Weaver explains what Dolphins organization must change. And personnel nuggets
Like anyone on the Dolphins staff, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver realistically cannot say for sure if he will be with the team next season.
But if he is, he says there’s one thing the organization must do differently: Put their team together sooner.
“Whatever we assemble as a group, we need the opportunity to be brought together earlier than we were,” Weaver said, reflecting on a season in which the defense was strong for a six-week stretch but disappointing otherwise. The Dolphins are 19th in yards allowed per game and 22nd in points permitted per game.
“Whoever is going to be a part of this, we need him here. We can’t be piece-mealing this in August.”
The Dolphins added one key player and subtracted one in late June when they dealt an unhappy Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith (who wanted a new contract) to Pittsburgh for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
After training camp started, they added two cornerbacks in late July in Jack Jones (who has started all 15 games) and Mike Hilton (who was cut a month later).
In late August, they signed cornerback Rasul Douglas, who opted to take essentially the same offer that was made to him by the Dolphins in late April. Douglas has been one of the team’s top defensive players despite missing training camp. Cornerback Juju Brents was a waiver claim in late August.
Communication is particularly important in the defensive backfield, and having players learning the system on the fly was hurtful.
In the Dolphins’ defense, they expected cornerback Kader Kohou to be a key part of their secondary, and he sustained a season-ending knee injury during training camp.
They also projected a major role for unproven cornerback Storm Duck, who started the opener but missed most of the season with various injuries and allowed four completions in six targets for 72 yards when he played. He’s sidelined now with a knee injury.
The Dolphins also might have benefitted from signing another accomplished defensive tackle in the offseason; Weaver said earlier this season that Zach Sieler wasn’t at his best earlier in the season because he was playing a lot of snaps with two rookies.
But Weaver on Tuesday did not blame the front office for not signing another defensive tackle in the offseason.
“Benito [Jones] and Zach were here; the secondary all new guys,” he said. “...We had to go through growing pains early. That’s why we had bumps and bruises we had early. No excuse for a week ago [in allowing 45 points against Cincinnati]. Our execution was poor. I blame myself. Our process needs to be better.”
He said his defensive players did not quit on Sunday: “That’s not what you see on tape.”
Bills and former Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer criticized the Dolphins’ defensive system in a recent interview with GolongTD’s Ty Dunn, saying that last season “nobody understood our defense” and that contributed to his poor performance.
This and that
Weaver did not answer directly when asked if Jack Jones would keep his starting job after allowing more than 100 passing yards in his coverage area against the Bengals. Miami plays host to Tampa Bay on Sunday (1 p.m., WSVN Fox 7).
“Jack has had better games,” Weaver said. “I’m not giving up on the kid. There is nobody more disappointed than he is.”
The only other options opposite Douglas are Jason Marshall Jr. (who is needed in the slot with Minkah Fitzpatrick out), Ethan Bonner and Ethan Robinson, who “showed some promise in preseason,” according to Weaver. But Weaver has said he’s not doing tryouts of young players during a game, saying it’s “not Pop Warner.”
▪ Weaver said the team’s last two first round draft picks, Chop Robinson and Kenneth Grant, “are very good building blocks. I know their best football is ahead of this. Chop… I only see his production rising.
“Grant put a lot of pressure on himself. You see a lot of growth and maturation. Both are foundational pieces.”
▪ Outside linebackers Cam Goode and Quinton Bell replaced the released Matthew Judon against the Bengals, and “you felt their energy and enthusiasm and feel for the game,” Weaver said.
▪ Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith said rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, in his first NFL start, “did a good job managing the situation, extended a couple plays. You would like the result to be different. We are encouraged by a lot of his performance.”
▪ Dolphins emergency No. 3 quarterback Tua Tagovailoa bought Sony ULT sound towers for his teammates for Christmas; he also gave offensive linemen a HigherDose Infrared PEMF Go Mat. Tight end Julian Hill said he wasn’t surprised because Tagovailoa has done this in the past.
▪ What should rookie Theo Wease Jr. have done differently on the pass that was tipped and intercepted against the Bengals?
“Close quarters catches, you want to go attack the ball,” Smith said. “You think about just coming down with the catch. The best thing you can do is to come back to it to protect it from the defender. He’ll learn from that.”
▪ Special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman said the team will decide Friday whether to use Jason Sanders or Riley Patterson as the kicker on Sunday. Sanders has been sidelined since an August hip injury.
Aukerman said Wease might get a chance on returns.
▪ Smith, on the Dolphins being outscored 113-27 in the third quarter: “There’s no excuse or tangible [factor where] you can say ‘it’s just this.’ There are multiple things... Sometimes there are things started in the second quarter that carry on.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 6:02 PM.
