Dolphins' Mike McDaniel brushes off Tom Brady tampering questions ahead of preseason game against Bucs

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Last week, the Miami Dolphins were fined for tampering, as they attempted to get Tom Brady and Sean Payton down to South Florida.

Fittingly, the Dolphins' first preseason game is against Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Saturday in Tampa, Florida.

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Head coach Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins addresses the media prior to training camp at the Baptist Health Training Complex on July 27, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

However, head coach Mike McDaniel isn't even thinking about what occurred between the team and the quarterback years ago.

"For me, nothing happened," he told reporters on Wednesday.

McDaniel was asked if there was any awkwardness, but McDaniel insinuated that there was no such thing in his own locker room.

"Everyone else is the one making it awkward. It doesn’t occupy a single iota of space with anybody. It’s hard enough to be good in this league."

Dolphins team owner Stephen Ross has been in some heat lately, as former head coach Brian Flores also accused him of offering to pay him $100,000 for every loss the team had in the 2019 season.

Head coach Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins talks to the media prior to the Miami Dolphins mandatory minicamp at the Baptist Health Training Complex on June 7, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

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While the NFL's investigation did not find evidence of bribes, the league did find that Ross felt tanking was in the best interest of the team.

But McDaniel is focused simply on today's football and not even paying attention to the past.

"As the Miami Dolphins, all of our energy is very coordinated and only has to do with us getting better, and everything else would be an opportunity cost that we’re not willing to expend," he said.

The Dolphins, rather than acquiring Brady, drafted Tua Tagovailoa with the sixth pick in 2020. They stuck with Flores through last season.

Head coach Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins, right, talks with Tua Tagovailoa during training camp at the Baptist Health Training Complex on July 27, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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Saturday will be the first meeting between the two quarterbacks in the NFL, as Tagovailoa was injured when the teams faced each other last season.