New Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer understands job’s standard set by a legend
The coach who inherits the NFL’s worst defense from a year ago isn’t too interested in rehashing issues of a Miami Dolphins 2019 season in which they allowed a league-high 494 points.
But Josh Boyer, all about this year and this 2020 defense, is actually a student of Dolphins history.
Boyer, 43, takes over as Miami’s defensive coordinator after Patrick Graham departed in a lateral move to the New York Giants. And that, at least in Boyer’s mind, closes the book on last year.
“With all defenses, each year you start over,” Boyer said Saturday morning. “You try, whether it’s through coach’s influence, or whether it’s a player influence, the defense will kind of evolve.”
The Dolphins need to not just evolve but improve after stocking the roster with half-a-dozen new veteran defenders in free agency and two more defensive selections in the draft’s first two rounds.
But amid all this new stuff, Boyer remains aware of the team’s storied past. And he’s keenly aware the seat he now occupies once belonged to a legend.
Bill Arnsparger.
“I read his book years ago,” Boyer shared. “And reading his book, and then being in the NFL for as long as I have, you see some of the terminology that’s in his book still carries over to today. It’s a pretty amazing thing.
“I would say being the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, and there’s a rich alumni history, you know the standard is pretty high with Bill Arnsparger. I consider it an honor and a privilege. It might not personally be something I was looking to do. But I’m very honored to do it. I take my job very seriously.
“I’m really privileged to have the same position as that guy had. It’s a big deal to me.”
Arnsparger was the architect of the No Name defenses of the Super Bowl winning years in the 1970s. He also had notable stops as the head coach at Louisiana State, where he won a Southeastern Conference title in 1986, and later was the defensive coordinator when the San Diego Chargers went to the Super Bowl in the 1990s.
The man would be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame if only the Hall admitted assistant coaches.
Boyer knows this because he’s intimate with Arnsparger’s history, from the fact he was a marine and fought in World War II, to his time playing under Woody Hayes at Miami University in Ohio, to his time coaching the Baltimore Colts in the 1960s under Don Shula.
“I was able to spend some time this summer with a guy who was on that staff with him [at LSU],” Boyer said. “We had some conversations about him and obviously some general conversations about football.
“No matter what your vocation is in life, you’re always seeking knowledge. There’s so many coaches that have done it for so many years. And there’s always good things you can take from everybody ...”
Although this will be Boyer’s first season as an NFL defensive coordinator, it will also be his 15th NFL season -- all but two of those with the New England Patriots.
So Boyer knows the demands of his new job, even if it wasn’t an assignment he sought.
“I really enjoyed being a position coach,” he said. “I would say being a coordinator, I didn’t have huge ambition for that. I enjoyed having a room, I enjoyed coaching a position. But I’ve really enjoyed the new role. It’s been good. It’s been good with the interaction with the coaches. It’s a different interaction with the players.”
Boyer’s defensive staff includes four new position coaches -- yes, change is a thing after giving up nearly 500 points.
And Boyer is already leaving a mark on the young assistants.
New outside linebackers coach Austin Clark says he already sees how Boyer is “tactical.” New linebacker coach Anthony Campanile believes Boyer comes with all the right priorities.
“The values he has and what he believes is important about football -- the way you play, the way you build the team, chemistry, toughness and character -- those things are still really, really important in the game,” Campanile said.
“I think the guys who believe in those things have a lot of success. So I felt there was a common ground between the two of us. He’s a fiery guy. He’s going to get after you. He’s going to coach hard. And I’ve learned a ton just being around him...”
So Josh Boyer has his sights set on what’s ahead, even as he’s trying to meet the standards of the past.
“There’s a rich history here in Miami,” Boyer said. “There’s a lot of guys and a lot of alumni that come around and there’s always things that relate to today’s game. It’s not a completely different game. At the end of the day, there’s still 11 guys out there. They’ve been great.
“I’m excited [about] our past. I’m excited for our future. We’re going to work hard and, like I say, we get 16 shots at it and we’ll see where we are.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 1:49 PM.
