Phin Phanatic
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Position by position: Where the Miami Dolphins got better, and didn’t

By Brian Miller

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 09: Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates an interception return for a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 09: Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates an interception return for a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI GARDENS, FL – FEBRUARY 10: Tom Garfinkel, Mike McDaniel, Stephen Ross, Chris Grier: Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

The Miami Dolphins coaching search wasn’t part of the free agency period but was part of the off-season changes made by the Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins added Mike McDaniel and he immediately become one of the most supported coaching hires since maybe Nick Saban. Fans love McDaniel’s approach, openness, and energy. Will that make him a great NFL head coach? Time will tell.

Miami made only minor changes to their defensive staff hoping that Josh Boyer will continue to improve the players he has on the roster while keeping a top defense in tact and producing. We have said before this will be an interesting year for Boyer who will now operate outside of the Brian Flores shadow.

Offensively, the Dolphins and McDaniel made a lot of coaching changes. No more two-headed offensive coordinators. McDaniel brought in highly respected Frank Smith to run his offense and hired another well respected coach in his field, Matt Applebaum, to run his offensive line.

That alone is enough to think the Dolphins made a big move in the right direction after the years we saw with Flores’ OC and Oline coaching changes, that happened yearly. The addition of Darrel Bevel to work with Tua Tagovailoa may be the best yet. Bevel is a very good QB coach and should help Tua improve considerably.

  • Off-season grade: A
  • Improved roster: Yes, on paper. We don’t know how good this coaching staff will be but players are already buying into McDaniel without having had one practice. That is a big step forward for the Dolphins.
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