Was Mike McDaniel vaping? Social media speculates Dolphins coach ripped vape pen during playoff loss to Bills

Jacob Camenker

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Was Mike McDaniel vaping? Social media speculates Dolphins coach ripped vape pen during playoff loss to Bills image

Mike McDaniel is facing a lot of questions about the Dolphins' 34-31 loss against the Bills in the NFL playoffs, and not all of them were about his clock management.

One of them is about exactly what he was doing on the sideline when the CBS cameras zoomed in on his face during the contest.

MORE: Bills edge Dolphins in tightly fought wild-card battle

The broadcast crew captured McDaniel with his hands pressed up against his mouth. To some watching, it looked like McDaniel was concealing a vape pen in his hand, taking a 'rip' from it as cameras cut away.

Naturally, this led to rampant speculation on social media that McDaniel was, in fact, vaping during the Dolphins' all-important playoff game. That led to many jokes and shocked reactions from NFL fans.

That said, McDaniel may not have been vaping on the sideline. There's another perfectly reasonable explanation that McDaniel would be positioned in such a manner during the game.

He was blowing into his hands to keep them warm.

MORE: Bills survive vs. Dolphins despite Josh Allen's uncharacteristic playoff interceptions

The weather in Buffalo never ticked above 30 degrees Fahrenheit during Sunday's game. McDaniel has coached in Miami, San Francisco and Atlanta since 2014, so he isn't exactly acclimated to colder climates despite his experience playing college football at Yale.

So, it's plausible that McDaniel was just looking to keep his hands warm on a cold day.

It's worth noting that vaping isn't allowed at Highmark Stadium; it is considered a smoke-free environment, per its official policy.

Highmark Stadium is proud to be a smoke-free and tobacco-free facility. For the health, safety, and comfort of all Bills guests and Highmark Stadium Team Members, smoking (including electronic cigarettes) and all tobacco products (including chewing tobacco, lighters and matches) are prohibited inside all areas of the stadium; including entry gates, concourses, seating areas, and all suites and clubs. There are no designated smoking areas in the stadium and re-entry is prohibited. Stadium guests who fail to comply with this smoking / tobacco policy are subject to ejection and may lose ticket privileges.

Sure, NFL coaches have skirted protocols like that in the past, including Mike Zimmer hiding chewing tobacco in a sunflower seeds bag, but that could have deterred McDaniel from doing it.

Either way, it's impossible to say exactly what McDaniel was doing in that moment. He wasn't asked about vaping during his postgame news conference, so this will remain a mystery unless he addresses it at the Dolphins' end-of-season media availability.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.