Yes but the old school rap references in every presser would make it worth it.
That’s certainly one of the concerns with McDaniel, but you never know how OCs or coaches are going to fare until they’re tasked with it. Listening to him speak about coaching in general, he seems to have a ton of self awareness, trickling down from Kyle Shanahan.
I’m paraphrasing, but he essentially says that because they don’t have experience playing in the league, they’re always trying to prove themselves and provide value to the players by always putting them in a position to succeed. When the players see that you can put them in a position to be successful, they buy in.
For Miami, they have a ton of young players on the roster. I think that McDaniel will be able to connect with their core guys like Tua, Waddle, Wilkins, and Holland probably better than Flores on a personal level.
I think Tua can be an excellent fit in that Shanahan offense and with the ability to lean on an actual running game.
I want to be excited, but if it winds up not being McDaniel at this point I’m going to be really disappointed.
I’ve been genuinely shocked that McDaniel seems to have become the overwhelming choice of the fan base.
He was the most intriguing candidate to me from the start, but I tend to gravitate toward the more outside the box choices. Add to that the inexperience, Ivy League education and the fact that he looks more like a hipster than a football coach, and I was for sure the majority of the fan base would hate the very idea of him…
I guess it’s nice to be surprised. Now hopefully they sign him, and half the fan base can turn on him immediately, or as soon as he make ls a call they don’t agree with on 3rd down…
I’ve been genuinely shocked that McDaniel seems to have become the overwhelming choice of the fan base.
He was the most intriguing candidate to me from the start, but I tend to gravitate toward the more outside the box choices. Add to that the inexperience, Ivy League education and the fact that he looks more like a hipster than a football coach, and I was for sure the majority of the fan base would hate the very idea of him…
I guess it’s nice to be surprised. Now hopefully they sign him, and half the fan base can turn on him immediately, or as soon as he make ls a call they don’t agree with on 3rd down…
Time is a flat circle.
View: https://twitter.com/ArmandoSalguero/status/1487877608318636032?s=20&t=8WfG-P0paRWYVLCtnq-ZOQ
Looks like Ross was waiting for Harbaugh to go on another interview so he can make the case that he didn’t hire Jim Harbaugh away from Michigan.
If Harbaugh is in fact their guy, would make some sense why they were in no rush to make a push for Daboll.
View: https://twitter.com/ArmandoSalguero/status/1487877608318636032?s=20&t=8WfG-P0paRWYVLCtnq-ZOQ
Looks like Ross was waiting for Harbaugh to go on another interview so he can make the case that he didn’t hire Jim Harbaugh away from Michigan.
If Harbaugh is in fact their guy, would make some sense why they were in no rush to make a push for Daboll.
Despite the Harbaugh hype, Mike McDaniel spent most of the day today with the Dolphins.
View: https://twitter.com/schultz_report/status/1488321341421932547?s=21
View: https://twitter.com/schultz_report/status/1488321341421932547?s=21
It’s being discussed in the Flores thread, but I figured we can discuss the Dolphins specific accusations here:
Ross offered Flores incentive to lose games. This is bad no matter how you spin it.
He alleges that Ross tried setting up a meeting with an unnamed QB at the end of the 2020 season. Speculation is Tom Brady, but Joe Schad said he was told it was not Deshaun Watson.
Flores then tried to paint the picture that because he refused to lose games (fair) and because he refused to meet with this unknown QB, he was labeled as difficult and hard to work with.
I think it’s possible Miami gets sanctioned over the incentives for losing games. I don’t think Ross will be forced to sell the team. At the end of the day, there are owners that have done far worse in recent history.
Ross offered Flores incentive to lose games. This is bad no matter how you spin it.
He alleges that Ross tried setting up a meeting with an unnamed QB at the end of the 2020 season. Speculation is Tom Brady, but Joe Schad said he was told it was not Deshaun Watson.
Flores then tried to paint the picture that because he refused to lose games (fair) and because he refused to meet with this unknown QB, he was labeled as difficult and hard to work with.
I think it’s possible Miami gets sanctioned over the incentives for losing games. I don’t think Ross will be forced to sell the team. At the end of the day, there are owners that have done far worse in recent history.
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So...Flores wouldn't tank for Burrow, which forced Grier to draft Tua at #5 the following year. And then Flores gets canned in part because of his poor relationship with / non-belief in Tua? Do I have that right?
Keep in mind, at the time of this alleged incentivized tanking, the QB they were eyeing was likely Tua and not Joe Burrow.
Burrow obviously had a phenomenal season, but it wasn’t until Tua had his hip crushed and Burrow continued to win the Heisman and the National Championship that he was the clear head and shoulders #1 overall pick.
The whole Tua/Herbert decision feels like much more of a toss up as we’ve heard the organization was largely split on the two. Maybe Flores was a Herbert guy, but at the end of the day, they took Tua and it felt like Flores soured on Tua very quickly.
Barry Jackson tweeted that the Schultz tweet was made up, apparently McDaniel’s second interview is Thursday.
Should be fun now…
I’m once again embarrassed to be a Dolphins fan, but it’s less about anything Ross did, and more so the reactions I’ve seen from Dolphins fans on Reddit and other forums…the amount of people that are speaking about Flores like he’s not even a human being is just disgusting.
Should be fun now…
I’m once again embarrassed to be a Dolphins fan, but it’s less about anything Ross did, and more so the reactions I’ve seen from Dolphins fans on Reddit and other forums…the amount of people that are speaking about Flores like he’s not even a human being is just disgusting.
View: https://twitter.com/cameronwolfe/status/1489100251835232256?s=21
Looks like we’re going to have a good old-fashioned he said-she said.
Flores’s attorneys say he has corroborating evidence and Cam Wolfe said he spoke to a witness.
My only guess here is Ross is going to claim that his comment was taken out of context, and he was saying he would pay Flores in a casual, joking manner. He wasn’t serious about it. He’ll likely have his own witness that will corroborate that version of the story.
Ross’s denial is fairly strong, however I have a very hard time believing that Flores simply made this story up and it’s completely false.
Looks like we’re going to have a good old-fashioned he said-she said.
Flores’s attorneys say he has corroborating evidence and Cam Wolfe said he spoke to a witness.
My only guess here is Ross is going to claim that his comment was taken out of context, and he was saying he would pay Flores in a casual, joking manner. He wasn’t serious about it. He’ll likely have his own witness that will corroborate that version of the story.
Ross’s denial is fairly strong, however I have a very hard time believing that Flores simply made this story up and it’s completely false.
Dolphins interview for McDaniel now scheduled for Friday.
At this point in time, it’s down to Mike McDaniel and Kellen Moore with Harbaugh officially back to Michigan.
It feels like McDaniel is the heavy favorite at this point in time. I have not heard much about Kellen Moore at all.
If McDaniel is willing to take the job, they better not let him leave tomorrow without a contract.
If they have to go further down the list of candidates, it’s going to be further disappointment and embarrassment.
If they have to go further down the list of candidates, it’s going to be further disappointment and embarrassment.
Would imagine we hear something by Sunday.
View: https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1489557283352764418?s=21
View: https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1489557283352764418?s=21
Isn’t Ross contributing to this treatment of Flores? Not suggesting he’s responsible for all of it, but he’s certainly going on the attack as well, which I am sure is riling people up.
I think anytime race is brought into the equation, people immediately go on the defensive because it’s a sensitive topic for a number of reasons.
When you have a billionaire old white guy canning a fairly successful younger black man from the top of his profession, it will certainly raise eyebrows. Then when that black man says publicly that he was treated unfairly by that billionaire owner and the other billionaire white guys he interviewed with for another job, people start getting upset.
I just want to reiterate that what Flores has done took a tremendous amount of courage. It is not easy taking the stand that he took. Standing up to the establishment on your own is hard. The establishment is now pushing back and poking holes in his story.
I hope that some good comes from this. I hope there is positive change. The NFL needs more diversity in its leadership and ownership. I also truly hope that Flores has not torpedoed his career and he coaches again in the NFL.
The fan base hates Ross more than Flores.
In fact, if Flores is seen as a martyr, it has nothing to do with social justice, but the hope that this leads to Ross having to sell the team.
That’s not everyone of course, but the overwhelming response I’ve seen from the fan base is along the lines of; Flores is an asshole (if that is attributable to the teams response, that certainly seems to have stuck), He’s a crybaby now looking for a handout, he should have won more games, if you’re a good coach you’ll get a HC job regardless of race, etc etc…
My working hypothesis is that when you’re a complete embarrassment as a franchise for two decades, over that time, the sane and rationale fans slowly fall by the wayside.
Personally, I just see Flores as an intense alpha personality.
I’ve been around the sport enough to have seen this type in action and therefore I’m not shocked with the stories that have come out, specifically when you see where the criticisms have come from.
For instance, one of the players that seemed to be happy Flores was fired was Parker. If we’re playing word association with Parker, what’s one of the first things that’sto come up? Often injured? Not reaching potential? Spoiler alert: alpha coach views lingering injuries as a sign of weakness, you’re a player that can’t be counted on.
This could have also applied to Tua. Where Flores was not going to be the type to be empathetic toward a young QB with injuries and rookie/2nd year struggles. It’s give me the guy that will run through the proverbial brick wall and help me win.
More often than not alpha personalities are going to clash with those that aren’t. As an outsider, it certainly appears that Grier and Ross are not such personalities. So again, not surprised there was a clash.
Admittedly this is conjecture on my part, but from everything we know, if there was an issue between Flores and Grier, I’d bet money on Flores confronting Grier to his face, while Grier would likely go complain to someone else. And I’m a situation like that, each individual thinks their chosen response in correct and winds up resenting the way the other person handles it.
The Flores type has been prevalent in the sport since an NFL roster will greatly consist of alpha types. The irony to me has been the fan reaction, since it seems they tend to clamor for the intense hard ass leader of men type…yet that’s not the case with Flores.
Not sure if any of that make sense and I realize it’s a lot of assumptions on my part, but connecting the dots, that’s what I’m seeing and I felt weird not trying to detail some of it, while criticizing what I was seeing elsewhere.
In a perfect world you have a coach that is able to wear multiple hats, depending on the situation and the players involved. As with most things in life, either extreme isn’t ideal…be it hard ass alpha leader, or passive players coach….but it’s generally easier to lean one or the other. Being able to balance it is difficult, and it’s not always easy to find.
I’ve been around the sport enough to have seen this type in action and therefore I’m not shocked with the stories that have come out, specifically when you see where the criticisms have come from.
For instance, one of the players that seemed to be happy Flores was fired was Parker. If we’re playing word association with Parker, what’s one of the first things that’sto come up? Often injured? Not reaching potential? Spoiler alert: alpha coach views lingering injuries as a sign of weakness, you’re a player that can’t be counted on.
This could have also applied to Tua. Where Flores was not going to be the type to be empathetic toward a young QB with injuries and rookie/2nd year struggles. It’s give me the guy that will run through the proverbial brick wall and help me win.
More often than not alpha personalities are going to clash with those that aren’t. As an outsider, it certainly appears that Grier and Ross are not such personalities. So again, not surprised there was a clash.
Admittedly this is conjecture on my part, but from everything we know, if there was an issue between Flores and Grier, I’d bet money on Flores confronting Grier to his face, while Grier would likely go complain to someone else. And I’m a situation like that, each individual thinks their chosen response in correct and winds up resenting the way the other person handles it.
The Flores type has been prevalent in the sport since an NFL roster will greatly consist of alpha types. The irony to me has been the fan reaction, since it seems they tend to clamor for the intense hard ass leader of men type…yet that’s not the case with Flores.
Not sure if any of that make sense and I realize it’s a lot of assumptions on my part, but connecting the dots, that’s what I’m seeing and I felt weird not trying to detail some of it, while criticizing what I was seeing elsewhere.
In a perfect world you have a coach that is able to wear multiple hats, depending on the situation and the players involved. As with most things in life, either extreme isn’t ideal…be it hard ass alpha leader, or passive players coach….but it’s generally easier to lean one or the other. Being able to balance it is difficult, and it’s not always easy to find.
I would agree on most of what you said.
Flores is a guy that will likely be better if he gets a second opportunity. He might realize that he can’t treat his QB like a third string MLB and he can’t churn through and grind his coaching staff at the rate he did in Miami.
As much as football is about tactics, it’s also very much about relationships and having everyone in the building in the same page, pulling in the same direction at the same time. It became clear that was no longer the case in Miami.
I've been thinking about the tampering part of the allegations Flores made and wondering what I would have done in that situation. My sense is that this sort of tampering happens all the time and is rarely called out. When it has been called out the punishment has generally been assigned to the team more-so than the coach. In 2016 the Chiefs were punished for tampering with free agent to be Jeremy Maclin by losing a 3rd and 6th round pick coupled with a $350k fine. Of that fine, $250k went to the team, $75k to Andy Reid, and $25k to the GM John Dorsey.
I don't think I'd be all that concerned about breaking the rules because these rules are a sham anyways. How many free agents sign at 12:01am on the first day they're eligible? It's been so obvious that they've instituted this three-day period where 'tampering' is allowed, but to my eye that hasn't changed any of the realities about conversations taking place well before that. Does anyone here think that Aaron Rodgers' agent hasn't had or won't have any conversations with the right people at say the Broncos or Titans until that three day window starts?
I'd have to think my owner who drove this process would take care of me on the potential fine money, and I'd really not want to piss off my boss. So if I found myself in the position that my boss, the owner of the organization, wanted me to participate in a lunch with the idea that I'd help recruit Tom Brady to the team I think that I would do it. I'm not saying that Flores should have done it; he has his own set of morals. I just wonder how much of an outlier that was for Ross and if that's truly the thing that poisoned their relationship beyond repair.
I don't think I'd be all that concerned about breaking the rules because these rules are a sham anyways. How many free agents sign at 12:01am on the first day they're eligible? It's been so obvious that they've instituted this three-day period where 'tampering' is allowed, but to my eye that hasn't changed any of the realities about conversations taking place well before that. Does anyone here think that Aaron Rodgers' agent hasn't had or won't have any conversations with the right people at say the Broncos or Titans until that three day window starts?
I'd have to think my owner who drove this process would take care of me on the potential fine money, and I'd really not want to piss off my boss. So if I found myself in the position that my boss, the owner of the organization, wanted me to participate in a lunch with the idea that I'd help recruit Tom Brady to the team I think that I would do it. I'm not saying that Flores should have done it; he has his own set of morals. I just wonder how much of an outlier that was for Ross and if that's truly the thing that poisoned their relationship beyond repair.
With some of the way society, and the modern athlete is changing, I think the Flores-type is becoming antiquated…which is more than fine by me.
I guess typing that out at length made me realize that moving on from Flores may not have been the worst thing.
The other thing I did start to wonder, considering the suit, how much race may have played in some of his decision making …meaning, if you’re an African American in a situation where you’re questioning if you’re being set up to fail from the start and you know you’re unlikely to get a second chance if you fail…I can see how that may cause someone to be more controlling, to kind of dial things up to 11, to make a conscious decision that if you are going to go out it’s on your terms.
Viewed through that lens, a lot of Flores’ decisions start to make sense.
Not show how much of that can be attributed to the racial dynamic, or if it is just personality, or more likely, that it all comes together to form an individual
I realize none of us can fully answer any of this, and I’m just starting to type a stream of thought in circles, so I’ll try to make these some of my final thoughts on Flores’ tenure….
So back to our usual programming, questioning what this team is possibly thinking….
I’m currently confused why the team already hasn’t had a second interview with Moore and why they choose to wait until after McDaniel…It’s not like Dallas has been playing the last couple weeks.
Admittedly, part of this being an annoyance is likely due to me wanting McDaniel signed today.
Fair points.
Flores comes from a hard background. He got to where he is by a lot of hard work and lot of mental toughness. I don’t think for a second that his hard-ass persona is an act for football, I think that’s who he is at his core, maybe even to a fault.
Miami probably needed some of that coming from Gase, tearing down the roster, having a ton of young guys come in. Maybe they don’t need as much of that now.
In regards to McDaniel and Moore, I believe I heard that Grier was down at the Senior Bowl scouting and that’s why the interviews moved to later in the week.
I’m in the same boat as you and I’m hopeful we hear McDaniel is the guy sooner than later.
Apparently McDaniel is bi-racial. The cynic in me thinks that Miami will see this as an opportunity to “disprove” the racism suit.
Edit of course I do hope he gets the chance because he is such a non-traditional candidate in multiple ways.
View: https://twitter.com/omarkelly/status/1489585287063814149?s=21
Edit of course I do hope he gets the chance because he is such a non-traditional candidate in multiple ways.
View: https://twitter.com/omarkelly/status/1489585287063814149?s=21
Ehhhh. I don’t know if Miami is getting tossed under the bus for racism as much as they are for potential bribery or tampering.
They have a decent track record on hiring diversity, McDaniel would be the latest example.
As an aside, Deadspin recently skewered themselves saying McDaniel shouldn’t be hired because he’s another white guy that is near another successful white guy and we have to break the cycle. Than they wrote an editorial note that they learned after the fact that McDaniel is in fact bi-racial but left the article up anyways.
https://deadspin.com/sure-mike-mcdaniel-seems-cool-but-he-s-not-worthy-of-1848404929/amp
Just when I thought I was out…
It is a bit hard to wrap my mind around, as I wasn’t a fan of them firing Flores, but then they go out and hire the one person that I felt could be an upgrade…
Guess I have some hope now. But I also find myself singing, “hope is a dangerous thing for a fan like me to have…”
It is a bit hard to wrap my mind around, as I wasn’t a fan of them firing Flores, but then they go out and hire the one person that I felt could be an upgrade…
Guess I have some hope now. But I also find myself singing, “hope is a dangerous thing for a fan like me to have…”
Do I root for Saleh or coach McD in that division? tough one!
as I said earlier in this thread, I love this guy because of how quirky he is (he’s also responsible for some of the best running formations I’ve ever seen).
I think this will work out well.
as I said earlier in this thread, I love this guy because of how quirky he is (he’s also responsible for some of the best running formations I’ve ever seen).
I think this will work out well.
I’m still a bit hesitant to get too excited as it seems we’ve hired “offensive gurus” that haven’t panned out before in Cam Cameron, Joe Philbin, and Adam Gase.
That being said, I don’t think I’ve heard a single negative word about McDaniel’s football mind and his ability to put players in position to succeed. He’s been basically in the Shanahan head coaching incubator longer than anyone not named Kyle.
The biggest thing is this gives Tua a fresh start with a coach that’s going to actually build an offense around his strengths and will ask less of him and more of the people around him.
Seeing a few different things on Twitter regarding the DC. Some people are saying McDaniel is open to keeping Boyer and most of the defense in house.
Seeing a few others that are saying he may make a push for Vic Fangio.
If it’s me, I hire Vic Fangio in a heartbeat and let him decide if anyone else is worth keeping. Fangio has a long, proven track record of successful defenses. It would basically take the defensive side of the team off the plate of McDaniel and give Miami that McVay/Phillips pairing that I think would be good for McDaniel long term.
Seeing a few others that are saying he may make a push for Vic Fangio.
If it’s me, I hire Vic Fangio in a heartbeat and let him decide if anyone else is worth keeping. Fangio has a long, proven track record of successful defenses. It would basically take the defensive side of the team off the plate of McDaniel and give Miami that McVay/Phillips pairing that I think would be good for McDaniel long term.
I don't know if this was mentioned upthread, but Beetle and Zo were taking this morning about how Wannstedt was the most recent head coach the Dolphins hired who had previous NFL head coaching expereience.
This is true and it’s why some were saying Miami should go for a guy that had some experience already like Doug Pederson.
Nick Saban (even though it sounds funny now)
Cam Cameron
Tony Sparano
Joe Philbin
Adam Gase
Brian Flores
Mike McDaniel
I think Miami made the correct decision to try and swing for an OC/HC again. OCs are usually the guys that get hired away to be head coaches, and DCs seem to be far easier to replace (Fangio, Flores, and Wink are all sitting on the market right now).
The HC/QB synergy might be the most important connection in the game, and it’s something Miami clearly lacked with Tua and Flores. Not trying to assign blame for that, but it’s a fact.
Tua played in a similar system under Steve Sarkisian in Alabama when he happened to light college football up. I don’t think there’s a lot of question as to whether or not Tua can be a fit in McDaniel’s offense. I would imagine Tua will be very eager to prove himself as will Mike McDaniel.
The crazy thing is, even with the questions and potential limitations, with just a modest improvement, Tua can be one of the better QB’s McDaniel has worked with.
Also, I think at this point I have to admit, Grier is rather impressive.
Has he been perfect? Hell no. Everything hasn’t worked out, but that’s always going to be the case. What I can say is that I’ve found logic in most of what he’s done, there seems to be a plan, and as a fan that’s all I can ask.
Examples of that being: the honesty and self-awareness to tear it all down to begin with. (Not many teams are willing to do that) The fact he uses high picks on premium positions. The way he’s handled FA, filling some holes, but not being unreasonable, allowing flexibility each year. The SF swap withstanding, getting extra picks while seemingly getting the player (Waddle) they targeted. I’m also convinced having the 1st next year is insurance for if they need to move on from Tua.
And now hiring McDaniel. If he was the buffoon some make him out to be, I don’t think that would have been the case, as Intelligent people surround themselves with intelligent people while the dumb often are intimidated by them.
And now if he wants to further prove my point, what they’ll do is spend a ton on the assistants and supporting staff. If Ross really wants to win, that’s a market inefficiency and a place his dollars can go to use, as there’s no cap on the staff. And seemingly unlike Flores, you now have a coach others may want to attach themselves to.
Also, I think at this point I have to admit, Grier is rather impressive.
Has he been perfect? Hell no. Everything hasn’t worked out, but that’s always going to be the case. What I can say is that I’ve found logic in most of what he’s done, there seems to be a plan, and as a fan that’s all I can ask.
Examples of that being: the honesty and self-awareness to tear it all down to begin with. (Not many teams are willing to do that) The fact he uses high picks on premium positions. The way he’s handled FA, filling some holes, but not being unreasonable, allowing flexibility each year. The SF swap withstanding, getting extra picks while seemingly getting the player (Waddle) they targeted. I’m also convinced having the 1st next year is insurance for if they need to move on from Tua.
And now hiring McDaniel. If he was the buffoon some make him out to be, I don’t think that would have been the case, as Intelligent people surround themselves with intelligent people while the dumb often are intimidated by them.
And now if he wants to further prove my point, what they’ll do is spend a ton on the assistants and supporting staff. If Ross really wants to win, that’s a market inefficiency and a place his dollars can go to use, as there’s no cap on the staff. And seemingly unlike Flores, you now have a coach others may want to attach themselves to.
If this video doesn’t get you fired up, nothing will.
View: https://twitter.com/miamidolphins/status/1491083400286851076?s=21
View: https://twitter.com/miamidolphins/status/1491083400286851076?s=21
That’s interesting. I didn’t know Walker was coaching, but now that I see it, it makes total sense.
Welker was great and it wasn’t like it was due to physical gifts. If he’s able to teach some of the route running and mental aspects that allows him to thrive, he could be an amazing coach.
I always figure the “do more with less” guys make for the best coaches, but they aren’t often guys that have had as much success as Wes.
Seems like a solid move.
Welker was great and it wasn’t like it was due to physical gifts. If he’s able to teach some of the route running and mental aspects that allows him to thrive, he could be an amazing coach.
I always figure the “do more with less” guys make for the best coaches, but they aren’t often guys that have had as much success as Wes.
Seems like a solid move.
Deebo has also given Welker a ton of credit regarding in helping his development.
View: https://twitter.com/kp_show/status/1491939375613022211?s=21
Miami has also released Gerald Alexander. Which would be surprising if they were planning on keeping the defense in tact. I’m hoping this is an early signal that they’re going to bring in Fangio to replace Boyer.
Dolphins sticking with Josh Boyer at DC this year.
View: https://twitter.com/omarkelly/status/1492111809016479748?s=21
I’m somewhere in between on this. I don’t hate it as there’s obvious continuity, players won’t have to relearn a new system and you won’t have to recast players into different roles.
I also don’t know if Josh Boyer is actually any good. The defense was suspect to start the year. If you followed Dolphins Twitter at all this last week, Gerald Alexander’s wife tweeted that it wasn’t Brian Flores that turned the defense around with playcalling, but her husband.
Then the subsequent surprise dismissal yesterday of Alexander seems like there may have been some clashing between he and Boyer.
All I’ve heard about Alexander from media, players and other coaches is that he’s a rising star, a future DC and possibly a future HC in this league.
I worry that Miami kept the wrong person here. We shall see, but something clearly changed during the season in 2021 where they were abjectly bad and went from bad to good.
View: https://twitter.com/omarkelly/status/1492111809016479748?s=21
I’m somewhere in between on this. I don’t hate it as there’s obvious continuity, players won’t have to relearn a new system and you won’t have to recast players into different roles.
I also don’t know if Josh Boyer is actually any good. The defense was suspect to start the year. If you followed Dolphins Twitter at all this last week, Gerald Alexander’s wife tweeted that it wasn’t Brian Flores that turned the defense around with playcalling, but her husband.
Then the subsequent surprise dismissal yesterday of Alexander seems like there may have been some clashing between he and Boyer.
All I’ve heard about Alexander from media, players and other coaches is that he’s a rising star, a future DC and possibly a future HC in this league.
I worry that Miami kept the wrong person here. We shall see, but something clearly changed during the season in 2021 where they were abjectly bad and went from bad to good.
Boyer doesn’t thrill me either, but I’m fine as long as it was McDaniel’s decision and it wasn’t forced on him.
I just hope part of how he kept his job was detailing how he can take Flores’ scheme and make it more diverse and multiple.
My biggest issue with the defense was that it was a bit of the proverbial “one trick pony” which was great against mediocre teams and QB’s, but the rest of the league has shown that heavy blitz man scheme is pretty much the last thing you want to run against the better offenses.
I just hope part of how he kept his job was detailing how he can take Flores’ scheme and make it more diverse and multiple.
My biggest issue with the defense was that it was a bit of the proverbial “one trick pony” which was great against mediocre teams and QB’s, but the rest of the league has shown that heavy blitz man scheme is pretty much the last thing you want to run against the better offenses.
I agree with this and I think that’s what Boyer tried to do early in the season.
Miami got torched twice in 2020 by the Bills playing their man coverage, blitz heavy scheme.
I think they tried being a little more diverse, playing some more zone, mixing things up. It wasn’t working that great, especially early in the season when they were playing some better competition.
Halfway through the 2nd Bills game, it’s like they remembered they had a 99 MPH heater sitting in their back pocket and they started throwing the heat again.
Like you said, it seems to work very well against some of the lesser competition, but the Titans were ready for it in Week 17, and Miami had no counter punch.
You’d like to see a little more balance, but still a measured level of aggression in calling the blitzes when they need it.
Josh Boyer took a lot of heat from Pats fans back when he was the defensive backs coach and the Pats secondary was trash (circa 2010-2011). He was the CB coach all the way through 2018. The Pats did a pretty good job developing CBs during that time, but on the flip side, they also had several early draft busts in the secondary. All this to say, Pats fans have no idea if he is a good coach either.
Felger and Mazz used to rag on him constantly coming from the South Dakota School of Mines.