‘This year’s team is way different.’ Here’s why the Dolphins are in the midst of a culture shift
It first became noticeable during rookie minicamp.
Players — ranging from newcomers such as Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis to veterans such as Patrick Paul and Kader Kohou — on the Baptist Health Training Facility field on a supposed off day. Talking with coaches. Talking among themselves. Again — because it bears repeating — on an off day.
Something, it would seem, is changing in Miami Gardens and after conversations with several players, it soon became clear what.
“You can see this year’s team is way different than last year’s,” tailback De’Von Achane said Wednesday.
The Dolphins are in the midst of culture shift that will hopefully bode well for the 2025 season. Players have voluntarily been at the facility more regularly. And not only have they been more present, there has been more of incentive to put in extra work, according to center Aaron Brewer.
“Everybody is working, we got our little couple of hours in the building, but even after that window closes, people are still around working,” Brewer said May 7. “That’s what you love to see, people putting in that extra time, that extra work.”
Added Brewer: “Everybody was doing it last year, but everybody is doing it a little more. You’re seeing a lot more faces.”
The culture shift comes after a disappointing 8-9 season in 2024. Not only did the narrative that “the Dolphins can’t play in the cold” once again rear its ugly head, there were questions about players’ timeliness and commitment.
“I know a lot of people don’t want to be here [for] optional [practices], but at the end of the day man, if we want to get to where we want to go, that’s where the foundations will have to be laid,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb said Jan. 6. “In life you’ve got to sacrifice for what you really want. It’s not, ‘you got to be here every day, each and every day.’ But let’s start building that rapport as a team and setting our goals for what we want in the future.”
Fast forward to the offseason and the Dolphins were dealt two big blows. First came defensive tackle Calais Campbell’s decision to sign with the Arizona Cardinals. Then offensive tackle Terron Armstead opted to retire. In less than a week, the Dolphins had lost two extremely vocal leaders.
Despite the growing leadership void, one of the main things that coach Mike McDaniel wanted to accomplish was to instill a new culture in 2025.
“How do you have a sustained culture — well it’s by the people,” McDaniel said, later adding that “we’re trying to get the right guys to develop as professionals, and their core value has to be team football, football-winning and they really have to get joy out of that. That was a component that was consistent among the different personalities we drafted last year; all of these guys were living and breathing football.”
It started early in the offseason as McDaniel regularly met with team leaders, something general manager Chris Grier called “cleaning up some little things.” Then, in free agency, the Dolphins seemingly prioritized players such as Melifonwu or Davis, both of whom have started sparingly but were hungry to compete for a full-time job. Finally, in the draft, Grier focused on the trenches with half of the eight picks going towards “physical, tough kids that love football” along the offensive and defensive lines.
Now, early indicators suggest that McDaniel’s moves have since blossomed into something that has excited many around the organization. Even second-year players such as Chop Robinson have noticed the change.
“Just everybody being here, you get to see the team chemistry,” the sophomore edge rusher said Wednesday. “Everybody just wants the same goal. Everybody wants to be great, everybody wants to win. The only way to do that is doing it all together, so the chemistry is definitely better than it was last year.”
With the start of training camp months away, it will take quite some time for these early seeds of commitment to sprout. The NFL season is long and full of mystery. But as Achane alluded, these early workouts can do wonders for team chemistry.
“If you want to win games,” Achane said, “this is where it starts.”
