games last year, so if the 49ers choose to have him as their starting quarterback, I'm confident that's with good reason, knowing Kyle and John Lynch."
There is a lot of speculation surrounding the 49ers' quarterback situation. Lance remains the betting favorite to start Week 1 of the 2022 season. However, headline-grabbers want to throw other options out there, like Tom Brady changing his mind about retirement, the unlikely scenario that the Green Bay Packers trade Aaron Rodgers to the 49ers, or San Francisco holding onto Garoppolo for yet another season.
None of that is impossible. Just unlikely.
"And if [Lance isn't the starter], it doesn't really mean anything," McDaniel added. "He's going to keep working, and I have no doubt that the picture and the product that I was around was not the final product. For me to say he's going to be X, Y, or Z would be uninformed, and that's not why you had me on the show, I think."
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