Re: New D Coordinator: Anthony Weaver

by DolFan 316 Tue Feb 06, 2024 9:19 am

JMP wrote:The Phins are adding Joe Barry to the coaching staff. The former Packers defensive coordinator will be Miami's LB coach and run game coordinator. Very strong hire.

Rumor has it that Anthoney Campanile will be getting the Boston College head coaching job.

Sir Swearsalot coaching modern 20something weenies in a woke state? Yeah, that should end well Rolling Eyes

Also, I sure hope Joe Barry is a better LB coach than he was a DC because Packer fans DESPISED him.

by **JMP** Tue Feb 06, 2024 9:49 am

DolFan 316 wrote:
JMP wrote:The Phins are adding Joe Barry to the coaching staff. The former Packers defensive coordinator will be Miami's LB coach and run game coordinator. Very strong hire.

Rumor has it that Anthoney Campanile will be getting the Boston College head coaching job.

Sir Swearsalot coaching modern 20something weenies in a woke state? Yeah, that should end well

Also, I sure hope Joe Barry is a better LB coach than he was a DC because Packer fans DESPISED him.

Campanile was already at BC, from 2016-2018.

Barry has over 20 years NFL coaching experience, mostly as a LB coach and DC. Packers fans may hate him, but he did a good job there. In 2023 the Packers were #10 in the NFL in both points allowed and sacks, and #5 in fewest TDs allowed.

Trivia: Barry is married to Rod Marinelli's daughter.

by white1 Tue Feb 06, 2024 11:08 am

Barry answers the need I talked about somewhere. Veteran DC to assist with game planning. Good move IMO

by finskev Tue Feb 06, 2024 11:17 am

Nice Hire by Weaver next up we need a New Safeties Coach since ours went with Fangio.

by **JMP** Tue Feb 06, 2024 12:22 pm

Campanile is actually going to the Packers to be their LB coach.

by finskev Tue Feb 06, 2024 12:46 pm

Probaly upset about not getting the DC job, This does happen a lot when You go for a Job and get turned Down.

by finfanatic Tue Feb 06, 2024 12:50 pm

You never know how a guy is going to work out when the whole enchilada, the full responsibility is on his shoulders, but from everything I am hearing about Weaver, I am sort of excited!

This could be one of those rare guys who walks the walk and talks the talk...not like ToxicTeamKiller Flores, who talked a good game but turned out to be an arrogant arsehole!

A lot is going to depend on how the Phins stock the defense for next season of course, but I have one friend who says this 2024 Defense might be the best defense the Phins have had in a decade!!!

If McD can figure out how to get his O to function well against a Ravens-Weaver style Defense, and they will be preparing and training against one all through training camp, then who knows how far the 2024 Miami Dolphins may go???

by CarsonChris Wed Feb 07, 2024 3:30 pm

I have no opinion on the hire. Could be good, could be bad, could be in between. Generally speaking the D is in shambles at the end of the season. The main pass rushers injured, former pass rushers not used(Ogbah). Hiring retired nfl players to fill gaps. I don't think I can give an honest opinion for a year or two.

by **JMP** Thu Feb 08, 2024 8:59 am

The Phins have added former Titans OLBs coach Ryan Crow to the staff, in the same role. He is viewed as an upcoming young coach with coordinator potential. He chose the Phins over several other teams that were interested in him.

We all complained about the Dolphins defense lacking toughness. This offseason, we have added coaches for two of the toughest defenses in the league. Hopefully that's a good sign for the upcoming season.

I wonder if Crow was hired with the idea that he could move up to DC if/when Weaver gets a head coaching gig?

by finskev Thu Feb 08, 2024 9:37 am

Looks like Ryan Slowik is staying as a Coach but being reassigned.

by finfanatic Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:03 pm

I just heard another rumor that the Fangio "thing" was way worse than has been hinted at. It wasn't just the players. Some of the other Defensive coaching staff were having serious problems with Fangio's autocratic-dictatorial style. The main complaint seemed to be he absolutely refused to listen to anyone else's opinion on anything.

There seems to have been a major blowup right around the Titans game is what I am hearing???

I was told even if Fangio had wanted to stay, he was going to be asked to leave after the season.

We all thought the defensive play sort of falling apart late was due to all the injuries, but this might be another reason? I remember how that loaded 95 team with all that high priced defensive talent was derailed by a feud between Louis Oliver and Gene Atkins among others IIRC.

There's a lot that goes into winning in the NFL and we often forget about the interpersonal stuff among the players and the coaches. If any of that gets sideways, it is often impossible to fix.

Maybe like kicking dipsiite ToxicTeamKiller Flores to the curb, losing Fangio will be "addition by subtraction" maybe?

Neutral

by **JMP** Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:22 am

I just saw that Ravens DL Brent Urban is a free agent. He's older (33 in a few months), but he's been a rotational player for the Ravens for a couple of years and he'll be dirt cheap on a one-year deal. 6'7", 310 and obviously played for Weaver. I think these are the types of players we'll be looking at to fill depth positions.

by finskev Tue Feb 13, 2024 10:30 am

Hill & Madison will not be returning to the Coaching Staff this Year. Brian Duker will be Secondary Coach/Pass Game Coordinator has been with Detroit last 3 Years and Worked with Weaver in 2015 with Cleveland. Still need a Safeties Coach.

by mercury22nathan Tue Feb 13, 2024 10:36 am

not on defense (i don't think), but they are reportedly also hiring Hawaii co-offensive coordinator Roman Sapolu but his specific role has not yet been identified.

by **JMP** Tue Feb 13, 2024 11:00 am

finskev wrote:Hill & Madison will not be returning to the Coaching Staff this Year. Brian Duker will be Secondary Coach/Pass Game Coordinator has been with Detroit last 3 Years and Worked with Weaver in 2015 with Cleveland. Still need a Safeties Coach.

Sam Madison will always be one of my favorite Dolphins, but I have to be honest: it seems like our secondary did not play very well under his watch. With a new DC, it makes sense to bring in fresh blood.

by **JMP** Tue Feb 13, 2024 11:05 am

mercury22nathan wrote:not on defense (i don't think), but they are reportedly also hiring Hawaii co-offensive coordinator Roman Sapolu but his specific role has not yet been identified.

https://dolphinswire.usatoday.com/2024/02/11/dolphins-hiring-roman-sapolu-hawaii/

Sapolu, the son of four-time Super Bowl champion Jesse Sapolu, spent the last two seasons also coaching Hawaii’s offensive line after working with Fresno State (2019-21), Idaho State (2018) and Nebraska (2015-17).

It’s unclear exactly what role he would be filling with the Dolphins, but they did lose three offensive assistants (Kolby Smith, Ricardo Allen and Mike Judge) earlier in the offseason.

by finfanatic Tue Feb 13, 2024 11:38 am

There seems to be a lot more "churn" with coaches and asst coaches this off season?

Or is this normal and I just have not noticed it before.

EDIT: Maybe it's just all the new HCs and they went for guys they were comfortable with and that meant there were openings all over the league that needed to be filled?

by **JMP** Tue Feb 13, 2024 12:37 pm

finfanatic wrote:There seems to be a lot more "churn" with coaches and asst coaches this off season?

Or is this normal and I just have not noticed it before.

EDIT: Maybe it's just all the new HCs and they went for guys they were comfortable with and that meant there were openings all over the league that needed to be filled?

I think on offense, McD recognizes changes that need to be made and is bringing in coaches to implement them. Obviously on D you'd expect turnover with a new DC. I do think it's a good thing to see McD being proactive and not just standing pat and keeping things the same while expecting different results.

by DolFan 316 Tue Feb 13, 2024 12:43 pm

JMP wrote:I think on offense, McD recognizes changes that need to be made and is bringing in coaches to implement them. Obviously on D you'd expect turnover with a new DC. I do think it's a good thing to see McD being proactive and not just standing pat and keeping things the same while expecting different results.

Now if only he coaches on game day the same way...I am even MORE worried about him coming from the Shanahan tree NOW pale

by **JMP** Tue Feb 13, 2024 1:55 pm

DolFan 316 wrote:
JMP wrote:I think on offense, McD recognizes changes that need to be made and is bringing in coaches to implement them. Obviously on D you'd expect turnover with a new DC. I do think it's a good thing to see McD being proactive and not just standing pat and keeping things the same while expecting different results.

Now if only he coaches on game day the same way...I am even MORE worried about him coming from the Shanahan tree NOW

McD did do things a little differently in year 2, so there's that. I don't see him as a Shanahan clone and I do think he'll figure out how to fix the problem areas. Step one is getting plays in on time, and I would think it wouldn't be too difficult to make the terminology easier to understand and quicker to relay.

by **JMP** Wed Feb 14, 2024 9:15 am

Another defensive coach added - DeShawn Shead. Expected to be the cornerbacks coach.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/miami-dolphins-add-deshawn-shead-to-coaching-staff

Former Seahawks defensive back turned assistant cornerbacks coach DeShawn Shead, who played six seasons in the NFL, is joining Mike McDaniel's staff, which recently relieved secondary coach Renaldo Hill and cornerback coach Sam Madison of their duties.

by CarsonChris Wed Feb 14, 2024 6:11 pm

Sam Madison was let go. We hired someone from the Seahawks to replace the cornerback coaches.

by **JMP** Thu Feb 15, 2024 10:54 pm

Highlights from Weaver's press conference:

Chris Kouffman
@ckparrot
Sounds like Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver handled his press conference as well as I expected.

Some thoughts of mine:

- Quite a bit was revealed in this press conference. I’m sure Weaver will get better over time at saying absolutely nothing with a lot of words. That wasn’t the case today. Important revelations happened.

- Number one revelation is that the foundation of the defense will be Baltimore’s. Very important. If you’re caught up watching tape of what he did as the Defensive Coordinator/DL Coach of the Texans under Romeo Crennel, you’re probably wasting your time.

- Number two revelation was promising outright that Jalen Ramsey will be moved around, even going so far as to say that just having him sit at boundary corner or field corner all game is a detriment to him. This is a bone being thrown at one of the defense’s most important players. And don’t kid yourself, it’s also a full throated criticism of what Vic Fangio did, or maybe I should say didn’t do.

- Number three revelation was confirmation that Ryan Slowik is staying. I speculated that Slowik could function as a pass coordinator but that title is taken by Brian Duker. Weaver said Slowik will be working with secondary though, which again isn’t a surprise to me. We have heard Slowik is very well regarded as a football wonk and had a great interview for the DC job.

- Number four revelation was his plan to call the game from the sideline. I’ve speculated in the past that Fangio’s being in the booth disconnected him from player feedback and may have contributed to the Dolphins going thru egregious stretches during games where the defense couldn’t stop a damn thing the other side was doing. Being on the sidelines, Weaver will be more accessible to the players and their feedback. But he will need someone in the box functioning as his eye in the sky, someone he trusts implicitly (Slowik? Duker?).

- Some of what he said about blitzing is just your typical coach jawboning (e.g. ‘intentional not reckless’). But it is a valid data point that he tried to strike a very middle path tone by pointing out he’s been with coaches who blitz until they’re blue in the face (he’s talking about Wink) and coaches who rarely blitz (he’s talking about Romeo), and then sort of differentiating himself from the extremes by talking about situational and intentional blitzing. This is more Mike MacDonald.

- Though he did note that he probably forgot some players (he did), he named Zach Sieler, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Christian Wilkins, David Long, Jevon Holland, and Jalen Ramsey as key players in the defense. This is interesting because it leaves out Xavien Howard, who we all speculate could be gone this off season. But it also leaves out Jerome Baker. Just an oversight? And what do we make of mentioning Wilkins? Obviously Miami and Wilkins are still trying to make it work.

- Weaver can certainly turn a phrase, e.g. force multiplier, problems are gifts, when you work in service you never get nervous, coach them hard and love them up, etc.

- He has expressed in the past, nearly word for word, Mike McDaniel’s philosophy with respect to this being a player driven game and his role as a coach being in service to them, helping them be the best they can within they’re very finite window. Reiterated that today.

Thank you to the hard work of @WingfieldNFL
, @OmarKelly
, @DanielOyefusi
, @DavidFurones_
, and @AdamHBeasley
attending and reporting on Weaver’s un-streamed press conference.
2:09 PM · Feb 15, 2024

Lots to unpack from the press conference, but I think this tweet summed it up well. Biggest highlights for me: Ramsey will be moved all over the place (likely Holland too), the defense will be multiple and based on Baltimore's D, and Weaver will coach from the sidelines. I've read lots of reports from the press conference, and it is obvious that Weaver gets it. He seems extremely impressive. I am REALLY excited to see what he turns this defense into. He pretty much said everything I wanted to hear, and I'm excited that we will have a modern-day defense to go with our modern-day offense. cheers

by DolFan 316 Thu Feb 15, 2024 11:01 pm

What I got from it is that Baker's a goner just as I suspected all along. Which means at least one new LB is on the way.

by finfanatic Fri Feb 16, 2024 9:18 am

Good news for sure.

But this presser reiterates what I heard, Weaver blew away the Phins in his DC interview.

Big changes coming for the Phins for sure this year. I am having hard time seeing them let Wilkins walk, but if they have to pony up for Tua or Wilkins... I would rather have the QB than the DT.

Hopefully, Grier can get the Defense shored up and get the players to make the Ravens schemes work, which will include some better LBs IMO.

Assuming Weaver does a good job with the Phins D, I think it likely he will be gone as a HC either next year or the year after.

Of course, Grier could screw up the personnel even more than he has and the whole team stinks and we start another rebuild, but...

Neutral

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