Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Is Weaver a Hot Head Coach Candidate Again?

Part 2 of a pre-Madrid game Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag;

From Jonathan Cohn:

Will they get paella for the team meal? Also, is the defense playing better and, if so, why?

Hey Jonathan, yeah, I certainly would hope paella was on the menu for the team meal or maybe it was simply tapas. And, yes, the defense most definitely is on the upswing and we examined that this week on this site. As a summary, the improvement is due to a combination of the young players developing, the mistakes being reduced, the tackling getting better.

From David Campbell:

Greetings Alain! One quick comment on last Sunday's game. Shocked, & boy was I wrong on the blowout as I thought it would be other way around. How does McDaniel avoid that letdown (similar to Bills win over Chiefs) after a big win over a team that's absolutely owned them for years & an international game? Washington’s defense has been bad but Quinn has taken over defensive play calling & is a proven great DC. Miami, IMO, is infamous for losing winnable games. I hope McDaniel keeps 6th lineman formations. Seems to help with run game & protection. Thoughts? Appreciate your written content & All Dolphins Podcast & Dolphins Collective. Honest reporting & informative!

Hey Dave, thanks as always for the kind words about the podcast. The biggest reason to feel confident the Dolphins can avoid a letdown is that they’re in full desperation mode every single week now because of the hole they dug themselves. And, aside from the Tennessee game on Monday night in 2023, the Dolphins actually have done a good job of beating the teams they’re supposed to beat under McDaniel.

From CT:

What are the top ways to evaluate a head coach and, based on this, is Mike a keeper? (ie: leader of men, hires a great staff, X’s and O’s, player preparation and development, adaptability to talent, in game adjustments)?

As a very generic explanation, to me a key part of being a head coach is maximizing your team’s strengths and minimizing its weaknesses and also getting the max out of each player. I think Mike McDaniel earns a good grade in the areas of X’s and O’s and adaptability to talent, but maybe comes up short in the leadership department and at time game adjustments.

From y - #1fan@Miami:

Do you think we will see the same run-screen and rare long pass during this game? What would make Dolphins to change the strategy from last game?

You basically answered your own question there: Why would the Dolphins deviate from what they did against Buffalo considering the success they had in that game?

From Ed Hafner:

Alain, I love both the All Dolphins Podcast and the Dolphins Collective. Since the D has been playing a lot better lately, have you changed how you feel about Weaver as a possible HC candidate? I love the toughness & energy he brings.

Hey Ed, my feelings on Weaver never really wavered that much, but there’s no way a team would hire him if the defense is getting abused on a weekly basis. He definitely will be back in the mix and his name will start being mentioned if the Dolphins defense continues on the right track.

From Jorge boyd:

Hi Alain, will the Dolphins be able to apply the same winning formula that they had against Buffalo, concentrating in stopping the run and on offense running the ball well and opportunistic passing?

Hey Jorge, there’s no reason to think the Dolphins can’t apply the same formula they had not only against Buffalo but also Atlanta three weeks ago. Washington is not a very good team right now and all logic says this is a favorable matchup for Miami.

From Filis:

Is a wild-card berth even remotely possible?

Is it possible? Yes. But just remotely. It’s not really realistic, but as long as it’s mathematically possible the Dolphins should focus on trying to win games as opposed to starting to evaluate young players.

From Brandon Quinn:

JP, after 7 pressures, 6 tackles, 2 QB hits, and a game-sealing TFL and fumble recovery, for a team that got him for what could amount to Channing Tindall, said leaving Miami, a place that picked him in the 1st round and nursed him back to health TWICE from devastating injuries, at a world-class facility, while being paid handsomely to watch and rehab, was “literally the greatest thing that has happened to me in my whole life, probably.” The Dolphins are a joke league-wide, aren’t they? Is that not the most damning thing you’ve heard about an organization, since, well, Vic Fangio called us soft as Charmin’?

Hey Brandon, this is where you gotta understand the way the game is played, and this was Jaelan saying what he was supposed to say after being traded. Remember that Phillips said before the deal that he didn’t want to go anywhere, that Miami was his home. I would take those comments and understand the context in which they were said. This was about showing love to his new team, not to be viewed as a shot to his former team.

From MD928:

D.Allen, R. Saleh and J.Philbin are 3 HCs that were fired right after losing intn’l games. Do you think owners put more pressure on HC to win these games? And do you think how well we do the Pats game or a different game will be the deciding factor of whether McD stays or not?

First off, owners put extra emphasis on any game that are nationally televised, whether those be international games or prime-time games. The international games often are followed by a bye, and that’s an ideal time to make a coaching switch if an owner is inclined. As for McDaniel, I don’t believe his job status is going to come down to any particular game.

From Jeb Hudson:

When the Dolphins hire a new general manager, will they get a draft pick if they hire a minority or since they had a minority general manager will they lose one if they hire a non-minority person?

Hey Jeb, the rule giving two compensatory third-round picks for a minority candidate being hired as GM or head coach applies to teams who lose a candidate like that and has nothing do with the hiring team. So the Dolphins won’t get or lose a draft pick regardless of who they hire as general manager, but they could, for example, get compensatory picks if Anthony Weaver gets hired as a head coach by another team.

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