Kelly: Mike McDaniel hoping third time’s the charm when it comes to defensive coordinators | Opinion
There have been more than enough subtle — yet noticeable — comments that explained — or justified — why coach Mike McDaniel is breaking in his third defensive coordinator in three years.
Usually, whatever side of the ball a head coach doesn’t specialize in, is the area that struggles. To counter that, head coaches usually seek strong leadership for the area they don’t coach.
McDaniel probably won’t admit it, but his search for the right defensive partner has been his biggest challenge, if not failure, thus far.
He was forced to inherit Josh Boyer, a Brian Flores staff holdover in his first season, then dumped him after one year when management let him take full control of his staff.
In his second season McDaniel hired former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, making him the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history, and from jump the pair seemed like the odd couple.
They had little in common, but that didn’t impact the unit’s performance considering Miami’s defense finished in the top 10 in most of the important defensive categories and set a franchise record for sacks recorded despite enduring numerous injuries to key starters such as Jalen Ramsey, Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Xavien Howard, Jevon Holland, Jerome Baker and Andrew Van Ginkel.
But when McDaniel discovered Miami’s defenders weren’t fond of Fangio’s gruff and stubborn approach, the Dolphins opted to let the 38-year NFL veteran out of his contract so he could accept the same role with his hometown Philadelphia Eagles.
McDaniel has dropped enough hints that a lesson from Fangio’s hiring was learned, and it’s clear that he was seeking a coach who had a better connection with his players.
He’s also seeking a defensive style that was less vanilla than the one Fangio ran.
McDaniel is actually seeking a marriage of the blitz-happy approach Coyer had, and the keep-everything-in-front-of-you style Fangio’s zone based scheme produced.
He’s hoping 2024 will birth something unique, something that compliments Miami’s high-powered, top-ranked offense.
“Have the versatility to play to your player’s strengths, attack the opponent, and have the versatility to play either game.” McDaniel said. “In football you have match ups that are favorable and matchups that aren’t. You’re ability to best address another team’s match ups sometimes is a philosophical alteration.”
To achieve that goal McDaniel has labored this offseason to get his defensive staff just right.
That journey started with the hiring of Anthony Weaver, whom he coached with for one season in Cleveland back in 2014, and empowering Weaver to assemble a staff of his choosing, which somewhat explains why McDaniel’s staff features 13 newcomers.
“Consistency is always a great thing if you can have it. However, you have to prioritize what’s the most important thing for you,” McDaniel said.
For McDaniel, he needed the coaching-player dynamic to be right, something more akin to his approach, which clearly connects to the younger generation of athletes, players whom yesterday’s generation of coaches might label as entitled.
However, players would describe it as empowered.
The biggest mystery moving forward is whether or not Weaver and his staff can build a defense that keeps the Dolphins ranked among the NFL’s top 10 defense, and if they have the personnel to make it happen after losing numerous starters this offseason.
Here’s what we know so far about the new-look defense.
It will feature multiple fronts, and multiple looks from a scheme standpoint, being a true hybrid defense. Think of it as a marriage between a 3-4 and a 4-3 scheme, similar to what Flores ran, and the defensive linemen will rotate in and out of the game, usually based on what front Miami’s in.
The coverage will be zone based, similar to what Fangio ran, but press coverage will be sprinkled in.
Jalen Ramsey will shadow the opposition’s best receiver, and that could even mean he’s moved inside to nickel. That will be determined based on the opponent Miami faces.
The utilization of Ramsey and Xavien Howard, who has since been released to clear $18.5 million in cap space, was a point of contention all of last season with Fangio.
“Jalen had experience in his career playing a ton of different roles and he thrives in that. When you have a full commitment from the player and the appropriate scheme and coaching where you want to emphasize that within your whole scheme, man does it [better],” McDaniel said. “Anytime you can find a new way to take advantage of someone’s skill set it’s usually beneficial for the entire group.”
And the safeties will be more involved, more fluid, working closer to the line of scrimmage. The Ravens utilized three safeties for more than one-third of Baltimore’s defensive snaps, and that might be the case for the Dolphins as well if they find a third safety who can contribute at a starter’s level.
Now, will there be a learning curve for the defense? Probably, but McDaniel’s hoping the unit gels quickly, and Weaver’s influence and playcalling will be a perfect compliment.
“In year three, I’m much more well-versed in understanding and identifying what I believe to be necessary to properly do right by the players,” McDaniel added. “They have a finite window [of a career] to be maximized. The lesser of two evils is finding a situation where we can best capture that….it’s a beautiful relationship when it’s working correctly.”
