Speaker 1: Practice are Alphins Pafford rowing touchdown? What a win for
Speaker 1: this Miami Dolphin team. Wow? What is up? Dolphins? And
Speaker 1: welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: official podcast network, covering your Miami Dolphins each and every day.
Speaker 1: What's going on? Everybody? Good to see you on the
Speaker 1: special Saturday edition of the Drivetime Podcast. My name is
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield. Here as always to bring a your daily
Speaker 1: dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, we
Speaker 1: have another slate of coaches media availabilities. We're gonna hear
Speaker 1: from the defensive and special teams coaches here on this Saturday,
Speaker 1: August fifte edition of the Drivetime Podcasts, and next week
Speaker 1: on Monday, we have practices available to the South Florida media.
Speaker 1: So we have that to look forward to football season
Speaker 1: right around the corner here and to help get us primed.
Speaker 1: Like we did last Saturday with the offensive coaches, we're
Speaker 1: gonna hear from the Dolphins defensive coaches as well as
Speaker 1: Danny Crossman, special teams coordinator. But real quick, before we
Speaker 1: do that, wanted to make a quick point here about
Speaker 1: three guys that have been picked up for other NFL
Speaker 1: teams or that had a workout with another NFL team
Speaker 1: after spending time with the Miami Dolphins. We talked about
Speaker 1: this last year, how nobody on the roster at training
Speaker 1: camp that was released or let go without being traded
Speaker 1: was picked up by another club. Same thing was kind
Speaker 1: of true in free agency, as not many of the
Speaker 1: Dolphins players that walked in free agency found new homes. Well,
Speaker 1: the Dolphins have said goodbye to three players that have
Speaker 1: found new homes now. Ryan lewis with Washington earlier list
Speaker 1: month than we had, Stephen Parker released. He has been
Speaker 1: picked up by the Minnesota Vikings and cor Dray tankers Lee,
Speaker 1: who was released last week has also had a workout
Speaker 1: with the Indianapolis Colts. So it just speaks the overall
Speaker 1: talent evaluation of this team around the rest of the NFL,
Speaker 1: and how the overall talent and the roster has gotten
Speaker 1: better by virtue of other teams finding value in players.
Speaker 1: The Dolphs cut all right, let's go ahead now and
Speaker 1: get two coaches availability. We heard from six of them
Speaker 1: on Saturday, and we start here with Dolphins defensive coordinator
Speaker 1: Josh Boyer, who was asked what the Dolphins saw and
Speaker 1: guys like Shack Lawson and Emmanuel Ogba and their free
Speaker 1: agents acquisitions and how he feels they fit in to
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins football team. I think in the opouseason,
Speaker 1: I think our goal was to add as many good
Speaker 1: players to the defense as we possibly could. I think,
Speaker 1: as with all defenses, each year you start over and
Speaker 1: you try to, uh you know, whether it's a coach's
Speaker 1: influence um or whether it's a player influenced, the defense
Speaker 1: will kind of evolve. I think you're always trying to
Speaker 1: build as much competition as you possibly can, and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I think, you know, obviously, Chris and Flow
Speaker 1: did a good job of acquiring as many good players
Speaker 1: as we possibly could. I like that last line there
Speaker 1: about acquiring as many good players as you possibly can,
Speaker 1: because we talked about this on this podcast. But for
Speaker 1: the market opportunities to go out and improve the roster,
Speaker 1: whether it's the top player at number one all the
Speaker 1: way down to fifty three or fifty five, what it
Speaker 1: is now, the Dolphins just want to get as many
Speaker 1: good players on the roster as many positions as they can,
Speaker 1: and that's what Josh Boyer talked about there here. Coaches
Speaker 1: asked about how he will influence the defense and the
Speaker 1: mark he will make stylistically on this Dolphins defense. You know,
Speaker 1: I mean obviously, uh I would I would say, Uh,
Speaker 1: Coach Florez and I've worked together for a long time. Uh,
Speaker 1: we we have many conversations over the years. Um, I
Speaker 1: would say, it's not really a you know, for As defense,
Speaker 1: It's not a boyer defense. It would be kind of
Speaker 1: a Miami defense. And again, uh, you know, coach floors
Speaker 1: will have influence on it. All have influence on it,
Speaker 1: Our assistant coaches will have influence on it, and importantly,
Speaker 1: our players will have influence on it. So and again,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, there's core fundamentals that we believe
Speaker 1: in that will implement, but the defense itself will evolve
Speaker 1: over time. A couple of interesting notes there about how
Speaker 1: it will evolve over time. Obviously that plays in line
Speaker 1: with the adapting to your opponent and being flexible on
Speaker 1: a week to week basis, being a new scheme a
Speaker 1: new team every single week, but also that they're not
Speaker 1: going to be beholden to any one specific defensive style
Speaker 1: or defensive mind in the room. A collaboration between he
Speaker 1: and Brian Flores and the assistant coaches on the staff here.
Speaker 1: And that's the beauty of the multiplicity and the flexibility
Speaker 1: of the defense is if you have a team, an
Speaker 1: offense that you're facing that requires one certain front or
Speaker 1: one certain coverage or one certain look, and the next
Speaker 1: week you need to do something completely different, you have
Speaker 1: the personnel and the skill set to make that happen,
Speaker 1: both within the coaching staff to make those adjustments, but
Speaker 1: also the personnel on the football field and guys that
Speaker 1: are multiple in their skill sets that can execute different
Speaker 1: schemes and do different things. Guys that can play corner
Speaker 1: and safety, for instance, what you'll hear about more on
Speaker 1: this podcast as we talk about linebackers that come down
Speaker 1: on the ball or play off the ball, or guys
Speaker 1: that do play cornerback and safety, defensive linemen and that
Speaker 1: can play inside outside. You have that flexibility and grain
Speaker 1: within the program that creates flexibility on Sundays, as Josh
Speaker 1: talks about there and Coach Flores talks about all the
Speaker 1: time as well. Another common thread in these pressers as
Speaker 1: asking me about the shortened off season and how coaches
Speaker 1: are adjusting. Here's what Coach Boyer and plenty of the
Speaker 1: other coaches. We'll talk about. Two discusses the Dolphins and
Speaker 1: their approach to trying to find ways to simulate in
Speaker 1: game situations. He talks about how there's no better place
Speaker 1: to do that than in practice. Yeah, I think you
Speaker 1: know again, it's it's very similar to the players. I mean,
Speaker 1: the closest thing that we can get to game simulation
Speaker 1: is practice. So as a play caller and as a
Speaker 1: coaching staff, we try to put ourselves in game situations
Speaker 1: as much as possible. Um, you know, I think you
Speaker 1: know over the course of the years that things have
Speaker 1: come up. Um, you just try to practice, and then
Speaker 1: once you get to a game, you you feel pretty
Speaker 1: comfortable of what your thought processes. I think the players
Speaker 1: need to feel comfortable with what the thought processes. We
Speaker 1: work very hard on our players one understanding the situation,
Speaker 1: because every play in and of itself is a situation.
Speaker 1: Is it is it a drive? Start? Play is as
Speaker 1: second long as a second and short third and short third? Medium?
Speaker 1: Are we in two minutes? Is it in the red area?
Speaker 1: Is it in the fringe? Every play in it in
Speaker 1: itself is a situation And what we we try to
Speaker 1: strive to do for our players as they understand what's
Speaker 1: getting called okay. So again, once they have an understanding
Speaker 1: what the offense is in what we're in okay, it
Speaker 1: eliminates variables, which decreases, uh call it anxiety and allows
Speaker 1: them to play it a little bit faster pace. So, um,
Speaker 1: that's the ultimate goal. And I think in practice, you know,
Speaker 1: we kind of work towards that way and so that
Speaker 1: the coaches and the players were all kind of the
Speaker 1: same page, you know, and understand what's coming. There's not
Speaker 1: a lot of surprises. It's out like oh damn, he
Speaker 1: called this, or you know, are are we going to
Speaker 1: be in this defense on this? There shouldn't be a
Speaker 1: lot of surprises. That's the goal. A lot of mentions
Speaker 1: there of situational football, something we're gonna hear a lot
Speaker 1: about from those coaching staff and talking about putting guys
Speaker 1: in uncomfortable position so that when you come to game
Speaker 1: day on Sunday it does become comfortable. We heard Byra
Speaker 1: Jones talk about that earlier in the week, and you
Speaker 1: hear Josh Boyer that refer to situations and practice and
Speaker 1: putting guys in those spots. And I think that's something
Speaker 1: that can be kind of forgotten from like fans, for instance,
Speaker 1: when you look at practices and what actually occurs on
Speaker 1: the practice field, those are opportunities for improvement and growth.
Speaker 1: And the only way you get improvement in growth is
Speaker 1: to stretch your comfortability right, to stretch the limits of
Speaker 1: what you think you're capable of doing. And that might
Speaker 1: mean for a defensive back being more aggressive out of
Speaker 1: the back pedal, or for a quarterback trying to fit
Speaker 1: a tight window in a third and twelve situation in
Speaker 1: two minute late in the game, because we don't know
Speaker 1: the situation from the stands, as the fans, as the media,
Speaker 1: the guys in the field of the situations, so they
Speaker 1: will always truly know what's best for the football team
Speaker 1: and to make those decisions accordingly. Up next, coach was
Speaker 1: asked about his influences and what it means to him
Speaker 1: to be the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins. You know,
Speaker 1: I've really enjoyed the new rule. Um uh, it's it's
Speaker 1: been good. It's been good with the interaction with the coaches.
Speaker 1: It's a different interaction with the players. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: one thing that I was really excited about and in
Speaker 1: fact that it just so happened that Bill Arnst Parter
Speaker 1: was a ward of the Doctor z Award UM this year,
Speaker 1: which I think he's more than deserving. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: I I read his book years ago, and um, you know,
Speaker 1: and uh reading his book okay, and then being in
Speaker 1: the NFL for as long as I have and to
Speaker 1: see some of the terminology that's in his book that
Speaker 1: still carries over to today. You know, it's a pretty
Speaker 1: amazing thing. So I would say being the defensive coordinator
Speaker 1: for the Miami Dolphins and there's there's a rich alumni
Speaker 1: history here and you know, knowing that the standards pretty
Speaker 1: high with Bill Arnsburger, Um, I considered an honor and
Speaker 1: a privilege. Um. You know, it might not personally been
Speaker 1: something that I was looking to do, but I'm very
Speaker 1: honored to do it. I take my job very seriously.
Speaker 1: As far as being a defense Um, again, you know,
Speaker 1: we look at fundamentals. I mean, we need to be
Speaker 1: able to tackle, we need to be able to play
Speaker 1: with you know, good effort. But I would say it
Speaker 1: goes back to a lot of things that you're coach
Speaker 1: Florida say, is you know, look, we need to be
Speaker 1: a smart team. We need to be mentally and physically tough.
Speaker 1: And I think you know, you know, him and Chris
Speaker 1: did a great job trying to uh put the team
Speaker 1: together with guys that are fiercely competitive. And you know, again,
Speaker 1: we get sixteen shots at it and we'll see where
Speaker 1: we lie, you know, when it's all said and done.
Speaker 1: But you know, as being a coordinator, I'm I'm honored
Speaker 1: for that position, UM, kind of knowing where where it's
Speaker 1: been here at the Miami Dolphins. Um, you know, I'm
Speaker 1: pretty excited about that. UM. So hopefully that answers your
Speaker 1: question obviously. You know, I think it's awesome for the
Speaker 1: Arnst Parker family that he was honored, and I think
Speaker 1: it's awesome for the Miami Dolphins. And I'm really privileged
Speaker 1: just to have his talking about having the same position
Speaker 1: that that guy had. You know, it's a pretty big
Speaker 1: deal to me. I mean, how cool is that. I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody was expecting a little Dolphins history background
Speaker 1: there on Bill Arrenstbarger. Now, one of my favorite parts
Speaker 1: of this job that I've talked about on the podcast
Speaker 1: is how I've gotten to learn and know more about
Speaker 1: the Dolphins from the seventies and eighties and those eras
Speaker 1: because I know this team back to front for the
Speaker 1: last five years, but being a thirty two year old,
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily have the firsthand knowledge of those teams
Speaker 1: of those coaches. And you hear Josh Boyer right there
Speaker 1: going back into his history book and learning about Bill
Speaker 1: Arnst Barker, who he had a special here on the
Speaker 1: Drivetime podcast talking about both his winning the Doctor Z Award.
Speaker 1: Had a j Dewey on the podcast talking about that,
Speaker 1: So that was really cool to hear him go into
Speaker 1: detail about how he was kind of the pioneer of
Speaker 1: Dolphins defensive coordinators and for him to follow in that lineage,
Speaker 1: to follow in that path is really special to him.
Speaker 1: It's cool to hear that as Dolphins fans, I think,
Speaker 1: and it's someone that works here in the building with
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins. Up next, coach was asked about the
Speaker 1: different backgrounds and bringing all these new coaches onto the
Speaker 1: staff and kind of how they have meshed together. We
Speaker 1: talk about themes in this team and on this coaching
Speaker 1: staff a lot. Right well, you're gonna hear him talk
Speaker 1: about one of those themes, the ability to be a
Speaker 1: teacher as a football coach. I think for everybody it's
Speaker 1: it's a little bit different, you know where you come from.
Speaker 1: I think the one thing that uh, it's consistent with
Speaker 1: all those guys is they're good teachers. UM, they're good
Speaker 1: communicators and they work hard. Um. And I would say
Speaker 1: the other thing that's important in coaching is they really there.
Speaker 1: They don't have egos, so um, you know, it's amazing
Speaker 1: what you can get accomplished when nobody cares what gets
Speaker 1: the credit, um. You know. And I think our head coach,
Speaker 1: coach or is I mean, he exemplifies that, you know.
Speaker 1: He you know, he's a very humble individual, very hard worker. UM.
Speaker 1: And I think you know, you got guys that are young, hungry, intelligent,
Speaker 1: hard working um that give very little to who gets
Speaker 1: credit for what they just want to work hard and
Speaker 1: be successful as as a team in an organization, which
Speaker 1: is what we're all trying to do. And we'll go
Speaker 1: back a little bit more history behind Josh Boyer, his
Speaker 1: influences and coming up as a young football coach. He
Speaker 1: references being around football since he could walk, his father
Speaker 1: being a high school football coach. Here he is talking
Speaker 1: about his very first impression of football watching film on
Speaker 1: the old highlight earl on the old tape reels rather
Speaker 1: and how he was kind of immediately drawn to being
Speaker 1: a football coach. Well, I think, you know, first of all,
Speaker 1: it's like, again, I've been around football since I can walk.
Speaker 1: Uh so my my father is a high school coach
Speaker 1: and he's still coaching. And um, you know, so I
Speaker 1: guess when I was a little kid and they had
Speaker 1: the film projector on, I thought it was the coolest
Speaker 1: thing in the world when the players went backwards. So, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, that kind of sparked my interest there. Um.
Speaker 1: And I think, you know, no matter what what you're
Speaker 1: vocation is in life, I think, you know, you always
Speaker 1: are seeking knowledge and there's so many, so many coaches
Speaker 1: that have done it, you know, for so many years,
Speaker 1: and there's always you know, there's always good things you
Speaker 1: can take from everybody, whether it's good, bad, or indifferent.
Speaker 1: And I think as much as you kind of open
Speaker 1: yourself up to all, right, you know, what it was
Speaker 1: this guy doing here? What was this guy? I mean,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of good books out there, and some
Speaker 1: of them and Bill Bill Arns Partner's book is one
Speaker 1: of those. Is if you have a pretty good knowledge,
Speaker 1: you think it's pretty good book. If you're a little
Speaker 1: bit novice in it, it could be a tough read,
Speaker 1: you know. So which I mean there's other books that
Speaker 1: I like to read as well too. Some of them
Speaker 1: are tough reads for me too. Um. But I would
Speaker 1: say that the history of the game, you know, you
Speaker 1: always hear like, oh, this guy's innovative, this guy's innovative.
Speaker 1: I mean, the the Wildcat was really the single wing offense.
Speaker 1: You know that people were running, I mean before they
Speaker 1: had you know, face masks. So um, I think it's
Speaker 1: it's always interesting. I think there's things that you can
Speaker 1: pull from everything. Um. You know, uh, I do enjoy that,
Speaker 1: you know, any time that that, like any of the
Speaker 1: old games are are going on. And I mentioned Charlie
Speaker 1: Winner earlier. I believe he might be the only living
Speaker 1: coach from the greatest game ever played? Um what what
Speaker 1: they titled the greatest game ever played? Um? So um,
Speaker 1: you know, and it's interesting to have conversations. I feel
Speaker 1: very fortunate to be a part of the NFL. And um,
Speaker 1: I would say my paths have crossed with a lot
Speaker 1: of guys and there's a rich history here in Miami. Uh,
Speaker 1: there there is, you know, and there's a lot of
Speaker 1: guys and a lot of alumni that come around, and
Speaker 1: there's always things that relate to today's game. It's not
Speaker 1: a completely different game at the end of the day.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's still eleven guys out there and um,
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of their experiences, Um, and they've
Speaker 1: been great, you know. So I'm I'm excited. Uh, I'm
Speaker 1: decided with our past. I'm excited for a future. Uh
Speaker 1: you know, and uh, we're gonna work hard and like
Speaker 1: I said, we get sixteen shots at it and we'll
Speaker 1: see what we are. So there he goes. Dolphins defensive
Speaker 1: coordinator Josh Boyer. Up next, we had Dolphins linebackers coach
Speaker 1: Anthony Campanelli, and the first question posed the coach came
Speaker 1: from me, So I'll go ahead and roll that and
Speaker 1: its entirety. Hey, good morning, coach. My question is about
Speaker 1: the amount of players you guys have that can play
Speaker 1: both off the ball as well as come down on
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage. And I was curious how do
Speaker 1: you and Coach Clark kind of balanced that time on
Speaker 1: the field or in meetings, whatever it is with a
Speaker 1: player like Kyle van Noy, who has so many snaps
Speaker 1: both on and off the ball in his past. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I just think that, uh, you know, we're awesome things
Speaker 1: about coaching here is we all coach defense, you know, Um,
Speaker 1: so we all got an opportunity to coach all our guys.
Speaker 1: And I think it's, uh, it's a staff full of
Speaker 1: guys who love the coach fundamentals um and love coaching
Speaker 1: with each other. So it's it's something that as a
Speaker 1: group collectively, I think we all at every position, to
Speaker 1: be honest with you, we all kind of incorporate our
Speaker 1: own philosophies and get the opportunity to coach all the guys.
Speaker 1: So it's been an awesome experience that way. And you know,
Speaker 1: the theme is the same there among the coaches and players,
Speaker 1: guys that can do multiple things and kind of work
Speaker 1: as a collaboration. That's gonna be what you get from
Speaker 1: the top down here. And it's kind of a challenge
Speaker 1: as a question asker in these interviews to get them
Speaker 1: to talk more kind of in depth about that kind
Speaker 1: of stuff because that group think that let's work together
Speaker 1: as this all is one individual unit. It's really there
Speaker 1: instead of parent and you can hear it and the
Speaker 1: coaches speak, you hear in the players talk as well,
Speaker 1: and it all comes down from the top with coach
Speaker 1: Brian Flora's up next. Coach was asked about getting the
Speaker 1: job here in Miami, working under Brian Flores and the
Speaker 1: chance to coach for an organization like the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: And you'll hear this theme as well, the storied franchise
Speaker 1: that is the Miami Dolphins. Listened to coach Campanelli talk
Speaker 1: about what it means to him with a little chuckle
Speaker 1: and a ray smile about coaching for the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: I mean, it means a world to me. It's been
Speaker 1: a tremendous opportunity. Um. And then the opportunity to coach
Speaker 1: for coach Flores. Uh, was something I was really really
Speaker 1: excited about. Um. You know, it's a story franchise. So
Speaker 1: the opportunity to come here coach for him, coach at
Speaker 1: this place and coach these players, It's been a fantastic
Speaker 1: experience so far. Um, it was something I was really
Speaker 1: really looking forward to. I was really really excited about it,
Speaker 1: and I've loved every minute of it. Now. I couldn't
Speaker 1: get Coach talk about Kyle van Noy, but the next
Speaker 1: question does get a little bit of insight behind new
Speaker 1: Dolphins linebacker Kyle van Noy and how coach Campanelli thinks
Speaker 1: he fits into the defense here in Miami. Well, I
Speaker 1: think Kyle, um, you know, like you said, one of
Speaker 1: his great abilities is he's got a lot of multiplicity
Speaker 1: to his game, um, and I think him bringing that
Speaker 1: to our system, you know, and we're a system. Then
Speaker 1: I think coach Flores has done an incredible job and
Speaker 1: Coach Porter has an incredible jobs to their careers of plans,
Speaker 1: of strengths of all their players, you know, throughout their
Speaker 1: entire career. So he uh, we're obviously really really excited
Speaker 1: to have them here. Um, and I think he's gonna
Speaker 1: gonna be a great addition to our defense. And he's
Speaker 1: a great fit to what we do. I mean, you
Speaker 1: hear it there at the end, A great fit to
Speaker 1: what we do. Obviously, would not pursue a player like
Speaker 1: that if he doesn't fit what you do. But you
Speaker 1: look at the past rush numbers for instance of Van
Speaker 1: Doyle with the Patriots under Brian Flores. There in how
Speaker 1: Sam egil Van and Jerome Baker here last year, we're
Speaker 1: near the top of the linebacker list in terms of
Speaker 1: pass rushing situations, finding different gaps to blitz, guys that
Speaker 1: can rush from different spots. You talk about all that
Speaker 1: with Kyle van Noy, he certainly fits and coach and
Speaker 1: Relli talks about it there and up next an interesting
Speaker 1: answer from coach and kind of alluding to the Dolphins
Speaker 1: having so many coaches that came from the college ranks
Speaker 1: as well as first year players on the football field,
Speaker 1: and how that might kind of help this Dolphins team
Speaker 1: with regards to no preseason because college players and college
Speaker 1: coaches they're used to getting after it week one without
Speaker 1: any exhibition warm up games. I think for guys coming
Speaker 1: from college, it's it's not much of a difference, you know,
Speaker 1: so that that might be an advantage for us. You know,
Speaker 1: a guy like myself as a coach, it's something that
Speaker 1: that's what you know, getting ready, getting the guys ready
Speaker 1: through training camp. Um and I think coach Flores has
Speaker 1: done a great job of, you know, managing everything up
Speaker 1: to this point and uh really really organized it in
Speaker 1: a way that our guys can get better every day
Speaker 1: and it's been meticulously done so I think he's not
Speaker 1: a fantastic job with that, having been through some other
Speaker 1: situations like that, is you know, like this as a
Speaker 1: college coach, Um, I've been really really impressed with that,
Speaker 1: and I think, you know, through the summer, like you said,
Speaker 1: this is this is the same situation for everybody in
Speaker 1: the league, and we just kind of do a great
Speaker 1: job of coaching our guys every day. Everything is important,
Speaker 1: Every meeting is important, every practice is important, um, and
Speaker 1: I think our guys understand that. I know they do
Speaker 1: because they're prepared that way. So uh Da've taking the
Speaker 1: you know, it's a little bit of a change, I'm
Speaker 1: sure for a lot of these guys as professional athletes
Speaker 1: with no preseason games, but they've really stepped up to
Speaker 1: the challenge and I've done a great job preparing. And finally,
Speaker 1: Coach was asked about his connection to coach Flora's and
Speaker 1: how that initial meeting and initial phone call came to
Speaker 1: be where Flora's eventually offered him the job to come
Speaker 1: down here and coach with the Miami Dolphins and their
Speaker 1: connection back with their their roots going back to Boston
Speaker 1: and Boston College. I had I had spent some time
Speaker 1: to Boston obviously, coach I was at Boston College. Coach
Speaker 1: Flores was a Boston College graduate, and uh, I was coaching,
Speaker 1: you know, in New England at the time, and knew
Speaker 1: a lot of people who knew him very well. Everybody
Speaker 1: spoke so highly of him, not just as a football coach,
Speaker 1: but as a person. Um, and for myself and my
Speaker 1: own family to this point in the time I spend here, Ah,
Speaker 1: he's been phenomenal to us, you know. And uh, he's
Speaker 1: just a great person, like in that regard. I mean,
Speaker 1: he he cares about people's family. Um. Football is is
Speaker 1: what we do, you know, It's it's all. It's a
Speaker 1: huge part of all of our lives. It's a huge
Speaker 1: part of our family's lives. But he understands that. And uh,
Speaker 1: first and foremost, he understands that as a father, you know,
Speaker 1: in a husband. H that's that's the most important job
Speaker 1: all of us have in the world. And I think
Speaker 1: he does a great job of managing that with himself,
Speaker 1: with the staff, and with the players. You know, he
Speaker 1: never loses sight of that. So that I think makes
Speaker 1: him a special guy in the regard. And you'll hear
Speaker 1: a lot of these coaches talk about their feelings about
Speaker 1: coach floor isn't what he means as a leader and
Speaker 1: as a person. Up next, we had Gerald Alexander g A,
Speaker 1: the coach of the defensive backs, and he was asked
Speaker 1: first about the conversion of players going from cornerback to
Speaker 1: safety and he relates to his experience in the NFL
Speaker 1: making a similar conversion in the defensive backfield. Well, to me,
Speaker 1: it's a very familiar challenge because I personally would through
Speaker 1: that myself as a as a corner in college and
Speaker 1: transition into safety prior to my career in the National
Speaker 1: Football League, So it's something that I'm familiar with, and so, um,
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's different, But those guys have definitely
Speaker 1: done the necessary things to kind of transition to that role,
Speaker 1: and it's just continuing to have them improved throughout practice.
Speaker 1: You know, when you're not a when you're not a safety,
Speaker 1: you're not being that primary communicator as you are when
Speaker 1: you're in that position. So these guys have been doing
Speaker 1: a good job and then we will continue to develop
Speaker 1: their communication out there on the field so they can
Speaker 1: take command and be quarterbacks of our defense. You hear
Speaker 1: him talk about the communication aspect of being the quarterback
Speaker 1: of the defense, and later we're gonna hear him discuss
Speaker 1: how the safeties are the ones that really have to
Speaker 1: get guys lined up from that kind of not bird's
Speaker 1: eye view with the furthest view back right. The guys
Speaker 1: that play the furthest off the football and getting the
Speaker 1: defense aligned. Communication is going to be a big theme
Speaker 1: with coach Alexander on this particular interview and of course
Speaker 1: going forward. But now he was asked about what the
Speaker 1: Dolphins saw in the rookies Noah Anogamy first round draft
Speaker 1: pick and Brandon Jones third round draft pick, a corner
Speaker 1: and safety respectively. What the Dolphins saw in those two
Speaker 1: players that made them want to go ahead and pull
Speaker 1: the trigger and get them down here to Miami. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, those guys had great athleticism coming in. They
Speaker 1: have great tools to be able to develop in our program. UM,
Speaker 1: and not to mention just their athleticism, but just getting
Speaker 1: the chance to beat them throughout the process. You knew
Speaker 1: that there were guys that UM that had the football
Speaker 1: character that we were looking for UM in our building,
Speaker 1: and so we we haven't really had a chance to
Speaker 1: obviously see that on display on the field. You know,
Speaker 1: we're just getting to start practice, but you can tell
Speaker 1: just by their football character and their makeup that they're
Speaker 1: willing to be coachable and to improve to day to
Speaker 1: day Up next, coach was asked about his influences as
Speaker 1: a defensive coach, something we've talked about here on the
Speaker 1: podcast before working under Jimmy Lake as well as Chris
Speaker 1: Peterson there at you DUB and the teaching aspect of
Speaker 1: being a football coach. I think my my experience UM
Speaker 1: with with Jimmy Lake, who's the head coach in Washington
Speaker 1: now UM and and Chris Peterson and his staff were
Speaker 1: monumental in my coaching career UM and really had me
Speaker 1: think about developing the UH teaching aspect of being a
Speaker 1: coach and really being a great presenter and making sure
Speaker 1: that I take all the complexities of the game UM
Speaker 1: and make it simple for the guys to be able
Speaker 1: to comprehend and execute out there on the field and
Speaker 1: UM and just trying to get better in that way
Speaker 1: in form and I think that you know, some of
Speaker 1: the experience stuff currently had here with this coaching staff
Speaker 1: is just continued to challenge me as a teacher. UM
Speaker 1: and developing these guys and getting those guys to understand
Speaker 1: what we're trying to get him to do on defense.
Speaker 1: And with the young guys in this defensive backfield room
Speaker 1: and so many new additions to the DB's room, coach
Speaker 1: was asked about getting those guys acclimated and how quickly
Speaker 1: rookies and young guys can get themselves onto the football field.
Speaker 1: There's so many things that young guys have to learn,
Speaker 1: you know, and it's just learning really you know, how
Speaker 1: to practice, how to be a professional and not to
Speaker 1: mention all the things and the responsibilities and the communication.
Speaker 1: Um that it takes, you know to be able to
Speaker 1: feel uh comfortable and develop in this defense. And it's
Speaker 1: really just gonna take reps. It was gonna take you know,
Speaker 1: repetition and um, you know, being able to see different
Speaker 1: plays and experience different things that practice. And obviously as
Speaker 1: we start to intesify intensify the practice, um, you'll they'll
Speaker 1: be able to make those full speed mistakes and learn
Speaker 1: from them and develop as they go. And so it's
Speaker 1: just gonna take you know, uh time and reps and
Speaker 1: being able to get those reps to to feel ready
Speaker 1: and continue to develop them there and a very common
Speaker 1: theme among these coaches and the questions they received was
Speaker 1: how did you get in contact with coach Flora's to
Speaker 1: ultimately get the job? Really cool connection here on the
Speaker 1: Dolphins coaching staff last year. Who knew coach Jail Alexander.
Speaker 1: Here's his answer on how he got this position with
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins. You know, I got a chance to
Speaker 1: meet UH coach flow and and really these guys really
Speaker 1: through Taekwon Underwood, who I played with in Jacksonville. UM.
Speaker 1: I was here, UH really locally with visiting UH Blake Banker,
Speaker 1: who I coach with at Arkansas State, who was a
Speaker 1: defensive corder at the University of Miami. UM, and while
Speaker 1: I was in town, I came and visited Taikwon and
Speaker 1: got a chance to just meet some guys in the
Speaker 1: building and they got an opportunity to be here and
Speaker 1: and really kind of shadow and training camp last year
Speaker 1: UM during an internship and UM you know, going back
Speaker 1: and taking some of that information to cow where where
Speaker 1: where I was coaching at the time, and it was
Speaker 1: valuable information just being here for a week, and I
Speaker 1: learned a lot from this coaching staff. UM. And you
Speaker 1: know when the opportunity came, and um, you know, obviously
Speaker 1: I was very excited and grateful for the opportunity, which
Speaker 1: I still am and um and now you know, now
Speaker 1: of them here, I understand what my responsibility is to
Speaker 1: be able to leave the secondary and contribute to this
Speaker 1: team as much as as I can. And I go
Speaker 1: back to Indianapolis at the scout InCom By when I
Speaker 1: had a chance to ask Cal's safety Ashton Davis about
Speaker 1: coach Alexander, and he referenced that coach was going out
Speaker 1: to do internships to go learn different football schemes and
Speaker 1: different practices at different programs across the country, both in
Speaker 1: pro and the college level, and Davis talked about Alexander's
Speaker 1: willingness and desire to get better every day as a
Speaker 1: coach and not be stuck in his ways. I thought
Speaker 1: that was a cool response there from coach g A
Speaker 1: and I also love the response to this question that
Speaker 1: I had a chance to ask coach on Saturday morning. Hey,
Speaker 1: good morning, coach. You talked a little bit about the
Speaker 1: character of the two rookie defensive backs you guys drafted,
Speaker 1: and coach Flores talks a lot about communication as an
Speaker 1: important trait on his team with an emphasis on players
Speaker 1: that can communicate on this defense and in this defensive backfield.
Speaker 1: How much does that help you guys acclimate things quickly
Speaker 1: in this condensed offseason program. Well, communication is as is
Speaker 1: that must in our defense. I mean, all guys have
Speaker 1: to be on the same page, and especially at the
Speaker 1: tafety position. You know, we have the depth of the
Speaker 1: defense and we're responsible to really get everybody in line.
Speaker 1: And so it's very important that whether you're young or older,
Speaker 1: vet that the communication is on point. And we know
Speaker 1: that big plays always run to the secondary, whether it
Speaker 1: be in the past game or the run game. And
Speaker 1: the easiest way to give up uh explosive play in
Speaker 1: the back end is lack of communication. And when I
Speaker 1: tell those guys is lack of communication leads to disaster.
Speaker 1: And so we have to make sure that all of
Speaker 1: our communications on point, regardless of the condensed offseason and
Speaker 1: not not a lot of reps in the off season. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, through practice and walk through we have to
Speaker 1: understand what certain terminology means and get everybody on the
Speaker 1: same page. You know, those guys are gonna be the
Speaker 1: ones that are playing on Sunday, So it's not it's
Speaker 1: not really important how much I know. Is it's how
Speaker 1: important I know how much those guys know, And there
Speaker 1: goes their awareness out there on display on the field
Speaker 1: and understand what words to say, what communication to make
Speaker 1: to make sure everybody's on the same page. War communication
Speaker 1: leads to disaster. That's my favorite quote of this entire
Speaker 1: coaches availability on this Saturday, and so very true in
Speaker 1: that defensive backfield where he says that most of the
Speaker 1: big leaks you're gonna get on defense come from communication
Speaker 1: in that area. So really insightful there from coach Alexander.
Speaker 1: Up next, we had a chance to talk to new
Speaker 1: Dolphins outside linebackers coach another guy coming up from college,
Speaker 1: Austin Clark, and we'll kick it off with my question
Speaker 1: for coach Austin Clark. Hey, good morning, coach. Kind of
Speaker 1: want to go on that same topic. They're about the
Speaker 1: guys in your position group, and I'm curious if it's
Speaker 1: a challenge for you to find reps for all the
Speaker 1: guys that have a lot of snaps and production on
Speaker 1: the resume. If it's a challenge to find reps for
Speaker 1: those guys, and if the multiple nature of the defense
Speaker 1: kind of helps you carve out rolls for everybody. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, I think, uh here coach Flow and Josh
Speaker 1: I was saying, your role is what you make it,
Speaker 1: and I think that applies to all the guys. I
Speaker 1: think we've only had a couple of days so far.
Speaker 1: We haven't even had a padded practice, so that's a
Speaker 1: little tough for me to say right now, but I
Speaker 1: think everybody's doing a hell of the job so far.
Speaker 1: And maybe jumping the gun there a little. But on
Speaker 1: those questions asking about roles in the defense, as he
Speaker 1: talks about there, they haven't even been on the field
Speaker 1: for a padded practice. But next we had a good
Speaker 1: question asking him about his first impressions of coach flores
Speaker 1: And here's Clark talking about looking up Coach Florence for
Speaker 1: the first time after he initially made that phone call
Speaker 1: hard working guy, knowing you know, when I came down
Speaker 1: here to meet with him, I I looked him up
Speaker 1: and researched him and UM saw his path through coaching
Speaker 1: and UM that immediately to me was like, Hey, this
Speaker 1: is someone I want to work under and learn from.
Speaker 1: UM just how he came up in the grind and
Speaker 1: where he's come from his story, UM, all the obstacles
Speaker 1: he's gone through. And then on a first impression basis,
Speaker 1: I would I would just say, is a teacher. You know,
Speaker 1: to me, coaching is teaching UM. And there's an element
Speaker 1: of how he interacts with players, UM and coaches and uh,
Speaker 1: you know he's got a mission. We you know, he's
Speaker 1: a tough guy. We want tough people that are smart,
Speaker 1: love to play or physical and that's what impressed me
Speaker 1: about him and I'm really really excited to work for him.
Speaker 1: And just as he evaluated the head coach and Brian Flores,
Speaker 1: here he is talking about defensive coordinator Josh Bowyer. You know,
Speaker 1: I would say, uh, tactical. You know, I think Josh
Speaker 1: has uh a philosophy of what he believes in that
Speaker 1: I think aligns directly with our head coach. Um. Those
Speaker 1: guys have been working together for so long. UM, I
Speaker 1: would say, he knows what he wants and he's going
Speaker 1: to demand that out of his players and us his
Speaker 1: coaches to do it. And uh, that's the environment I
Speaker 1: want to live around. And uh, it's been great so
Speaker 1: far and I'm really really excited. And here is coach
Speaker 1: talking more about his players. In his possession room and
Speaker 1: how the Dolphins can get more pass rush this season
Speaker 1: with the players they have on the current roster, I
Speaker 1: would say, I think we have some great players across
Speaker 1: the board, and I would say pass rush is a
Speaker 1: collaborative deal, um, in terms of the different guys and
Speaker 1: combinations and who they're going against and what they do best.
Speaker 1: And I think is the defensive staff. Um, we're we're
Speaker 1: doing a great job of finding out what those guys
Speaker 1: are and what they do well. Um. Again, it's only
Speaker 1: been three days, but it's been great so far. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, with with Lass and again or there's so
Speaker 1: many different guys that can do it. So Um, we'll
Speaker 1: see where we're at here in three or four weeks.
Speaker 1: A little bit of a hidden nugget and they're talking
Speaker 1: about the collaboration of the pass rush. It's all about
Speaker 1: opportunity and matchup. Right. We're gonna hear about that on
Speaker 1: this defense on this team for a long time to come.
Speaker 1: But we know there are different ways to get after
Speaker 1: the quarterback. That's not just one guy lining up and
Speaker 1: beating his man across from him, like maybe Cam Wake
Speaker 1: used to do back in his heyday here in Miami.
Speaker 1: But now you have multiple guys that can really commit
Speaker 1: to a rush contained scheme, and guys that can do
Speaker 1: things from a stunt, slant and twist and blitz and
Speaker 1: different types of things and games up front on the
Speaker 1: defensive line to create that pressure and to create that
Speaker 1: pass rush from multiple guys on the system. That's why
Speaker 1: you heard him talk about van Away, Lawson, ag Ball,
Speaker 1: all these guys that add different elements to your defense.
Speaker 1: It's always going to be beneficial when you have multiple
Speaker 1: guys that can do things within the scheme to help
Speaker 1: get pressure on the quarterback up next, defensive line coach
Speaker 1: Mary and Hobby met with the South Florida media and
Speaker 1: first he was asked, of course, about his former Clemson
Speaker 1: protege and now under him in Miami, Shack Lawson. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, starting off with Shack Lawson, you know, you
Speaker 1: kind of have a good history with him and you
Speaker 1: kind of know where he's from, what he's about. You know,
Speaker 1: when we were looking for those smart, tough players, you
Speaker 1: know they love football and you know in team first
Speaker 1: attitudes and and he fits it. You know, it's something
Speaker 1: that he's been been a leader all his career. You know,
Speaker 1: even in college going to their pros. With his energy level,
Speaker 1: I thought he would be a really good fit for us.
Speaker 1: One thing you'll hear coach talk a lot about is
Speaker 1: both heavy hands and players being conscientious of their roles
Speaker 1: and kind of that idea of being more of a
Speaker 1: read and react type of player of posts and just
Speaker 1: shooting up field, getting in the gap. Here's coach talking
Speaker 1: about how Manuel Ogba and ray Juan Dave was both
Speaker 1: excel in those areas. Watching you know, um football on
Speaker 1: rereak one Davis even when he was a young player
Speaker 1: at Alabama, you know, and seeing him a mature you
Speaker 1: know each year coming in you know, and getting a
Speaker 1: chance to visit with him at to come By and
Speaker 1: I thought he did a great job in the interview. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, Rake one is is different athletically, but he's
Speaker 1: really more conscientious football player. Um. You know, football is
Speaker 1: important to him, his family is important to him, you know,
Speaker 1: and just getting to know those things about him after
Speaker 1: visiting with him at to Combine, yuh, you know, we
Speaker 1: just gave us a good encouragement about that guy, you know.
Speaker 1: And Hogbuck you know, he's just been a pleasure to
Speaker 1: work with, you know, it's uh, you know, was just
Speaker 1: visiting with him early. You know, didn't know I didn't
Speaker 1: know him before that hand, but you know, just evaluating
Speaker 1: my tape acting other coaches about him, his work ethics,
Speaker 1: you know, his smarts and all of that, and he's
Speaker 1: proven to be exact actually what they're saying. You know,
Speaker 1: he's very conscientious, he likes the game. You know, he's
Speaker 1: got a good football like you. He's smart man, he'll
Speaker 1: work and just as an outside linebackers coach is concerned
Speaker 1: with getting pressure on the quarterback, of course, a defensive
Speaker 1: line coach will be asked the same thing. Here's coach
Speaker 1: Hobby talking about the collaboration of the team coming together
Speaker 1: to create collective pressure on the quarterback from this defensive
Speaker 1: line and this pass rush here in Miami. I think
Speaker 1: I think you hit it perfect playing as a unit.
Speaker 1: You know, one guy get a great rush and another
Speaker 1: guy it's not in the right position. You know, this
Speaker 1: guy gets a great rush, and it seems where we
Speaker 1: didn't really play together. You know, you usually have four
Speaker 1: man rushes. Everybody has a rush lane, everybody has a responsibility,
Speaker 1: and I think if we can improve there, you know,
Speaker 1: everybody is counting the next man to him to do
Speaker 1: his job for dudes, and you know, I think that's
Speaker 1: it really could be a one of the things we
Speaker 1: can do is play together is big time. And to
Speaker 1: finish up here with coach Hobby a question back about
Speaker 1: Christian Wilkins and the comment he made about his professionalism
Speaker 1: and staying in shape that you heard him talk about
Speaker 1: that in the previous answer. He had a follow up
Speaker 1: question here where he talked more about Christian Wilkins, who
Speaker 1: just loves loves some football. Well, I think it's a
Speaker 1: little bit of both. You know, everybody know anything about
Speaker 1: Christian Wilkins. He loves football. Now he's a he's a
Speaker 1: football guy. And uh, you know the critique and him,
Speaker 1: um tell him where he's showing him where he could
Speaker 1: be better. You know, sometimes that's as coach can be
Speaker 1: critique or that could be coming down on him. But
Speaker 1: I think it has a lot to do with him,
Speaker 1: you know, him want to do well and get better.
Speaker 1: Um as a player, and that's where it starts. Man,
Speaker 1: They got to be self motivators and then as as coaches, man,
Speaker 1: we just continue to build them what they bring to
Speaker 1: the table. But um, I think he matured as he
Speaker 1: went on. I think he had a lot of things
Speaker 1: going on early, you know, and he he's gonna try
Speaker 1: to do them all in the community. He's gonna try
Speaker 1: to do them all anyway anyway he can. I just
Speaker 1: think you had a lot on his played early and
Speaker 1: hope with him about it, and he said, yeah, Coach,
Speaker 1: I had a lot of going on. And now I'm
Speaker 1: settling me into my to my role. And so there
Speaker 1: is Coach Hobby. You have now heard from the offensive
Speaker 1: and defensive coordinator obviously, the head coach, and Brian Flora's
Speaker 1: each of the offensive and defensive assistance. Let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and finish it up here with special teams coordinator Danny Crossman.
Speaker 1: I had the pleasure of getting the first question, asking
Speaker 1: him about core special teamers and how they help identify
Speaker 1: those guys on this roster. Good morning, coach, good to
Speaker 1: see uh um. I wanted to talk about something. Coach
Speaker 1: Flora's talks about the importance of the kicking game, obviously,
Speaker 1: and this offseason had several acquisitions of guys that both
Speaker 1: have return ability and core special teams experience with other clubs.
Speaker 1: My question to you, coach is what do you personally
Speaker 1: look for when trying to reveal which guys can be
Speaker 1: core special teamers, Well, I think it all starts first
Speaker 1: and foremost because getting our kinds of guy, you know, smart,
Speaker 1: tough team first, and then having the athleticism to be
Speaker 1: a multifacet player. Everybody talks about the core teams in
Speaker 1: the four and the four faces, but the more guys
Speaker 1: that we have that can play multiple spots on those
Speaker 1: four faces are the guys that really end up being
Speaker 1: your core guys. Now you like to isolate them, but
Speaker 1: the more they can do, the better off you're going
Speaker 1: to be. So you kind of get an answer there
Speaker 1: to a previous statement from Brian flora Is about the
Speaker 1: importance of the kicking game and how you do want
Speaker 1: guys that can contribute in all four facets of the
Speaker 1: special teams game. Find those core special teamers as the
Speaker 1: same as finding guys on defense or offense that can
Speaker 1: do multiple things. Again, the same theme follows up true
Speaker 1: here on this Dolphins football team. Up next, coach was
Speaker 1: asked a follow up question about trying to find those
Speaker 1: core special teamers and guys they brought in that might
Speaker 1: fit that role for the upcoming season. Well, I think
Speaker 1: when you look at some of the guys that we added,
Speaker 1: you know, the Kalin Frasier's, the Clayton, the Cameo. I mean,
Speaker 1: we've added some guys that you know when you look
Speaker 1: at their his three in your experience and what they
Speaker 1: put on tape in the National Football League, not to
Speaker 1: compare them to what Walked did, but a similar guy,
Speaker 1: a veteran leadership, has made plays, has made big plays
Speaker 1: and in several different phases. So uh, like always in
Speaker 1: this league, you're gonna to get some, you're gonna lose some.
Speaker 1: That's just how it's always gonna work. So we feel
Speaker 1: good about the guys that we've added and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: and how it's building from a leadership standpoint. And as
Speaker 1: just about every coach did have a question about this, coach,
Speaker 1: Craftsman was asked about his impression of coach Flora's and
Speaker 1: what he learned about coaching under Brian Flora's last season
Speaker 1: to watch how he handled the good, the bad, the
Speaker 1: ugly throughout the season. He was the same guy. And
Speaker 1: I think as a player and as a coach, when
Speaker 1: you know what you're what you're getting on a daily basis,
Speaker 1: and and where that person is coming from and their
Speaker 1: values and what they're teaching. I think it's invaluable, you know,
Speaker 1: because no matter what what happened, when you walk into
Speaker 1: the building, you know what you're going to get from
Speaker 1: a leadership standpoint. So for me personally, I think for
Speaker 1: the rest of the team, uh to know where Flow
Speaker 1: stands on what he's going to demand, what he's gonna need,
Speaker 1: and if you're not on board with that, it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a long day. But if you are on board
Speaker 1: with that is it's going to be a fun a
Speaker 1: fun rebuild for where we're trying to get to next.
Speaker 1: Coach was asked about how they identify players that maybe
Speaker 1: would have made more of an impression with preseason games
Speaker 1: kind of flashing on special teams. Here's coach talking about
Speaker 1: how practice really is where you can control the ultimate
Speaker 1: environment and find guys in their practice habits, their study habits,
Speaker 1: in the film room, all that good stuff. Coach talking
Speaker 1: about identifying which players are gonna fit on special teams
Speaker 1: and other ways besides preseason games. Well, I don't think
Speaker 1: it's that. I think more times than not a lot
Speaker 1: of times, what happens is a lot of those things
Speaker 1: you see that guys do uh in a preseason game.
Speaker 1: A lot of those traits and a lot of those
Speaker 1: things you may see in that game, in that particular
Speaker 1: play or those place you see a lot of the
Speaker 1: build up in that and practice. So you know, as
Speaker 1: a coach a lot of those things, they don't surprise
Speaker 1: you when that guy does that in the preseason game
Speaker 1: because you've seen evidence of it in drills, in group work,
Speaker 1: in teamwork on the field. So, um will work. We
Speaker 1: have a you know, we have a great plan for
Speaker 1: for how we're gonna work and how we're gonna get
Speaker 1: things done. I think to your point of making sure
Speaker 1: you have the situations and certain drills that put guys
Speaker 1: in positions that maybe you're not gonna get