National Football League

AFC East-leading Dolphins selected as 'Hard Knocks' in-season team

Updated Oct. 23, 2023 5:41 p.m. ET

NFL fans will get another behind-the-scenes look at an intriguing team in the AFC East.

The Miami Dolphins will be the team featured in the in-season version of "Hard Knocks," the team and HBO announced on Monday.

The Dolphins have emerged as one of the NFL's more interesting and electrifying teams over the past two seasons since Mike McDaniel became their head coach. Tua Tagovailoa has statistically turned into one of the league's best quarterbacks under McDaniel, playing alongside star wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The five-time All-Pro playmaker is in the midst of one of the best seasons for a receiver in NFL history, recording 53 receptions for 902 yards and seven touchdowns through the first seven games.

All of those elements have led the Dolphins to a 5-2 record, leading the AFC East as they boast the NFL's best offense. They made the postseason last season for the first time in six years but haven't won the division since 2008.

On top of their success on the field, McDaniel has drawn headlines over his short time as a head coach for his sound bytes at press conferences and viral mic'd up clips.

The Dolphins are the second AFC East team to be featured on "Hard Knocks" in 2023. The New York Jets were the team the show focused on in its traditional preseason format, following Aaron Rodgers as he commenced his first season in New York.

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This is the third straight year that "Hard Knocks" has featured an in-season team — adding a spinoff version of the show that typically offered a behind-the-scenes look during the preseason. The Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals were previously spotlighted in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Neither team made the playoffs in the seasons they were featured on the show.

Miami was featured on "Hard Knocks" in 2012 under then-first-year head coach Joe Philbin. Storylines that year included then-general manager Jeff Ireland calling Dolphins 2009 first-rounder Vontae Davis into his office to inform him that he was being traded to the Colts.

A premiere date for the in-season version of "Hard Knocks" featuring the Dolphins has yet to be announced. The previous two in-season versions had premiere dates in the middle of November, airing new episodes on a weekly basis through the end of the regular season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.