What now, now that the Miami Dolphins have rewarded Mike McDaniel with an extension through the 2028 season?

Here’s what:

• He has even higher expectations for himself.

• He knows he must get better every season, every game, every day.

• He knows he can’t keep improving without relying on everyone else in the building.

• He knows he must focus on what he expects of himself because it’s the best way to realize expectations others have on him.

How do we know this? Because McDaniel himself said so. No, he didn’t say it Friday after news broke that Stephen Ross and the Dolphins had given him a fresh contract, a 3-year extension of his original 4-year contract. He actually said it a day prior, in response to a question about how a player’s contract affects expectations. The player in question, obviously, was quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his $212.4 team-record million deal.

Rest assured, though, that in McDaniel’s mind, the same parameters apply whether you’re talking about the leader in the huddle or in the meeting room. McDaniel would never shirk responsibility by suggesting otherwise.

Forget, for now, "adversity is opportunity," a McDaniel staple. Today, it's "extension is expectation."

In one important way, it’s difficult to envision how McDaniel, 41, could expect more of himself than he already does. Not long ago he told me that because he’s called upon to lead the best athletes in the world at the sport they play, he shouldn’t be in the position he is if he isn’t one of the best at what he does. That his players deserve as much.

Now, consider Ross, who has extended his season of giving to include his head coach. Two-plus years ago, Ross took a shot on a guy no one even wanted to interview. Ross was rewarded with consecutive trips to the playoffs and — do not underestimate this part — relevancy. For years, the Dolphins were irrelevant on a national scale save for the occasional soap opera involving bullying or their offensive line coach du jour.

Now, they’re can’t-miss TV with the “coolest” coach in the NFL, as someone labeled McDaniel even before he opted for the shaggy look. McDaniel even found a way to make the exit from his on-field, halftime TV interview mime-worthy entertainment.

Mike McDaniel's Dolphins have hurdles they must finally overcome

Sorry to interrupt everyone’s fun, but there’s a “but” on the horizon. McDaniel himself has said if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. Popping up for 60 minutes on wild-card weekend was a blast these past two years, but that’s not what this extension is for. If the Dolphins aren’t playing on divisional weekend in January 2024, if this absurd 24-year playoff-win drought lasts even one more year, watch out.

There will be calls for heads to roll, and it always starts with the head coach. Yes, McDaniel will have his bust in the Personable Head Coaches Hall of Fame, but at that point, you’ll hear more cries about how his teams can’t compete with playoff-caliber competition (1-6 last year), aren’t physical enough and don’t carry the same swagger on the road as they do into Hard Rock Stadium. Those are all valid hurdles he and his Dolphins must clear in 2024.

Having made a deep dive this far, might as well ask the question of whether McDaniel has the horses required. While comparing last year’s team to this year’s, I gave the 2024 team the edge in six position groups compared to only four for the 2023 team, thus inviting the conclusion this year’s team is better. It’s not. The steps backward occurred in critical areas (offensive and defensive lines) compared to smaller steps forward elsewhere.

Sorry, but if you don’t win in the trenches, you don’t win, not in January. All the rest turns to window dressing. For general manager Chris Grier to again chuckle at reporters for doubting his offensive line, it amounted to an open invitation to see those words thrown back at him down the road. News flash: On third and 1, it’s legal to both run and convert.

It didn’t offer much comfort that when Grier was asked what he did to improve the record vs. playoff competition, he pointed to a dropped pass and a “borderline” pass interference non-call (I’ll call it “bad”) in Philadelphia and miscues against Kansas City in Germany. Another news flash: There will be dropped passes and bad calls in 2024. Injuries, too. You get past them, you win. You don’t get past them, you whine.

Extension only gives McDaniel so much security

Don’t fall into the trap of assuming this extension buys McDaniel a handful of seasons to make it just so. There is no salary cap “dead money” when it comes to NFL coaches. If, at any point, the Dolphins get stuck in neutral under McDaniel, they’ll move on just as sure as Texas A&M did with Jimbo Fisher, eating $75 million along the way. Maybe it’s just coincidental, but in addition to re-signing McDaniel, Ross’ week included voting with all but one other NFL owner in allowing private equity firms to invest in NFL teams. Ross has been seeking additional revenue streams for some time. Now he has it.

It’s not as if Ross went out on a limb to extend McDaniel the way he did to hire McDaniel. Ross’ latest forays into head-coaching hires produced quarterback whisperer Adam Gase, whose offense ranked 31st his final season, and Brian Flores, whose attack on the field (25th) was about as questionable as his attack in the courts.

More: Miami Dolphins LB Jaelan Phillips won't settle for 2024 as ’get-back year' following injury

McDaniel has led the Dolphins to two straight playoff appearances for the first time since the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Chop Robinson and  Jaylen Wright would have no clue about this. They weren’t even born. McDaniel also joins Don Shula and Dave Wannstedt as the only coaches in team history to make the playoffs their first two seasons. No, not even Jimmy Johnson, mired in fourth place in Year 1, pulled it off.

Ross is 84, an age when most are watching their money. Ross? You get a check, Mike McDaniel. You get one, Tua and Jaylen and Tyreek and, soon, probably Jevon.

You can’t fault Ross for not investing to finally experience playoff success.

And, now, expecting it.

Probably like his head coach.

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at  hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins Mike McDaniel gets 3-year contract extension through 2028