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Old 08-25-2019, 10:51 AM   #2
trekfan
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Re: Men of Steele: A Coach's Story






Ch. 1


Coach’s Log, End of Preseason, 2019:


I’m going to miss the preseason. I know, most coaches seem to believe the preseason is a waste of time, but you can’t put a price on live reps; training camps and OTAs aren’t allowed to go nearly as hard as they used to, so we’ve got to make due with what we have. As a coach, I appreciate getting the guys play time.


I don’t like injuries, but that’s a trade off that has to be made. It’s why we carry 53 people on the roster — it’s why I signed the guys I did at the beginning of the preseason when I got this job.




When I arrived, Miami was in a total rebuild. The team was a crater, left with excess talent in some positions and virtually none at others. I knew when I was hired I’d have to take a blow torch to some spots, but before I knew what I had to tear down I had to plug some serious holes. My first signing was former Jaguar Jeremy Parnell. An older vet, in his 30s, he was still a good pickup — and someone who immediately took our offensive line from “rotting dog*hit” to “serviceable dog *hit.”


I had to build offensive line up — it was a high priority, because I couldn’t let Josh Rosen get hammered like he did in Arizona. That organization failed him, left him out to dry, and made him a scapegoat. I knew talent — I had helped coach Patrick Mahomes and been with Andy Reid for years. Rosen had talent, plenty of it, and just needed some time to shine.


With Parnell signed, securing the right side, I added Kayvon Webster to help our secondary, former Florida Gator Dominique Easley to compete at RE, MLB Josh Bynes to give us a decent backup at that spot, and then ROLB Nick Perry.


I wasn’t sure about Perry. Half the time I remember seeing him play, he was being helped off the field because he was hurt. I heard from a fellow coach that Green Bay let him go so “the cart guy could give someone else a ride.” I wasn’t sure if Perry was going to survive the season, but for only one year and with $50M in cap space, we could roll the dice.


I didn’t bother with any sort of real QB competition — it was going to be Rosen and that was it. The only reason I entertained Fitzpatrick as the starter was to incur some trade interest, which didn’t show up during the preseason.


I did get trade interest for the two wide receivers I felt weren’t needed on the roster in Parker and Wilson.




I sent Parker to the Packers for a 2021 3rd and two developmental players, though Kumerow was probably just going to be on the roster for the 2019 season. I then sent Wilson to the Vikings for a 2021 3rd from them — I figured feeding the rival of Green Bay would help drive that draft pick higher, one way or another.


With Wilson and Parker gone, I signed Trent Taylor (formerly of the 49ers, cut at the end of the preseason) to be our third receiver. We managed to make it through the preseason without any major injuries, which I’m thankful for, but our schedule is not going to do us any favors.


They say Dolphins are the smartest sea animals — if we were going to survive the regular season and grow our team, we’d have to display some of that intelligence.


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