For the previous three seasons, the Miami Dolphins were in the bottom third of the special teams rankings overall.
This summer, the Miami Dolphins made a number of coaching changes, but one in particular caught the interest of many fans.
Retaining special teams coordinator Danny Crossman was part of that non-move. Fans have been eyeing Crossman since Mike McDaniel took over as head coach in 2022, especially after the club finished last season ranked 31st in Rick Gosselin’s yearly special teams rankings.
Despite kicker Jason Sanders’s second-half comeback, the Dolphins allowed a long kickoff return to open the second half against Baltimore and a game-changing punt return for a touchdown in the Week 18 game against the Buffalo Bills that decided the AFC East title. This was the Dolphins’ only long return of the season.
Although Crossman will return for a sixth season with the Dolphins, the team did make a change in the assistant special teams role, hiring Ronnie Bradford to replace Brendan Farrell. After associate head coach and running backs Eric Studesville, who joined the team in 2018, Crossman is still the position coach with the second-longest tenure on the staff.
McDANIEL DISCUSSES HIS SUPPORT FOR CROSSMAN
At the scouting combine on Tuesday, McDaniel was questioned by the Dolphins reporter wearing an Expos cap about why, in spite of the team’s shortcomings in that department, he felt comfortable keeping his special teams coordinator.
“It’s a valid query,” McDaniel remarked. “I believe a great deal of my work involves making complex decisions. While outcomes are crucial, and I believe coach Crossman would concur that they aren’t what we would like to see, a large portion of my work involves figuring out the contributing factors and the reasons behind various situations. In the end, I believe that the most important thing is to see our future and figure out how to get that football team’s phase to locate the I came to the conclusion that he was the right person to guide us in making the essential improvements so that we could advance as a team and address the areas that haven’t been up to par.
It’s not proper, in my opinion, for you to point and say, “Okay, the results aren’t there.” You also ought not to be. You must evaluate the reasons and devise a plan of action for how we will enhance that phase, as it is crucial to our future. And for that reason, Danny is involved in it.”
The second inquiry was on what attributes Crossman has that led McDaniel to feel that he could contribute to solving the special teams problems.
Yes, working side by side with someone all the time gives you a glimpse into their genuine teaching potential,” McDaniel stated. “And one of the steps in weighing those factors is determining how a coach can ultimately interact with a player to help him improve. And while the outcomes haven’t materialized, what I have observed is that players are reacting appropriately to what Danny has to offer. Does that imply that we aren’t carefully examining every aspect of the scheme to the players now? Not at all.
It’s everything out on the table. It’s clear that Danny Crossman, who prioritizes accuracy and is a strong communicator, is the best qualified candidate to lead this team going ahead. It would be a different conversation, in my opinion, if the players didn’t answer him. However, I believe that by working together, we can make the necessary corrections to something we know needs improvement. I’m eager to do that because it’s so concrete.