Mike McDaniel – June 4, 2024
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Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Update on QB Tua Tagovailoa – will he be here? Will he be participating today? Will he be participating fully for the three days of minicamp?) – “OK, which one?”
(Will QB Tua Tagovailoa be here?) – “I’ve seen him in the flesh today. We made great eye contact, had a nice little dap up in install. And then as far as everything else, as far as I know, we’re going to move forward in kind of a similar fashion that we had before where we’re going to have him out there and he’s going to be participating, but the depth and really across the board what he’s doing, that will be more up to him than anything. To me, the only way that I can do this job appropriately to everyone is honestly just worry about coaching people, and if they take these reps, they take these reps. If they don’t, somebody’s going to get better in that rep. So that stuff I haven’t really paid attention to, I’m not really too focused on. We’ve had a tremendous offseason with regard to developing certain things within our offense and Tua has done a great job with developing some stuff that we’ve asked him to do. So if there’s more development live-action today, awesome. If there’s not, I’ll adjust as well.”
(WR Tyreek Hill’s agent said that the club knows how Tyreek feels about his contract situation. How important do you think it is to have not just Tyreek Hill here but a happy Tyreek Hill on the Dolphins?) – “I saw a very happy Tyreek Hill just today face-to-face. I think it is so important. This offseason in particular has just presented the opportunity to kind of really stay fast and true to what you’re trying to do as a coach, and my relationship with the players as a head coach is to resource their game with ways to get better, put them in positions to succeed, all of those things. I’ve been very, very conscientious about our relationships staying healthy that way. So as far as all the things that remind me why, bless his heart, Chris Grier wants to be a GM, you can hang out over there. I’m just going to coach these guys and you let me know what I need to know. That’s basically how we’ve been operating with Tyreek. It’s important to me for all these players that I have a purpose in their life and that purpose can be adding value to their trade and that is better done if their listening isn’t altered because we’re going in different scopes that isn’t really my realm. So Tyreek Hill has been unbelievably valuable to my coaching career, this franchise. We set out to do some ambitious things from the onset, and on top of the fact that he wanted to take his game to another level but also be a leader, he’s tremendously important. We’ve always prioritized him that way so for him and I, we stay in our lane with our relationship and the organization will always do right by players and I let them handle that – let the experts be the experts.”
(A follow-up if I could. WR Tyreek Hill has said on multiple occasions that he wants to retire a Miami Dolphin. Is that a top priority for the organization to make sure that he’s here for the long haul?) – “He’s a big part of everything that we’re doing. I think that is something that I know as competitors, I think Tyreek (Hill) wants that, he’s made that explicit. I think me as a competitor, I want to make that happen. And I think in terms of the Miami Dolphins embracing Tyreek Hill, I think that is an understatement and we look forward to continuing to grow in our relationship, for sure.”
(Just talk about your initial impressions of WR Jaylen Waddle and maybe how he’s grown and maybe how your ceiling for him has changed over the last couple of years?) – “I think it’s been a really cool process with Jaylen (Waddle) just because I got involved in his career, got to start coaching him after he had a 100-reception rookie year. And it was early on that I could tell that this guy has unique skills to play at a high level really across the board – unique slot-route running, full-field speed, playmaking ability, all of that. But then you’re around him, you see the competitor. He’s such a great human being, but the drive for greatness is real for him. I know last year, I guess from a statistical standpoint measured against the year before may have been a dip in numbers; however I think his play had improved from the year before. I think he had an unbelievable offseason that there was a couple injury blips on the radar that kind of kept him from his game, but I think he’s continuing to develop which is great news for the Miami Dolphins, because I think he’s a big-time player that’s hungry and those are great things for fans to watch and organizations to have on their team.”
(I guess how have you seen – sticking with two star wide receivers in Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. How have you seen that mentality shift in the league to where teams don’t just have one big guy, they are gravitating towards having as many stars as possible in that position?) – “I think the trends of the National Football League are very interesting. I do think our two guys have exemplified to a degree the issues that can be presented towards a defense with their skill sets and their threats. I’m not sure if that’s a necessarily a newfound thing to have two top tier receivers, but I do think that people have kind of started to recognize a little more of the ways you can use players in different ways. You can get them the ball, you can do some low cost offense where you can throw it short and run long, those types of things. And I think there is a probably higher priority for that position than probably when I came into the league. But is part of that just flag football and the development of the receiver position and that particular athletes are coming out? That’s for another conversation, but I do recognize that there’s a lot of strong wide receiver duos and teams are prioritizing that, for sure.”
(Just to confirm you’ve mention WR Tyreek Hill, you saw him very happy today. Are you expecting him to practice? I know he’s been working on his own.) – “Throughout the process and specifically – each individual we treat differently. Tyreek (Hill) has been one that we have to kind of measure and take the reins, so to speak, a lot of times on the field because he goes so full tilt and we have to kind of see the pros and cons. He’s been working in the building a ton. He’s going to do little stuff on the side. I wasn’t planning on him being out there for team stuff. But there’s always the caveat that he will jump in line and he’s one that you kind of have to fight out of the drill if he does that. But plan isn’t, but you never know when competition – the locker room is a funny place. All it takes is one guy to say, ‘Dude, you’ve lost it,’ and then he’ll just all of a sudden come up. Wouldn’t plan on it, but we’ll see.”
(Are all the guys who weren’t here for voluntary days here for this mandatory minicamp?) – “Yeah. Yeah, I think that’s a 100 percenter.”
(With the addition of TE Jonnu Smith and TE Jody Fortson Jr., was there a concerted effort to add a different element to that unit? Or do you feel like you had not maximized how you had not used that unit in past seasons?) – “You know – this is a category you’re probably outside of Omar – some people think that there’s just whatever it was, it will always be. I think much of NFL offense, you’re making best with the resources available and playing to people’s skill sets when you are afforded an opportunity to have people of different skill sets. I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to play within the same system (and) have all sorts of different attributes. There’s a time that I was on I was on a team that had the leading tight end in the NFL. So I think you’re always just finding ways to make your team better, and I think with the proven history of the attention that some of the other guys in our offense get, I think that for a defense to fully defend the entire field, those couple guys along with the whole group are really working to take advantage of that, because there’s opportunities there, for sure.”
(With TE Jonnu Smith, the run after catch, what does that allow you to create?) – “I think the biggest thing is that he’s a fast dynamic football player, but what I love that he provides is a tonality at the point of contact. He has become a master of YAC, not only because of speed, but because of a mindset that I think paired with his position coach Jon Embree – I think that’s a great working relationship, because Jon Embree coaches tight ends not to get tackled or that one player can’t tackle you, and that’s Jonnu’s life. I think it’s adding a mentality, adding a physical presence at the point of attack. A lot of times, if people want to really give up a bunch of space and sit back there, or drop seven with some depth, you can make them pay in a short amount of time, and then he can also stretch the field and do some cool stuff, too. So having all those guys work together has been awesome this offseason.”
(DT Brandon Pili seems to have an opportunity at defensive tackle, defensive line. What have you seen from him? What do you need to see from him?) – “I’ve seen a continued growth at the position and then what you’re really trying to find Year 2 is not just the flashes of good reps, but consistency and dependability so that you can turn the corner and make the NFL your home and make a career out of it. That’s what he’s working diligently day-in, day-out. I think it’s pretty much the only thing he has going too, because every time he plays his sister in basketball, she wins. So he better be a good 2-gap. (laughter)”
(When it comes to WR Tyreek Hill, the team was willing to restructure a lot of deals this offseason. Why is his not yet touched to this point?) – “Woah, woah, woah – I coach football. So again, that’s… (laughter). I’m egregiously obvious this offseason that it is very important for me to stay in that lane. We obviously value all of the players that we pay a lot of money to. The business and stuff, I’ll leave that to the agents and the front office so that we can try to go on the correct snap count today.”
(Another evolution question for you here. How have you seen the use of pre-snap motion evolve since you entered the league?) – “Woah, that’s… (laughter). You know what’s really funny is the history in the 20 years since I entered the league and how I can pull clips of my first full-time job in Houston, us orchestrating a two-minute drive under center and the amount of motion, something that I think we used to lead the league in in Houston at like 40 percent, maybe, so it’s grown a ton. I think it’s advantageous to have a receiver background a lot of times for motioning, because you’re trying to gain leverages on the defense and dictate the terms in that regard. Doing that for 20 years and having reduced splits, I think that there’s been more and more people that have latched on. Then those people that are maybe inspired by Houston’s offense motioning, then they invent a motion or create a different motion that kind of gives routes to ideas that we have. So it’s definitely completely evolved. I don’t think we installed timing at the snap motion until I want to say maybe 2017 or 2018, and we have almost half our plays that way. It’s been a cool process, that’s definitely become more of the norm. And those cycles, they will probably come back full cylinder in 20 years, and everybody will be stagnant.”
(Just a quick follow up. On the defensive side of the ball, what trends have you maybe seen of teams trying to combat that as more teams run the timing-based pre-snap motion?) – “I think that you’ve seen defenses kind of put into buckets, whether they travel or keep the alignment and bump stuff over. But what it does do is it kind of, because it’s initial – because it’s so sudden right before the snap, it kind of shows you the ins and outs of what defenses are doing. Because of that, you’re seeing more and more people have different sort of answers where they have auto triggers with pressures, or they have more consistent rules. From team to team, you can tell that there’s live problem solving going on. It changes a little bit each and every week from opponent to opponent, but the consistent thing you do see is that people are getting better and better at defending it. So just keeping leverage on the defense, making sure that the timed motion doesn’t beat up your flats, those types of things. That’s always the chess match in football that from a schematic standpoint is pretty cool, is you can surprise people for a little bit, then they have an answer for it. So then they’re overplaying one thing. What’s the next move? What’s the next direction you go? Because if you give defensive coaches and defensive players infinite amount of time to try to stop one thing, they’ll be able to stop that one thing. So you always have to evolve and so goes the chess match.”
Liam Eichenberg – May 28, 2024
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Tuesday, May 28, 2024
OL Liam Eichenberg
(What is this camp like for you now that you know the offense? You know Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry’s approach. How much is this sort of like a redundancy for you?) – “Yeah, I think obviously we’re out here in OTAs, similar structure, similar drills, but honestly for me, I like that. I like the repetitiveness and improving on what I know I have in practice. Get out there, stance and start – every day I’m trying to work on that. I think for us personally, it’s kind of that repetitive nature where even though we’re doing things over and over again, that’s the offensive line position. There’s always something to improve on. It’s great having Butch (Barry) back and I’m lucky to be here. We’re just working to improve every day.”
(Where’s your mindset going into this offseason with basically a new center added. You did a lot of work there. You’re doing a lot of work there now but then those guards spots seem to be vacant?) – “Yeah, I mean as you guys know I’m going to play wherever they need me to play. I’m excited to be out there. I’m excited to be healthy right now. End of the year last year, I was kind of banged up pretty good, so it’s nice being able to run without some pain. I’m at center right now. I’m working to be the best center for this team right now. Obviously when (Aaron) Brewer gets back, I’m going to start working at guard. I got some good work in the first couple weeks of OTAs, so I’m looking forward to getting out there in team and kind of showing what I can do.”
(What position is second nature to you right now?) – “Second nature – I mean honestly, anything on the inside. Haven’t done tackle in a couple years, but getting kicked over center not expecting to the first day, I was like, ‘It’s fine.’ I know the offense; I know how to run the offense. I know how to point everything. Just kind of going to be out there eventually, hopefully at guard, and kind of help (Aaron) Brewer out as he learns this offense, too.”
(How much did work at center help prepare you to go over and move back to other positions like guard?) – “I mean I think, especially coming from outside at tackle and moving into guard, I’d recommend that every player plays some center. I think it kind of opens everything up for you, teaches you how to kind of understand your range on the inside. It’s just a different game. It kind of gets you more comfortable playing inside.”
Nik Needham – May 28, 2024
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Tuesday, May 28, 2024
CB Nik Needham
(I understand you’re working combination of safety and nickel. How much does that differ? Because you’ve done some safety in the past, right?) – “It’s not too different right now, because I think it was like three or four years ago when Jevon (Holland) and Brandon (Jones) were battling injuries, I stepped in and played a little safety. That was my first time really playing it, so now it’s just kind of breaking it back in, hitting up some old notes that I had on safety and talking to Jevon and having Jordan (Poyer), too, helps as well – two of the best safeties. And then nickel, that’s just football really. I’ve never really had an issue with that going from corner to nickel.”
(So it has been a while since that year you’re talking about? Or did you do some last year?) – “That I played safety? Yeah, that was like – oh, I did. I actually did, yeah. I’m tripping. (laughter) I played a little bit. I played a little bit but yeah, it was practice. I played some nickel last year, and just emergency safety – if someone got hurt, I would go in. So it wasn’t anything…”
(What’s the biggest challenge going from corner to safety?) – “Just the mental aspect of it. At corner, it’s really your physical abilities. It’s one-on-one, you verse the guy right in front of you. When you move to safety, you kind of control the whole defense. You have to understand how to put guys in certain positions and in certain situations what to do. I think that’s probably the hardest part, but I feel like I’m a capable guy and versatile enough that I can handle the workload and play corner, safety, nickel, linebacker. Like I said, whatever they need me to play, I’m going to play.”
(How does it help having a guy like Jordan Poyer? A veteran like him, for the safety group, kind of the most experienced veteran since Jason McCourty, right?) – “For sure. He’s helped tremendously. I told him he’s one of the coolest dudes I’ve ever met in the league. Our first day, he was super open, wants everyone to learn from him. He’s not trying to act like, ‘I’m the big 12-year vet.’ He’s very open, he has us over for dinner. We haven’t done that as a DB group since I’ve been here. Having that I feel like will create more camaraderie and have us be successful on the field, because we’ll really know each other. It’s not just going out and playing and see you at work. We can actually create a bond, and he’s the one that started that with everybody. We takes walks with our shoes off and (stuff), but we’re just talking and bonding. I feel like that’s what the good teams do.”
(So he’s hosted you? He’s had you guys over?) – “Yeah, he just did for Memorial Day yesterday. Once a week, the safeties go to dinner. Like I said, I haven’t done that since I’ve been here.”
(Had you had any interaction with him before he signed with the Dolphins?) – “No, we just started talking. Like I said, he’s a cool dude. He’s one of the coolest dudes that I’ve met. So I’m like, you’re very open. He was just like, ‘We should have dinner.’ ‘Alright, bet.’
(He hasn’t thrown any jabs over about his record against you guys?) – “Nah, nah, nah. (laughter) I mean we’ve obviously talked about that (stuff). Like I said, I tried to ask him how their defense had success, because they’re a very successful defense as well. They have some of the top DBs too. Just learning from that and using stuff he knows for us.”
(It’s the safeties and corners?) – “That go to eat? Yeah, all the DBs.”
(You’re a lot farther ahead in the game than you were last year because you were coming back from injury. How much of a difference does that make?) – “Like a whole 180 in the mindset. Last year coming off injury, battling, keep getting injured while I was trying to come back, it was just messing my head up. I was kind of down and just wasn’t in the right headspace. This year, I’m back to myself, I feel confident. I’m not out hurting and (expletive).”
Anthony Walker Jr. – May 28, 2024
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Tuesday, May 28, 2024
LB Anthony Walker Jr.
(How does it feel being back in the South Florida heat? I know it’s a little different.) – “You see me over here, I’m a little drenched. (laughter) No, just getting back acclimated, just playing football again. Obviously, the Miami heat provides a different element, but it’s what you embrace opportunity. I’m happy to be back home embracing the opportunity to compete and just having fun doing it.”
(How important do you feel like coming to these voluntary workouts are? Just building team chemistry and just that cohesion?) – “Yeah, you only get better by putting the work in, and then as a defense and as a team, you get better by being all here together and putting the work in. This is a great time. I don’t know any other way to do football besides playing it. For me, just physically getting in shape and being out here with my teammates, communicating, making calls, flying around. It’s fun, you embrace that part of it. It’s a grind, but that’s why we’re here.”
(What do you look forward to as far as these coming months? I know you being down here and being able to be around family, but what are you looking forward to these next couple months?) – “Yeah, like you said just being around family. First time being able to play football and be around family at the same time. Get my work in, but also enjoying the family time and relaxing and all that stuff. There’s no better place to do it than Miami. To be here and be able to have my family here and my teammates here, get better and train and everything down here is a blessing.”
(Thoughts on S Jevon Holland’s playlist?) – “Yeah, started off kind of fast. Kind of died down a bit, then he brought it back up. Got a couple old school classics on there, I was proud of him.”
(Just touching on the defense, with this linebacker corps just being a vocal point and assuming that leadership role, what are some things you’ve noticed from the group as far as the guys just being vocal and having that presence felt?) – “Coach Weaver talked about it the first day, that obnoxious communication – everybody putting the work in and communicating. That’s defense. That’s defensive football. You have to be able to communicate, all 11 have to be on the same page. We’re either all right and we’re right, or we’re all wrong and we’re still right, because we all did the same thing. It’s huge when it comes to that. You’ve got to be able to do that, and we understand that. So as a linebacker, we take that very personally to be able to get everybody set and be the calm presence of the defense, and then just be that vocal voice that gets all the guys ready to go and also calm within the system.”
Mike McDaniel – May 28, 2024
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Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(How does it feel to be in your third year of coaching and now having the type of coaching tree with Teddy Bridgewater at the high school level at Miami Northwestern?) – “I am glad you brought that to my attention. I needed the ego boost – I have a tree. (laughter) I hadn’t thought of Coach Bridgewater as a disciple of my tree, but technically I guess you’re right and it’s cool to see. I kind of had an idea that Teddy would go this direction when he was kind of figuring things out and what he wanted to do. He’s a very talented individual and has a lot of things that he could do with his time, but he’s passionate about football so it doesn’t surprise me. That’s pretty cool, Year 3, to have a tree. That means there’s growth in life. It’s not fall and there’s not people scattering around the league just getting fired because of their association with me so that’s good.”
(I wanted to ask you about Year 3, but primarily QB Tua Tagovailoa. One, is he going to be here today and then two, what kind of growth do you think you can expect from a guy who’s still young and this is the first time he’s ever been in a third year in an offense and I know last year you were at the point where he was directing you in terms of what he liked or what he felt. What do you expect as you continue to grow?) – “That’s been a cool process because you have two years under your belt together where all you’ve seen is his game progress and I think Year 3, we really got to take a step back and assess not just the things that he liked or looked comfortable with, but what are some things that maybe he hasn’t looked comfortable with in the past that we can get him some comfort levels with. We’ve kind of re-challenged ourselves and how we verbalize stuff, and the bottom line is our connectivity with how we see things and what we’re trying to do with every different assignment. That can always get cleaner and I think it really has. I think there’s been some cool things. He will be here today and in the short amount of time – he had two practices last week, and we saw some growth and development within what we’re specifically asking him to do. So it’s been very exciting because at this point we’re like, ‘Alright, well let’s really push ourselves to really challenge this guy,’ because all he ends up doing is rising to the challenge within what we ask him to do. I think to expect the same if not more growth within your game from each year, I don’t think is crazy. I think for us to expect just as much if not more from Year 2 to Year 3 is very safe for our expectations and I know he feels the same way, too. There’s a lot of places where we can get our game better so excited about this opportunity on May 28.”
(Have you seen a difference from him? He hired that personal quarterback coach. Now in OTAs, I know he’s only had two practices. Is there something that you’ve seen personally, like, woah that’s been surprising that’s caught your eye?) – “I think the deliberate intentionality with anything you do renders some unexpected consequences that are definitely desirable. I think he without thinking has probably generated a little more force on some throws that he’s trying to drive. I have actually extensive experience with the coach that he’s working with, John Beck. I was a coach in 2011 for the Washington team that he quarterbacked and have been on a couple teams where he’s worked with some of the quarterbacks that we’ve had already. So there’s some familiarity with that which is awesome because with John, he knows what we’re trying to do and the direction or how we ask the quarterback to play. I think just that connectivity to your game and trying to unearth every single inch and iota of professional development; that in itself, you’re headed in the right direction. So I think there’s some things that I’ll probably see every day and when you talk to him, I think there’s some times that he’s effortlessly doing some of the things that he’s used to doing, just not having to think as much because he’s been so deep diving into his trade.”
(How important do you find it to have a lot of your top guys together for these sessions? Granted, they’re voluntary and also what can you gain when a lot of starters are away?) – “There’s probably two things existing simultaneously in that this is all voluntary, but there’s ways to get better in a team environment each and every day. So for me, individually kind of assessing each circumstance, the good news is with this team and with the players on it, they communicate with me very well so I kind of know what’s coming. As long as I know what’s coming, you can plan for the opportunity, and I mean, shoot, in the two seasons that I’ve been the head coach here, you see how much your roster’s depth comes into question as the course of the season goes. When there aren’t guys on a certain day attending practice, there are guys that supremely benefit from that. The biggest thing as a team, I think the connectivity where people’s expectations on how our standard of practice is, anybody that hasn’t been at practice, people getting more reps because of it have taken advantage of it in that they’ve known their assignment and we’re actually coaching them on technique and fundamentals within the play and not what they should be doing. So because of the team and their mindset and the way they’ve really gone about it this offseason, we’ve had a tremendous offseason of growth really in our schematics and our fundamentals, because people have taken advantage of opportunities. So that doesn’t necessarily – that’s not always the case. So in situations where people don’t rise to the challenge or really understand the opportunity presented when they may be getting reps with the ones instead of the twos or they may be getting reps with the twos instead of the threes; when people don’t rise to those occasions, it substantially affects your team. I’m happy to say that we’ve had really a lot of growth in what we’re trying to do in our practices and the guys that haven’t been here in a voluntary situation, I don’t see it hurting our team right now.”
(Have you had a chance to see WR Tyreek Hill, WR Jaylen Waddle and WR Odell Beckham Jr. together on the field yet?) – “Their individual processes through the offseason, where they’re at; we’ve haven’t had that opportunity yet, but I’m not in any hurry to see that. Each individual has to earn their keep and earn their targets, so having all three at the same time isn’t necessarily a big deal to me. It’s each and every one of them understanding our offense, how to separate in the timing of the play, understanding how to align and who and what to block; all those things are the most important to me especially as you are right live in the offseason.”
(Quick follow up if I may with WR Tyreek Hill, I remember the last couple of years, he wouldn’t want to take a play off during practices. Now that he’s 30 and got to think about the long term for him, do you kind of ramp him down some in the summer to…?) – “Another great benefit of Year 3, especially with the guys that this is their third year in this program with me as the head coach understanding who they are and how to best serve those individuals is huge. So knowing Tyreek’s all-or-nothing type of mindset on the grass, yes, we do take that into account. There’s multiple times that he’s usually trying to talk us into it, but we’re talking him out of participation on the field knowing where his Ferrari horsepower is at and making sure that stays that way so it is very helpful with some of the types of practice players we have – knowing them and being able to keep them out of harm’s way as best we can.”
(Regarding QB Tua Tagovailoa again, I’m going to bring up a word you used last week about him being “svelte.” About a year ago at this time, the thinking was the added weight would help his durability and as it turned out, he played all 17 games. So obviously there’s been some kind of shift in the thinking now. Can you kind of take us through the decision?) – “That’s a very understandable misconception. We were not on an offseason weight program last year, it was strength. So him getting stronger and the unintended consequences for him personally and he saw his game, his strength increased but he felt like he could have the same amount of strength and kind of reshape his body and be a little lighter on his feet. So it’s kind of the natural evolution of you get stronger and then you really pay attention to your diet, the times that you’re eating and when your caloric intake is, those types of things, so he can maintain those strength gains while also being a little more limber in the pocket I think is what’s drove him to kind of attack that which he’s done a great job of.”
(There’s been discussions with the NFLPA and players that came out today about moving OTAs before training camp staring next year. Obviously, this year we have the current format, but I’m curious your thoughts of the split and maybe how it changes how you coach knowing there’s a six-week gap coming up?) – “To an annoying degree, I don’t really have opinions on ‘we could.’ To me, mastering the time from the end of the season to the beginning of it is something that everyone is trying to really execute in a high degree. My only history from the coaching profession is under the current kind of pattern that we really operate under, and with those, you have to really be intentional with the types of things you’re doing, the buildup, the ramp up and then it’s kind of like a trust fall when you take that break between the end of this period of time now to when you see the players again. I can understand why the schedule is as it is and of course, there’s going to be a lot of retooling. If that does change, I can understand the whys and whatfors. Apparently, we might be on deck to have the longest season of all time. With that, if you don’t adjust your schedule – so we obviously will – and if that comes to fruition, but it doesn’t really bother me either way. Whatever the rules are, you just have to be very mindful and intentional of what you’re doing within those rules and we can adjust to whatever. If you come back a month earlier, I’ll probably have different types of breaks and different types of evening meeting schedules and you’re just constantly evolving to have your team full-cylinder Week 1. So it’ll just be an adjustment of calendar stuff which is a whole lot of fun. If you guys want to come to the office on that day if we are to retool our schedule, it’s going to be awesome. I mean you talk about some really stuff within the calendar. But we’ll adjust to do right by the players and maximize their performance which is our jobs.”
(Where does RB De’Von Achane go from – how does he build on his rookie season? What areas do you hope he develops in over the course of this offseason?) – “I think important offseason for him because you were just really hanging on by your coattails as a rookie in this league in general. The way things are kind of structured is there’s so much time devoted to working out and getting your testing numbers right and then the second that you – and you’re training for kind of these timed measurables. Then you immediately transition once you’re drafted into kind of practicing. You get a little breath of a break and then you’re still on your rookie season. Year 2, you kind of let everything settle, understand much more of the whys of everything that you do and for him, the more he can understand within the offense, the more ways he can get the ball. He had outstanding ball production, some of which I know he feels specifically that there’s more out there from the opportunities he had last year and then being able to find different ways to get people the ball whether that’s different types of pass routes, whether that’s different types of run schemes that you can get comfortable with, all those things. More ways to be at the point of attack to play within this offense, that’s what this offseason really provides for him. Seeing some strength gains and you can tell by his body he’s put some work into it and then him just understanding everything about our offense so he can be as big a part of it as possible. That’s his goal.”
(To follow up real quick on that, where is that line between taking the next step as a sophomore, as a Year 2 guy versus maybe entering a sophomore slump?) – “It is real. It is ever-present. It is never going to go away in the game, because a lot of times lessons have to be learned the hard way. A lot of times if you have success as a rookie, you go one of two ways: you’re either starved for more or you can get kind of comfortable. I know each and every year there are examples for both and that’s something that we were talking with De’Von (Achane) in our exit interviews when he was exiting the building that whatever you did this year, are you expecting more or less? Well, if you’re expecting more, you definitely can’t do less. You get out what you put in, and I think he’s aware of that because nobody wants to have the climax of their career be the first year so you just keep it real with guys and very honest and bring up examples that’s happened in the course of your career and try to give them the most tools to succeed the way you know that they want to, because a lot of times people always say, ‘Yeah, I want to be better,’ but it just doesn’t happen.”
Jordan Poyer – May 21, 2024
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Tuesday, May 21, 2024
S Jordan Poyer
(We were just taking to S Jevon Holland. He talked a little bit about how he’s been trying to pick your brains. You’ve been in the league for a long time. What’s it been like working next to him?) – “It’s really cool, man. New experience for me. Obviously I’ve been playing on the same team for seven years, and now coming here with a new group of guys, it’s been really fun to connect with them on and off the field. Jevon is a great player. Talented as heck, smart as heck. Any way that I can to help him be the best player that he can be, that’s what I’m coming here for. To help this team win essentially football games.”
(Obviously these can be voluntary. Did you want to just endear yourself to the team, is that why you’re out here?) – “Yeah, I think a lot of success come from just the communication part especially on the back end. If you want to be successful you got to know who you’re playing with essentially. You’ve got to know the guys on and off the field. In the fourth quarter, I want to know the guy I’m playing with. I want to know about his family. You learn to trust each other that way. That’s essentially why I’m here. I don’t necessarily have to be, but I want to be. I’m excited about this opportunity, and it’s been a good OTA so far.”
(What has been your impression of Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver’s defense?) – “I absolutely love it. Obviously playing in the league for 12 years I feel like I’ve seen most of the defenses or I’ve played in a lot of the defenses. Obviously some nuances with terminology and details and whatnot, but it’s a really exciting defense. We’ve got some good players upfront, in the linebacking corps, and then on the backend. Again, I just want to come here and do what I can to help this team become better and help them win games.”
(What was your view of the Dolphins from afar and is it different than what you’ve experienced so far?) – “That’s an interesting question. Obviously being on the other side for seven years I’ve seen them grow. From when (Ryan) Tannehill was here and all the way up until now where they have as an explosive offense as they’ve had. Obviously a new kind of scheme on defense, but just the growth they’ve been able to have. Seeing that from the other side, a lot of respect obviously for Mike McDaniel and what he’s been able to do here. And then just the players that they have here. I’ve been friends with a lot of them for the past couple of years. So really coming here was pretty easy, and they’ve all welcomed me with open arms. It’s been a really cool transition and I really enjoy being here.”
(What has been your impression of Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver and his coaching style?) – “I love it. I was actually with ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) in Cleveland back in 2013, a long time ago. I was actually with Coach McDaniel there, too. Brian Duker was there. ‘Ryan Slo’ (Ryan Slowik) was there. It’s kind of aging me a little bit, but that was the staff back in 2013 in Cleveland. We weren’t very good, but it’s crazy how full circle it comes around. I’m super proud of ‘Weave’ for what he’s been able to accomplish in the league from playing and now as a coach working his way up as a defensive coordinator. And then the rest of the coaches are really good coaches. Honing in on all the details and just continuing to get better.”
(What’s your thoughts on all the turnover the Bills have gone through this offseason?) – “They’ve gone through a lot. I’m excited to play them twice, that’s for sure.”
(How is Head Coach Mike McDaniel different than when he was in Cleveland in 2013?) – “I didn’t’ really get a whole lot of interaction with Mike (McDaniel) when he was in Cleveland. But obviously hearing his story a little bit; a lot similar to my story with alcohol and finding a way to come out on top of it and finding a new direction. His story for sure has inspired me throughout my career, and then just him as a coach, he’s a players’ coach, extremely smart and he’s somebody that you want to play for.”
(What was it like to see the boys from Buffalo again this past weekend?) – “It was cool. It was kind of a surreal moment. There are not a lot of people I don’t think that get to go get a sendoff in a sense. I spent seven years out there. Loved every moment of it, loved my teammates, my coaches, the fans. But it’s a really cool opportunity for me to be here now. I get goosebumps thinking about playing them twice a year and just the idea of winning the AFC East and hosting a playoff game and winning that playoff game. I remember what it was like in 2017 when we were in Buffalo and the Bills hadn’t been to the playoffs in x-amount of years and then we finally got there and then we finally won it. It turned the whole city upside down. You can feel the buzz in Miami about this football team everywhere you go, ‘Hey man, you guys can do it.’ So if you do it, this city is going to go upside down. And then you get on a roll and whatever happens after that we’ll see. But at least getting there, winning that AFC East, beating Buffalo twice. I’m excited about that.”
(What did you tell QB Josh Allen when you were in front of him? What do you tell QB Tua Tagovailoa when you see him?) – “I love Tua. I love Tua. That’s one of the big reasons why I’m here. He is who he is. And Josh is – I’ve been his teammate for seven years. I’ve seen so many plays that he has made. You could argue Aaron Rodgers, Tua, Josh whoever you want to argue. At the end of the day that’s my dawg. I love Josh, I cannot wait to play him. But I love Tua, too. This offense is a high attack scoring offense. My job on the other end is to get Tua the ball back as fast as I can to let Tua score some points.”
(Did you get the sense late in the season that that might be your last run together in Buffalo? That that was probably the end of it?) – “I did but didn’t. I still had a year left in my contract. I didn’t really know how that was going to go down. It really all happened so fast. I was in Costa Rica on vacation during the time when I got cut. Then essentially a couple of days later got signed in Miami. It really all happened so fast. I didn’t know necessarily what to expect. I knew Micah (Hyde) wasn’t going to come back at least for right now. He might come back. But for me, I just wanted to continue to play football again. I know I can still play at a high level, I know I can still help teams win football games. I essentially watched Miami for the last seven years and I live 20 minutes away in the offseason out here so it was the perfect fit, and I’m excited to be here. Extremely excited to be here.”
(What was it that made that relationship between you and S Micah Hyde both on and off the field so special for the time you were together?) – “We had a lot in common the more we got to know each other. Obviously married, kids. We met each other through a mutual friend that I played with in Cleveland. He played at Iowa, Christian Kirksey. I played at Cleveland with Christian Kirksey. I ended up going to California for one offseason and ended up meeting Micah in 2016 before we got to Buffalo. I could tell meeting him then and obviously watching him as a player in Green Bay. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him. But just talking to him and meeting with him and then we got to Buffalo we both just looked at each other in the eye and promised each other that we were going to change this culture. We were going to change everything about it and we just went to work. I sense that similar camaraderie with Jevon (Holland). Jevon is a young player and he just wants to work. I want to be here to help him as much as I can to become the best player that he can be so in a couple years when I’m sitting on the beach retired after the Dolphins have maybe won a Super Bowl or two. I can be like, ‘Yeah man, that’s my dawg right there. No. 8, you see him, we came up a little bit together.’ Whatever I can do to help this team win football games, that’s why I’m here.”
(You mentioned QB Tua Tagovailoa. Do you ever mentor guys through contract situations? Do you guys ever talk about that or do you kind of just let agents deal with that?) – “I think agents. I think you just let agents handle that out. That’s more personal type stuff. When it kind of happens it’s a big hug, congratulations and let’s get to work.”
Jordyn Brooks – May 21, 2024
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Monday, May 21, 2024
LB Jordyn Brooks
(You’ve been here for a couple of days now. How would you assess today’s session?) – “It was a good day today. I think we started off a little slow yesterday as expected. The first day everybody is getting used to the calls, used to each other. I thought today we made improvements.”
(Why was it important for you to be out here today with it being voluntary?) – “For me it’s like I got to get to know the guys that I’m playing with, get to know the system and let them get to know me. It was important that I be here, it was mandatory for me. I’m glad I came, I’m enjoying it.”
(What have you learned about the new defensive system?) – “We’ve got a bunch of calls. A bunch of calls, with a bunch of calls within the call. It takes time to learn those things, but I like what we’ve got going. I like the scheme. I’m excited about it.”
(What has Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver been like to work with? What have you seen from him as a coach?) – “He’s been great, man. He’s been a great leader for us so far. Very smart, high football IQ as you would expect. I’m excited to play for him.”
(You mentioned it’s mandatory for you to be out here. How important is that for the communication for you LB David Long Jr. and LB Anthony Walker Jr., and the rest of the linebackers?) – “It’s important. Any linebacker that you play with, you’ve got to be able to stream with each other. This is the time to get that chemistry going between David and I so that when the season get’s going we can hit the ground running.”
(I saw you guys running the deep look drops in individuals. How much does this offense stress the ability to get vertical as a linebacker?) – “A bunch. They do a bunch of play action. We got to play the boot routes. The special routes and all of that. That’s why you see us drilling it today.”
(Even though they are not out there, we saw LB Bradley Chubb, and Jaelan Phillips out there talking to guys. That’s pretty impressive to be out here even though they are injured they are out here. What does that say about the type of teammates they are?) – “I think it’s awesome. We’ve got some young guys trying to fill their shoes right now while they are out. Their presence is big for them. Also the team. They are a big part of this team’s success over the last couple of years. So just their presence is enough right now.”
(Are there any early head coach Mike McDaniel impressions? Don’t impersonate him, but what are your thoughts?) – “I don’t have any impressions. But he is different for sure. I think everybody kind of knows that. I like his style though. He’s real and he’s true to himself. He allows everybody else to be that way. I think that helps guys play better and play faster. Just being able to be comfortable with who they are.”
Mike McDaniel – May 21, 2024
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Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(There was a report that QB Tua Tagovailoa has not been here for all of the voluntary workouts. Is that accurate and if so, what do you think about that?) – “The good news about ‘all’ is it’s very black and white. He has been here for offseason activities. He has not been here for offseason activities. He has been both. I think important in the player-coach relationship is communication and I think however things play out, as long as we’re communicating and we’re on our P’s and Q’s on what we need to get accomplished, then we have a fighting chance and it’s been a good exercise in our relationship this offseason.”
(When he hasn’t been here, is that contract related?) – “I don’t make a habit of speaking for other people’s mouths, so I’ll let you guys ask Tua. You guys have a good relationship.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa certainly appears to have lost 10 or 15 pounds. How does that relate to something you spoke about at the end of the season which was extending plays and buying himself some extra time in the future?) – “I think any time that you have – that was a big year this past season for Tua, being able to play the entirety of it at the professional level as well as having two years in a row with the same offense and play caller. And in that process, you get to find out on your own exactly where there are different areas where you can improve your game. That’s something that we directly relate, him and I, in terms of looking for those competitive advantages so I think he identified that as one for himself and has – I think the results speak for themselves. He’s svelte.”
(We haven’t talked to you since the WR Odell Beckham Jr. signing. I wanted to get your thoughts as to why you thought he was the right player for this team and what you think you can add with him? Obviously, he’s not the player he was a decade ago, but he still looks like he can play?) – “I think in the offseason you’re constantly trying to find ways for your team to get better. That’s what Chris (Grier) and I solely focus on, and I think you want a situation where all parties see the same vision. I think I presented the opportunities that playing here could provide and sat down and just communicated with a guy that I’ve followed his career since its onset. He’s fully done right by my draft grade as a receiver coach, by the way, just in case you were wondering. And we hit it off. I could see there’s a passion for football still at the forefront of his mind, and he saw the fit so we were happy to make our team better and afford his skillset.”
(How do you think he can help you guys on third down?) – “Hopefully getting open and catching the football for first downs. (laughter) I think you start with a program with an offense and you have certain skillsets and in this particular circumstance with the Miami Dolphins, it wasn’t like I had previously coached a pairing like we have at wideout and kind of how defenses would respond to that. You learn over time different ways that defenses will really try to attack you and where they could be vulnerable and I think having as many players in the pass game participate and distribute the ball takes us to another level of offense and I see him as part of that.”
(Do you talk to QB Tua Tagovailoa much about the contract stuff or do you just solely leave that between him and General Manager Chris Grier?) – “I don’t want any of that burden in my life. I’m an asset – this is what’s great about the orchestration of our organization. I think it’s important that the player-coach relationship is put on a pedestal where you don’t tinker with that. My job is to get him better. His job is to communicate with me how I’m doing in that process. I think we’re in a safe zone where when he’s talking to me about my expertise and not about stuff that is not my expertise, so we try to stay true to that and that’s paid us dividends this offseason.”
(Will we see LB Jaelan Phillips or LB Bradley Chubb walking through the new defensive plays or even sort of jogging on the side? I don’t know what they’re able to do at this point.) – “It all depends on what you’re looking at. From the onset, they just really have to keep an eye on both those guys just to make sure they’re not doing too much. They have the second they were able to move around without a scooter, they were hard-pressed not to find themselves in some sort of overexaggerated stand-through. Whether it’s walkthrough or not, we’re just being very mindful of who the players are that we’re getting back to full health and really protecting the Miami Dolphins against those individuals themselves because they’ll do too much too soon. They’re doing great day by day and getting really excited if you ask me for a timeline.”
(I wanted to ask you about joint practices for training camp… Do you have plans for any of those before any of the exhibition games?) – “Yes, we have two planned with Atlanta, one planned with Washington, one planned with Tampa.”
(Okay, so you’ll do all three exhibition games, you’ll do joint practices before them?) – “Yes. Didn’t see that coming, did you?”
(With this cornerback unit obviously a lot of new faces and a lot of guys playing different roles. I believe CB Nik Needham is kind of being cross trained as a safety. You know he’s done that in his past. What do you hope to see in periods like this where it’s really glorified 7-on-7 from the secondary?) – “You want to see – it’s like part to whole – any orchestration of team defense, team offense, team special teams; is you’re trying to introduce and apply consistent techniques so that players can know where their help is, know what to depend on, know how they communicate and so everyone is on the same page because the bottom line is a lot of times it doesn’t matter what you’re playing as long as everyone is playing with conviction and complementary technique. I’m trying to see consistency and ownership of technique when we’re trying different things from bump and from off at the corner position. I want to see the different tools that we give the players committed to and orchestrated and how does that relate to the safety? How does that relate to the nickel or the backer? Those things are very important when you’re trying to play consistent, convicted defense. So I’m trying to see that uniformity of technique and implementation so we have consistency in all three phases and specifically with what you’re asking about at the corner position.”
(Is there anybody today that we will not see that we would expect to see?) – “I mean, what? (laughter) You’re talking about me forecasting your expectations. I don’t know. Are you glass half-full, glass half-empty? There’s a lot of things to unpack there. I’m sure there will be players you’ll be like, ‘Oh, I expected to see him.’ Maybe there will be players that you’ll be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t expect to see him.’ You’re going to see players convicted and excited for OTAs, but this time of year specifically, one of the things that we really try to do a great job of is tailoring to the specific needs of individuals so there’s different day-off programs. There are different ramp-up, bring-back-down, all those things orchestrated from downstairs in the training room filtered out to really making sure that we get the best of these opportunities that we have in the offseason.”
(You’re about two weeks off from the CB Xavien Howard contract coming off the books with the post-June 1 cut. Are you going to use these next three weeks to really evaluate what you might need to use that money on?) – “Part of our job as a high functioning NFL franchise is you’re always looking for ways to get better. I know that’s something that if Chris Grier has a tattoo on his body, it’s probably of that – always getting better with roster. We’re always looking, but I wouldn’t necessarily look for – it’s not through the lens of what are we without. We have a pretty deep team that’s high in competition. It’s always balancing the stuff that we’re able to do and what’s out there and can we improve our team. We’ll never stop looking, but we’re not on the hunt.”
(Going back to the cornerback position, if things for lack of better term go wrong for CB Cam Smith in terms of getting on the field as a rookie and where does he need to improve here in his first full summer with the team?) – “Well, I think it’s important for a team to max out the ability of players that you have mutual accountability from the players and coaching staff and the organization’s perspective. I’m not necessarily worried about the placing blame or why his timeline is as it is. Those timelines are unique to each individual. What I’m really pumped about is I know in Year Two that the relationships that he’s holding within his position and the coaches and the way he’s attacking this offseason is that he’s not satisfied with that by any stretch and nor is the organization. So I’m excited for the competition and the development, because that’s really what I get into and what we’re all in this for.”
(Back to the joint practices, what are the benefits of switching that up going with the three different preseason opponents?) – “Well I think each offseason is a different code to crack. I think the specific needs of your team vary. I think in this specific offseason, we had the opportunity to get a couple more valuable practice days against varied looks, varied techniques. I think the intensity of practice in general is raised to a degree when you’re going against a fresh, new opponent. I think with the players’ offseason (and) the way that our specific team practices against each other, I’m forecasting that will be a breath of fresh air to see somebody else. So I think there’s a lot of things that go into it. But in this particular formula, we saw benefit in getting a couple more practice reps against opponents and adding to our offseason of development.”
(This is the first time we’ve spoken to you since the schedule has come out. There are a few things you can’t help but notice. You have several games at home to start off, but several games on the road to finish up. There’s also the Thanksgiving Day game. What are some of the main takeaways you took from the schedule coming out?) – “I think, well, if you’re wanting to change a narrative, you’re going to have an opportunity. I don’t really worry too much about things, pretending like I have any idea of what’s good or bad. I know if you’re playing the right competitive football, you’ll always have unique challenges to your schedule. If you’re playing the right type of football, you’ll have primetime games. You can have short or long weeks. All those things. I think we’ve found a way to develop our team both years. I’m firmly expecting that same thing again this year. I think that the opportunities down the stretch of the season are ones that this team at that point in time will be thirsting for. That’s something that when I saw the schedule, I was pretty excited.”
(This is your third defensive coordinator in three years. How have you learned from your past experiences? How is the relationship going with Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver?) – “Hopefully I’ve learned well. Hopefully. I couldn’t be happier with the way ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) has really taken this offseason on. I think there’s a lot of consistency and overlap in principles that I hold true to the organization about developing players and being on the front end of schematic aggressiveness and innovation. I think the relationships that have occurred on that side of the ball have been outstanding this offseason. I think that guys have really responded with an intensity and vigor with him in the building, leading meetings and leading them on the field.”
(Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver came from a defense that held both you and San Franciso to 19 points in back-to-back weeks last year. Is that something you go to him with and say how did you attack us and San Francisco in a way to stop us and kind of help yourself learn how to attack a defense?) – “Yeah, I think you’re always benefited – there’s a supreme benefit in understanding how other people view you to understand the why’s behind certain things. I think that’s something every offseason I’m kind of searching for, and a lot of times you have to forecast. It’s a lot easier to go down the hallway and see how a particular unit that was able to have some success kind of looked at you from a game-planning perspective. I think that really helps coaching staffs be able to put players in better positions, at least that’s the way I look at it. So that communication has been outstanding and very beneficial.”
(How did LB David Long Jr. get the first orange jersey?) – “I thought this Phase 2, he embodied kind of the way to go about your day-to-day operation. If you want something, go get it. David (Long Jr.) felt after last season he had more to offer to the Miami Dolphins team, and instead of just talking about it, he lived that every single day. I think that all of his teammates feed off him. He’s a leader for us. I was just happy that his playlist didn’t suck. (laughter)”
(Chiefs K Harrison Butker made some comments recently that have drawn a lot of attention. I’m wondering when it comes to political stances, do you encourage your players to talk about that stuff amongst themselves? Or do you tell them leave that stuff out of the building? How do you handle politics in the general locker room?) – “Well, I’m glad you asked. (laughter) I think you do have to open the eyes of the players to their platform if they’re new to the situation. I think you have to understand that what you say publicly can be fragmented and last with you forever. I really emphasize that whatever you’re going to say, you better believe it. You just try to educate people to understand the consequences of whatever they do. They have the freedom of choice, and if they want to go that direction, go right ahead. I’ll be right over here hanging out with you guys.”
(If I could follow up regarding the schedule, it sounds like you welcome the challenge of how the end of that regular season plays out for you with those tough road games and all. What gives you confidence that this team is going to accept that challenge and overcome it?) – “Well, I mean these are the things that we’re trying to establish ourselves to take the next step as an organization. We’re trying to do that anyway, so the fact that the schedule gives us the opportunity to do what we’re working tirelessly to try to accomplish, I thought it was fitting. I guess I don’t go into the schedule with expectations. I think all games are hard. All teams, all opponents are hard. You have to be a tough-minded football team to be your best at the end of the season. That’s a formula that we’ve found in portions of the season that we have a very direct concerted goal of making sure that we take the next step as an organization. So yeah, I’m not in the business of hiding for something. We’re going to have to pay the piper at some point.”
