Mike McDaniel takes diplomatic route while answering DeShon Elliott's critique of Dolphins being "soft"

Mike McDaniel heard his former charge insult the Miami Dolphins on a podcast. But unlike most, he will not dwell on it, instead taking the "classy" route.

Speaking recently on the "Punch Line Podcast" with former Baltimore teammate Marlon Humphrey, safety DeShon Elliott called his former team "soft" - especially and more specifically during last season's 19-56 New Year's Eve loss at the Ravens with the AFC East on the line. His former head coach was then confronted with this comment during Wednesday's practice.

McDaniel refused to acknowledge it, merely saying:

"I am supremely only concerned with the 2024 Dolphins, for sure. Our team played a tough-fought game the past three weeks and ended up finding a way to win this past week. That's not the easiest thing to do... Did he saytit on a podcast? Cool podcast."

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Tua Tagovailoa, other Dolphins players react to former teammate Deshon Elliott calling team "soft"

Dolphins player also had their say on the comments, with Tua Tagovailoa also electing to be "classy":

“I would say every man speaks for themselves. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I’ve been able to have a lot of conversations with him last year, but that’s it. Every man has their own voice, and they should be able to speak what they feel. That’s how he feels? Cool.”

Not everyone, however, had the same sentiment. Three of Elliott's fellow defensive backs were unhappy with how he handled things, starting with Kader Kohou, who said:

“I don't know why he would go on a podcast and say anything crazy like that... He could have gone on the podcast and said what he wanted to say without trying to throw shots at us. I feel like, when he leaves the Steelers and goes to another team, he’ll probably do the same thing. I got no respect for it.”

This sentiment was seconded by Jevon Holland:

"Honestly, man, if you want to call somebody out go ahead and do that and drop names… If you’re not naming names the rest of it is empty."

The heaviest words, however, came from Nik Needham, who posted this on his X account: