Dolphins Move On from Crossman, Welker

Crossman had been one of the longest-tenured members of the coaching staff

Miami Dolphins special teams coordinator Danny Crossman (left) talks with wide receiver Raleigh Webb (83) and linebacker Cameron Goode (53) during practice at the PSD Bank Arena in Germany in 2023. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins announced a couple of coaching changes Friday, including one that will go over well with fans.

Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman and wide receivers coach/pass game specialist Wes Welker were let go or, as the team statement said, "The Dolphins have parted ways" with both.

“I am grateful for Danny’s contributions and dedication to the Dolphins over the course of many seasons, as well as the numerous ways he helped me as a head coach,” Mike McDaniel said in a statement released by the team. “I also want to thank Wes for his investment here. This was not a decision I came to lightly, but as I have evaluated the season and areas where we must improve, I believe that change is needed and am motivated to do what is best for the team as we move forward.”

Welker oversaw a unit in 2024 that underwent a lot of changes and didn't perform to expectations, particularly given the amount of cap space devoted to the position.

Welker joined the Dolphins in 2022 from the San Francisco 49ers, where he had worked with McDaniel

CROSSMAN ALWAYS IN FAN CROSSFIRE

Crossman had been with the Dolphins since 2019 when Brian Flores hired him away from the Buffalo Bills, but the Miami special teams didn't have much success under him and that had fans calling for his job on a regular basis.

In Crossman's first five seasons with the Dolphins, the team finished higher than 21st only once in the annual special teams rankings compiled by Rick Gosselin based on 22 statistical categories.

Ironically, Crossman's departure will come after a season when the Dolphins special teams units had their moments and finished strong.

Beyond the great performance of kicker Jason Sanders, a two-time winner of the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month award, rookie sixth-round pick Malik Washington had two long kickoff returns in the final weeks of the regular season, and the team finished in the top 10 in both kickoff return average and lowest kickoff return average allowed. The Dolphins didn't allow a kick return (punt or kickoff) for a touchdown in 2024 for the first time since 2021.

The special teams struggled enough in 2023 that McDaniel was asked at the scouting combine why Crossman had been retained.

“So you have a window into the truth depth of someone’s coaching ability when you’re working alongside them every single day," McDaniel said. "Part of the process of factoring those things is ultimately, how is a coach able to communicate to a player to get him better? And although the results haven’t been there, what I’ve seen is players responding in the appropriate way to things that Danny has to offer. Now, does that mean we’re not taking a hard look at everything with regard to scheme? To players? Absolutely not. Everything is on the table. But what has been established is the communicator, the leader and the guy devoted to getting it right is Danny Crossman. I felt like that held the most merit to coach this unit moving forward. I think if players didn’t respond to him, it would be a different conversation. But I think we’ll collectively work together to right something that we know we can improve upon. That’s very tangible and I’m excited to do that.”

Less than one year later, things clearly have changed.