The Miami Dolphins’ seek for a brand new defensive coordinator strikes into a brand new, important part Wednesday.
The group reportedly plans to interview two main candidates to interchange Josh Boyer: Vic Fangio and Sean Desai.
Each are males in demand. Desai — the 39-year-old Seahawks assistant head coach/defensive assistant who has a doctorate in academic administration — has already met with the Vikings for his or her open DC job.
However the large identify on Miami’s interview record is Fangio, probably the most coveted assistant coach this cycle.
Imagining Vic Fangio as Miami Dolphins DC
Fangio, 64, is at present a defensive guide for the Philadelphia Eagles. However he’s woefully underutilized in that position, and most anticipate him to be a defensive coordinator someplace in 2023.
That someplace might be Philadelphia if Jonathan Gannon lands a head teaching place this cycle.
However don’t sleep on Fangio ending up in Miami.
He and McDaniel are mentioned to have a superb relationship, and Fangio’s a long time of NFL expertise may need helped the younger Dolphins HC keep away from among the rookie errors McDaniel made in 2022.
However Fangio’s No. 1 accountability could be to repair a Miami Dolphins protection that had the second-fewest takeaways (14), allowed the ninth-most factors (23.5 per sport) and — together with the postseason — ranked nineteenth in EPA per play (.012).
The Dolphins took a big-time step again in 2022 regardless of rating third in go rush (50%) and eighth in run cease (32%) win charges.
That implies the Dolphins misutilized their expertise within the defensive backfield — significantly after accidents ravaged that place group.
Byron Jones didn’t play a down. Nik Needham and Brandon Jones missed a lot of the season. And but, Boyer continued to place his obtainable DBs on islands with a blitz-happy obsession.
Solely the Giants (39.7%) and Cardinals (34.5%) blitzed at the next charge than the Dolphins (33.3%) in 2022. Tellingly, these groups ranked twenty fourth, twenty second and 14th in yards per play allowed (5.7, 5.5, and 5.3, respectively).
Vic Fangio’s Blitz Philosophy
Historical past means that Fangio would take a much more measured strategy. In his three years as Broncos head coach (from 2019-2022), Denver ranked twenty third (24.1%), 18th (27.9%), and fifteenth (25.3%) in blitz charge.
What’s extra, Fangio is a zone coach, not a man-to-man coach. He runs a ton of Cowl 6 — which might have been useful in 2022, when the Dolphins’ solely obtainable beginning cornerback was an injured Xavien Howard.
Even when he’s again to full well being as anticipated in 2023, Howard — whose roughly $20 million in whole compensation in 2022 included $2 million in bonuses for making the Professional Bowl and playoffs (good work by his South Florida-based agent, David Canter) — would profit from having security assist every so often.
However to play that kind of protection, the Dolphins can have to have the ability to cease the run and strain their quarterback with their entrance seven.
Fangio runs a variation of a 4-3 referred to as a 6-1 tilt. To not get too far into the weeds, however this defensive alignment is designed to counter the fashionable unfold offenses.
To run it, you want stout defenders up the center (examine, with Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler), rangy, athletic edge defenders (examine, with Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Emmanuel Ogbah), and a thick-in-the-rear thumper at linebacker. That final field on the guidelines might be crammed in free company.
Briefly, the items (when wholesome) are there for the Dolphins to return to the highest 10 in protection. They only want a wiser, extra mature scheme for the manufacturing to match the potential.
Fangio could be an ideal match — if McDaniel can seal the deal.
