Karl Dorrell – February 15, 2019
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Friday, February 15, 2019
Wide Receivers Coach Karl Dorrell
(How does it feel to be back?) – “It’s awesome. We really enjoyed it here, my family when they were younger, living in this area and working with the Dolphins. We had some really good people we were working with at the time. We had a really good experience, unfortunately we didn’t win as many games as we should’ve won at times, so they made a staff change and I wasn’t able to stay. I had to do the coaching thing, which is continue to work and improve. I really enjoyed it here, so I’m really excited to be back and work with this staff. I think this group of receivers I’m really excited about too. It’s a pleasant opportunity for me to come back to a place that I’ve already been to. (There are) so many familiar faces in the building that are still here and the welcome reception from them. I’m excited.”
(Talk about the time that you’ve been gone and how that experience was.) – “It was good. At the time, my last year here in Miami, I was working with the quarterbacks. Matt Moore was our guy. Chad Henne got hurt and that was a good year for Matt to really get himself supplanted into the league because he ended up playing another four or five years after I was gone from here. I coached receivers the previous three years and had a really good group, a young group. It was kind of an untested, unknown group in Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo and Ted Ginn and those kind of guys. They were real productive for us. It was a great experience. When I left Miami, I went to Houston to be the quarterbacks coach there for a couple of years with Gary Kubiak and his staff there. Since then, that was my last opportunity coaching quarterbacks. I went back to coaching receivers with the Jets for the last four years.”
(Obviously you knew Todd Bowles from here right?) – “Yes, Todd was on the staff here. Kacy Rodgers was on the staff here. So those guys were all together here in Miami that were on the Jets staff too.”
(What are your ties to Head Coach Brian Flores?) – “We’ve just known each other in passing. That’s how the profession is. You meet everybody and it’s kind of a network of coaches. I haven’t really had much contact with him in terms of being in other places other than saying hello and just those type of things. I’ve always felt that people that knew him more intimately than I did, that he was a great coach, great person, a great communicator. Players love playing for him. He definitely has all of those things and those qualities that everybody has said.”
(Stop me if I’m wrong but General Manager Chris Grier was probably a good reference for you as well?) – “Yes, because Chris and I were here my first time here. Chris was, I believe, the director of college scouting at the time. It’s just good to come back to familiar people, people that know your coaching ability, that you’ve had relationships with. Obviously he’s been here for a while and it was fortunate for me to have the opportunity to come back here. To help the organization again was a blessing.”
(You mentioned how excited you are to work with this group. What do you see? I know you haven’t seen a bunch but from the film you’ve watched, what do you see?) – “I see some dynamic players. I’ve got different ranges. I have guys that are 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3, down to guys that are under six feet tall. They all have unique qualities. I’ve studied all of their tape, just getting to know the group over the last season, just watching their reps and things that they’ve done. It’s a dynamic group, so I’m excited to get a chance to help them.”
(Why do you think this place hasn’t been able to figure it our winning-wise? You mentioned that you didn’t win enough in the late 2000s. What’s it going to take to get this thing turned around?) – “We won our first year we got back here with Bill Parcells. Tony Sparono was our head coach and we went 11-5 in our first year (2008), which I think surprised everybody in football that we would have that type of success given what happened the year prior. Then the next few years, we hovered right around the .500 or just under .500 (mark) in terms of win percentage. Sometimes … I think there were some other issues. That’s just how football goes with injuries at positions. We had quarterback injuries. We had Chad Pennington that first year and then he had some injuries over the next year and a half. I think it was … That’s just a matter of what happens in this league. Sometimes you have to be fortunate to keep a good core on your team that stays healthy and always has some longevity and some tenure. I think at that time, we were just getting established with the core, then some of the things started to work in a different way for us in terms of keeping the same guys that are playing. Sometimes guys are in free agency and they get an opportunity to go other places. It’s just a numbers game of not being able to be productive given how you continue to build your team with that core group and keeping it moving forward.”
(It seems to me that the turnover is tough. The consistency … I know people are going to lose their jobs and all of that, but it seems like the turnover makes it hard to make that identity you’re talking about.) – “It helps to keep a good group or core on your team – in terms of players I’m talking about – because that’s your foundation that you build on. Then you try to acquire certain pieces that make the core be elevated. I think that sometimes like that, it’s hard to keep that together. I think that’s the nature of our business, whether it’s the free agency world or whether it’s an injury factor. Those are the things that happen from season to season.”
(What about Brian Flores has impressed you in the time you guys have worked together?) – “I think he’s on top of it. The one thing I like is that he’s on top of all the scenarios we’re doing right now. (with) all of us coming in late after the Super Bowl and trying to get things established in a timely manner. I think he had a nice plan to get that done, both effectively and we were able to hit the ground running. I think he has done a tremendous job so far since he’s been here.”
(Do you have a prototype size wise for receiver?) – “Actually, no. I like the different skill sets. You don’t want them all looking the same and doing the same things. I don’t think that challenges the defense well enough. I think you need different types because they have different attributes. Usually the smaller guys are faster, shiftier and have a lot of lateral quickness and burst and things like that. The bigger guys have range and length and came make these enormous catches and things like that, so it’s good to have a balance of both.”
(When WR Albert Wilson got hurt last year, it changed the entire complexion of the offense.) – “He was pretty dynamic wasn’t he? He’s a very unique player. I’m really excited about him. Unfortunately for him with the injury he’s recovering from … I hear he’s doing a really good job with the recovery process but like you said, you could tell when he was on the field, he had a number of ways to affect the defense and to make the defense really pay attention to where he is and things like that.”
(Have you had a chance to visit with WR Albert Wilson?) – “I had a chance to see him and introduce myself to him, but we don’t have face-to-face time in terms of football and stuff like that.”
(I didn’t know if in your draft process or anything like that have you ever crossed paths with WR Albert Wilson.) – “No. He’s in rehab and doing treatment and things like that. I did introduce myself and we chatted and just did an introductory (chat) for just a few minutes or so, but we can’t do any football or anything like that.”
(WR Albert Wilson is the most confident human being you will ever meet?) – “Really? I hear he is a very quiet but hardworking guy. That’s kind of what his M.O. has been, which I like. I like that. I like guys that in crunch time moments of a game, in a situation where a big play has to be made, guys come up and do those things. That Chicago game was obviously one of those games.”
(I can’t believe there wasn’t a spot for WR Albert Wilson in free agency.) – “That’s probably a factor of free agency, though. They maybe didn’t want to lose him but he saw that this was maybe a better opportunity than there. Who knows? But that’s a good point of he was in a really good program prior to coming here but Kansas City probably feels it’s hard to keep everybody.”
(It worked out pretty well for WR Albert Wilson.) – “I’m happy to have him.”
(Did you ever think you were going to be back here?) – “You never know in this profession. I know that my goal as a coach is to do a great job wherever I go. Hopefully people remember the things that you’ve done and in your past so when things like this happen, it’s a positive process and they think ‘Let’s bring him back.’ I’m excited to be here.”
(I guess that’s why you never burn bridges because you never know.) – “Yeah. And our profession is pretty tight too. All of us coaches know each other in one way, shape or form, so I think that helps. I’m just trying to be productive and be efficient and help people win and things like that. That’s all we can ask to do. I’m excited to be back.”
(Did you know Brian Flores before this process?) – “Just in passing. He was a casual acquaintance. I’m an offensive guy and he hangs with defensive guys. (laughter) But casual acquaintances, yes. I’m excited. I’m excited for him. I’m excited to work for him. From what I’ve seen of him so far these last couple weeks, he’s going to do an excellent job.”
(This is your second stint with the Dolphins. How is that handled by a coach like yourself? Is it different than going to a different team? How is that?) – “It is different than going to a different team. First and foremost, like in this particular case, I walk into the building there are so many familiar faces that you’ve worked with the first time and you’ve had fond memories and associations with. I think that’s helped in terms of a transition aspect of just getting back on your feet again. The other part is that I enjoyed here. This is my first time coming back to a team that I worked with before. I had such a positive experience here the first time that it made that seamless transition to be effortless, really. I love the organization. The people that are here in all of the support areas have been great. They were great to me when I was here the first time. They have obviously welcomed me here with open arms the second time. It’s a great feeling.”
(You’re staying in the AFC East. Is that a competitive advantage? Does that help? Does that not really mean anything at all?) – “There has to be an advantage because you know certain teams in your division. I’d say the advantage is that I’ve worked with the Jets, I’ve worked here and I’ve played against all three of our division opponents many times, so that experience helps from a knowledge standpoint. But it still comes down to playing the game, executing and doing your job effectively and efficiently and putting yourselves in position to win, which our players have to do a great job of doing that. I do think that we have familiarity on this staff about this division, which is going to be helpful. Hopefully that transcends to winning some games.”
(What did you know coming in? Obviously you’re on the other side other side of the ball, so you didn’t scout the Dolphins offense much, but what did you know about the receiver crew that you’re inheriting right now?) – “I tend to … You’re right, I don’t necessarily study the offenses in this league; but whenever we play a game against anybody in the division, when we’re off the field and I’m standing on the sideline, I look at the opposing offenses and what they are doing and how effective some of the players are. I usually kept a pretty good close track of how the game was going and who was being productive and things like that. I think the familiarity of this group I’ve seen when we’ve been off the field, I thought it was a dynamic group. (There are) some guys that can make plays with the ball in their hands and I think they were scary in a lot of respects, and they had a chance to make those types of plays throughout the season. I know we had a couple of guys that got hurt last year a little over the midway point that I think were really good, productive players that they missed toward the end of the season. But now that I’m here and I have a chance to watch their film from the season individually and study them, it’s a pretty exciting group. So I’m excited to get a chance to help them.”
(Anything stick out about that group?) – “The things that stick out to me is that they can make plays once they make the catch. I think that’s a very strong quality in this league. It’s hard to gain yards in the NFL. You have to beat them on scheme, but as you beat them on scheme, how to you extend that scheme to be a big play? I think there are some dynamic players that can do that. I’m excited. I’m excited to get a chance to work with them once we get them here in April.”
(How does it feel to be back in South Florida?) – “It feels like coming home, to be honest with you. My family, they were younger at the time, in middle school and going into high school. They’re now gone and in their 20s, so we’re kind of empty-nesters coming back. But even though they won’t be with us – it’ll just be my wife and I – they’re excited about their experience and us coming back. They had such fond memories of being here. Maybe I’ll get them to visit us more. (laughter) They weren’t too keen on visiting up in New Jersey as much as they are visiting here in South Florida. To make a long story short, they’re excited. I’m excited. It’s good to have some familiar people that I’ve been around still here. It’s been like homecoming to me.”
(How many of those people are still around?) – “It’s in every area, whether it’s our facility engineers to our scouting to our football operations to the head-coaching and executive assistants. Everybody that was here from 2008-11 is still here. It’s good that they were excited for me to be back. I’m excited because I get a chance to work with them again.”
(Can you talk about how you’ve changed from the first time you were here until now? Are you a more season coache? Is there any advice or anything notable that you bring back that is different.) – “Hopefully those years I’ve had since being here, I’ve gained some knowledge and experience about things that pertain to developing players. I’m a big teacher, that’s first and foremost. My style is being a great teacher of fundamentals and technique. I think that’s big with Brian Flores too. You’re going to teach a tough, hard-nosed team that is fundamentally sound and do all of the things required to be successful. I think those are the things that I’ll continue to bridge and bring forth more information than I had the last time I was here. The second thing was I was young enough back then to demonstrate a few things here and there. (laughter) I don’t demonstrate so much anymore. I have film to back that up. (laughter) But I think it really hasn’t changed. Hopefully those years you’ve gained more experience, you’ve gained more knowledge, to help guys develop faster. That’s the key in the NFL nowadays. Sometimes you’re developing guys that are young players. There are a lot of juniors that are entering into the draft for example, and they’ve only played two or three years of college, but they’re talented and you’ve got to bring that talent forward. How fast can you bring that talent forward to an NFL system? Those transitions I think are really important, and you have to have a plan to doing that so they can be productive early. Those are the tricks of the trade you have to learn a little bit better and a little bit faster.”
(Did you have a prior connection to Brian Flores before?) – “Just a casual acquaintance. We would meet at the Combine and things like that. I’ve always heard great things about him and I’m excited to work with him.”
