NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
While the Miami Dolphins faced a challenging season, it wasn’t without the high points. The Dolphins along with Mike McDaniel were on their third defensive coordinator in just three years. Not only did the Dolphins completely overhaul their defense after losing some top names, but the unit was top-notch and seemed to get better as the season progressed. If they want to find stability, maybe it’s time to find a way to keep Anthony Weaver in house a few years longer.
The natural progression in the NFL is to make a name for yourself as a defensive coordinator and move on to the next big thing, a head coach position. In today’s NFL, making a name for yourself doesn’t take as long as it used to. Now, with enough chatter around the league and a strong showing in your first season, guys can get HC jobs as quickly as the season ends. Once teams start firing coaches and teams are eliminated from the playoffs, the calls start coming in. Unfortunately from there, job security isn’t as guaranteed. Teams looking for these coordinators are often well behind the rest of the league. Finishing poorly with them isn’t a career-ender, but it does hurt the reputation at least a little. If Weaver is looking for a head coaching gig, he might be able to buy himself some longevity at his next stop by putting in more than a season’s worth of success as a defensive coordinator. He’s been a big name in some circles, but that doesn’t always lower demands from the owner of your next gig.
At the end of the day, Miami needs Weaver just as well. This season, the Miami Dolphins struggled on the opposite side of the football. There are some challenges that they need to buckle down and focus on. They don’t need to worry about replacing a coach who had their defense looking the best it had in years. The Dolphins’ defense used to be the pride of the NFL and could be again if they can find stability. Their defense under Weaver was top 5 to top 10 most of the year and that was without healthy playmakers such as Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb. Chop Robinson was a fine addition as was Calais Campbell. Zach Sieler was coming into his own under Weaver. The defense wasn’t perfect, but it made up for what it lacked due to free-agent departures.
If Stephen Ross wants the Dolphins to get back to the Super Bowl any time soon, the old cliche “defense wins championships” needs to take center stage. If the Miami Dolphins can find a way to keep Anthony Weaver in house, they might just have a championship-worthy defense on their hands.
