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From Barry Jackson:
Quick hits from Wednesday’s media session with new Dolphins offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, new defensive coordinator Sean Duggan and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor:
▪ New coach Jeff Hafley made an opening statement but did not take questions. He raved about the three coordinators and said he is nearly finished completing his coaching staff. [2:20 p.m. update: Quarterbacks coach Nathaniel Hackett is leaving before he even started the job. He’s joining the Arizona Cardinals as offensive coordinator.] Hafley had Slowik in mind no matter where Hafley had landed: “It just worked out well that Bobby was here. Home run hire.” Hafley said he told Packers coach Matt LaFleur that if there “was one guy I had to have” when Hafley left Boston College after the 2023 season, it was Duggan. Hafley mentioned “how fast” Duggan can process information. “There was a time Matt said ‘I’m keeping Sean,’” Hafley said of his discussions with LaFleur in the past three weeks. But Hafley said he and LaFleur ultimately agreed that it was “best for Sean to come here. He’s a rising star.”
▪ How much will Slowik’s offense look like Mike McDaniel’s? “We’re all from the same tree. The bones are the same, the roots are the same. But all grow differently. Where it evolves is part of it. Starting point is all the same. Believe strongly in running the ball. Win in the trenches. I like keeping the defense off balance, which is my No. 1 thing as a play-caller.”
▪ Asked how he plans to revive Tua Tagovailoa, Slowik said last year “was a difficult year. What jumped out to me was the grace he handled it with, the way he went about his daily routine.” He said “Tua can absolutely bounce back.” (It would be at least somewhat surprising if Tagovailoa returns, with final decision pending.)
▪ Slowik, on quarterback Quinn Ewers, who started Miami’s final three games: “He grew every game. You saw him get better every game. We’ll see where it goes.”
▪ Slowik is open to “mixing up tempo during the course of the game” and multiple pre-snap motions.
▪ De’Von Achane “had a special year,” Slowik said. “De’Von maybe made one mistake in six weeks. He gets pretty mad at himself when that happens. How electric he is in space, how hard he is to tackle. A guy that can really do anything. When you have a piece like that on the offense, it opens up a lot of doors.”
▪ Slowik said having a fullback is “not required” but he prefers to have one: “I would love if Alec Ingold is able to stay here.” Ingold is under contract but there would be a cap savings if he was released.
▪ Duggan said on defense, “we want to be multiple and fit to the strengths of our players [to allow them to] play fast and play 100 miles per hour. When you build it like that and teaching is simple, they can play as fast and violent and they can. You’ve got to be multiple and present different looks to the offense.” He said the defense must be adaptable. Keep in mind that Hafley will call the defense during games, but Duggan will help Hafley implement it.
▪ Duggan’s observation from watching the Dolphins defense on tape last season? “These guys play really hard. They play violently.”
▪ A former linebacker at Boston College, Duggan said he likes variation between playing some four down linemen and three. There are times “you like odd spacing” with fewer down linemen. He also likes to mix coverages between man and zone. On 3rd and 1, “you don’t want to be seven yards off the ball.”
▪ Duggan said defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and linebacker Chop Robinson are “very talented guys.”
▪ Does Duggan believe in blitzing a lot? “There are times for blitzing. There are going to be times for both.”
▪ Duggan, on linebacker Jordyn Brooks: “Physical, good instincts. That guy plays hard. The play style he plays with is inspiring to watch on film.”
▪ New special teams coordinator Tabor, who held that job with Buffalo last season, said “I’ve always respected this unit. There’s a good core here. It will be a matter of getting to know the guys.”
▪ Tabor, who finished second in a poll of NFL players when asked their favorite special teams coach, has been a head coach for seven NFL games -- one in Chicago when Matt Nagy had COVID-19 and six in Carolina as an interim head coach to finish out the 2023 season. He was 1-6 in those games. “Having that experience has been nice,” he said. “We will try to put a product on the field that reflects [Hafley’s] personality so he doesn’t need to worry about that area.”
▪ On Malik Washington, who has become a very good NFL returner: “He has game breaking changing ability. He’s a really good player. I love his contact balance. He’s not a big guy - 5-8, 185; he’s a thicker guy. I like he can get some yards after contact. I’m really excited to meet him and have him on our side as opposed to being in the meeting room figuring out how we’re going to try to stop him.”
▪ Tabor said on special teams, “you can’t play scared. Mistakes are going to happen. We have to learn through those things.”
▪ Tabor said Hafley was the reason he took the job.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article314547509.html#storylink=cpyare you
Quick hits from Wednesday’s media session with new Dolphins offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, new defensive coordinator Sean Duggan and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor:
▪ New coach Jeff Hafley made an opening statement but did not take questions. He raved about the three coordinators and said he is nearly finished completing his coaching staff. [2:20 p.m. update: Quarterbacks coach Nathaniel Hackett is leaving before he even started the job. He’s joining the Arizona Cardinals as offensive coordinator.] Hafley had Slowik in mind no matter where Hafley had landed: “It just worked out well that Bobby was here. Home run hire.” Hafley said he told Packers coach Matt LaFleur that if there “was one guy I had to have” when Hafley left Boston College after the 2023 season, it was Duggan. Hafley mentioned “how fast” Duggan can process information. “There was a time Matt said ‘I’m keeping Sean,’” Hafley said of his discussions with LaFleur in the past three weeks. But Hafley said he and LaFleur ultimately agreed that it was “best for Sean to come here. He’s a rising star.”
▪ How much will Slowik’s offense look like Mike McDaniel’s? “We’re all from the same tree. The bones are the same, the roots are the same. But all grow differently. Where it evolves is part of it. Starting point is all the same. Believe strongly in running the ball. Win in the trenches. I like keeping the defense off balance, which is my No. 1 thing as a play-caller.”
▪ Asked how he plans to revive Tua Tagovailoa, Slowik said last year “was a difficult year. What jumped out to me was the grace he handled it with, the way he went about his daily routine.” He said “Tua can absolutely bounce back.” (It would be at least somewhat surprising if Tagovailoa returns, with final decision pending.)
▪ Slowik, on quarterback Quinn Ewers, who started Miami’s final three games: “He grew every game. You saw him get better every game. We’ll see where it goes.”
▪ Slowik is open to “mixing up tempo during the course of the game” and multiple pre-snap motions.
▪ De’Von Achane “had a special year,” Slowik said. “De’Von maybe made one mistake in six weeks. He gets pretty mad at himself when that happens. How electric he is in space, how hard he is to tackle. A guy that can really do anything. When you have a piece like that on the offense, it opens up a lot of doors.”
▪ Slowik said having a fullback is “not required” but he prefers to have one: “I would love if Alec Ingold is able to stay here.” Ingold is under contract but there would be a cap savings if he was released.
▪ Duggan said on defense, “we want to be multiple and fit to the strengths of our players [to allow them to] play fast and play 100 miles per hour. When you build it like that and teaching is simple, they can play as fast and violent and they can. You’ve got to be multiple and present different looks to the offense.” He said the defense must be adaptable. Keep in mind that Hafley will call the defense during games, but Duggan will help Hafley implement it.
▪ Duggan’s observation from watching the Dolphins defense on tape last season? “These guys play really hard. They play violently.”
▪ A former linebacker at Boston College, Duggan said he likes variation between playing some four down linemen and three. There are times “you like odd spacing” with fewer down linemen. He also likes to mix coverages between man and zone. On 3rd and 1, “you don’t want to be seven yards off the ball.”
▪ Duggan said defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and linebacker Chop Robinson are “very talented guys.”
▪ Does Duggan believe in blitzing a lot? “There are times for blitzing. There are going to be times for both.”
▪ Duggan, on linebacker Jordyn Brooks: “Physical, good instincts. That guy plays hard. The play style he plays with is inspiring to watch on film.”
▪ New special teams coordinator Tabor, who held that job with Buffalo last season, said “I’ve always respected this unit. There’s a good core here. It will be a matter of getting to know the guys.”
▪ Tabor, who finished second in a poll of NFL players when asked their favorite special teams coach, has been a head coach for seven NFL games -- one in Chicago when Matt Nagy had COVID-19 and six in Carolina as an interim head coach to finish out the 2023 season. He was 1-6 in those games. “Having that experience has been nice,” he said. “We will try to put a product on the field that reflects [Hafley’s] personality so he doesn’t need to worry about that area.”
▪ On Malik Washington, who has become a very good NFL returner: “He has game breaking changing ability. He’s a really good player. I love his contact balance. He’s not a big guy - 5-8, 185; he’s a thicker guy. I like he can get some yards after contact. I’m really excited to meet him and have him on our side as opposed to being in the meeting room figuring out how we’re going to try to stop him.”
▪ Tabor said on special teams, “you can’t play scared. Mistakes are going to happen. We have to learn through those things.”
▪ Tabor said Hafley was the reason he took the job.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article314547509.html#storylink=cpyare you
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