Wednesday Dolphins Notebook: AP Awards, Ingold's Book, Crossen on the Mend, and More
The Miami Dolphins were in line for a lot of postseason awards when they were flying at 8-3 in November, but instead they've been shut out of all the major AP awards.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was announced Wednesday morning as one of the four finalists for the Offensive Player of the Year award, but he ended up not being among the three finalists for the awards show that will take place on the Thursday night before Super Bowl LVII.
The three finalists are Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and Vikings WR Justin Jefferson, who also are among the five NFL MVP finalists along with Bengals QB Joe Burrow and Bills QB Josh Allen.
While it's difficult to argue with any of the three OPOY finalists, a strong case could be made that Hill deserved the award as much as Jefferson, if not more. While Jefferson's stats were slightly better than Hill's, Hill's impact in terms of opening up the Dolphins offense and creating space for everybody else should not be underestimated.
The three finalists for Coach of the Year, where Mike McDaniel looked like a strong contender after that 8-3 start, are Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers, Brian Daboll of the Giants and Doug Pederson of the Jaguars.
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ALEC THE AUTHOR
now been shut out Fullback Alec Ingold showed his toughness at the end of his first season with the Miami Dolphins when he played with a cast covering a broken thumb.
And now comes a totally different side with the release of his book, "The Seven Crucibles: An Inspirational Game Plan for Overcoming Adversity in Your Life.
The book is ready to pre-order on Amazon with the following description: "NFL fullback and motivational speaker Alec Ingold delivers a hands-on playbook for conquering every obstacle that stands between you and success, on the playing field and in life. You'll learn to utilize your own story of trials and tribulations to help embrace the changes to create future success. These lessons will help you face your biggest fears and sustain motivation on your path to personal and professional growth."
Ingold proudly showed off the newly printed book on Twitter:
CROSSEN ON THE MEND
The days and weeks following the end of any team's season is a time when you see or hear about players having surgery to fix issues that lingered during the season.
That was the case with Dolphins cornerback Keion Crossen, who tweeted about his shoulder surgery.
After signing with the Dolphins as a free agent last offseason, Crossen ended up playing 16 games with two starts during the regular season along with the playoff loss at Buffalo.
PRACTICE SQUAD PLAYER UPDATES
While the Dolphins signed a group of their season-ending practice squad players to future contracts after their season ended, the contracts of 10 others expired — meaning the players are now free to sign with any team for the 2023 season.
Those 10 players the Dolphins didn't wish to retain at this time were FB Jake Bargas, OL James Empey, QB Mike Glennon OLB Porter Gustin, DB Ka'dar Hollman, WR Calvin Jackson, DE R.J. McIntosh, RB La'Mical Perine, DB Jamal Perry and LB Brennan Scarlett.
As a reminder, the six players the Dolphins signed to future contracts the day after the playoff loss at Buffalo were DT Josiah Bronson, OL Lester Cotton, CB Tino Ellis, LB Cameron Goode, WR Braylon Sanders, T Kion Smith and DT Jaylen Twyman.
COACHING STAFF UPDATE
While the Dolphins continue their search for a new defensive coordinator, they'll also need replacements for the other three assistant coaches they fired last week, and possibly for QB coach Darrell Bevell and also for defensive assistant Patrick Surtain after he left to become secondary coach at Florida State University.
Bevell reportedly has drawn the interest of the New York Jets and Washington Commanders as a potential offensive coordinator, and Denver Broncos head-coaching candidate Dan Quinn is said to favor Bevell as his OC, according to Pro Football Talk.
As a reminder, the three coaches fired last week along with defensive coordinator Josh Boyer were safeties coach Steve Gregory, outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie and assistant linebackers coach Steve Ferentz.
HALL ANNIVERSARY
In addition to Jan. 25 being wide receiver Erik Ezukanma's birthday (he turned 23), it's also the anniversary of Don Shula being elected to the Hall of Fame.
It was 25 years ago Wednesday (Jan. 25, 1997) that Shula got the slam-dunk nod into Canton after his record-setting coaching career.
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