When the Miami Dolphins finished off their 2019 season, the expectation was that this team would get a chance to run it back with the coaching staff for another go around in 2020 — but this time with an improved roster at their disposal. That notion was quickly dispelled as Brian Flores dismissed his offensive coordinator, Chad O’Shea, in the immediate aftermath of the season. Shortly after that, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was hired away to the New York Giants to serve the same role — and the Dolphins did little to resist the potential change.
So what gives? This team, by all accounts, overachieved in 2019. And the coaching, by all accounts was a big part of the reason why. So why did the Dolphins unplug both of their play callers?
Perhaps some of the motivation stems back from Brian Flores’ date of hire. We’ve only now reached the anniversary of Flores’ hire one season ago — looking at each of the NFL’s coaching changes in 2020 and every single staff has been finalized. Remember — the Dolphins waited for the Patriots’ postseason run to end before hiring Flores. And with the Patriots running the table and winning the Super Bowl, that meant Miami’s assistant staff was, generally speaking, picked over by the other coaching hires.
Flores surrounded himself with Patriots assistants, perhaps to some degree by necessity as he looked to fully flesh out his staff. And by the end of the 2019 season, Flores had already fired his offensive line coach (in training camp) and relieved his offensive coordinator of his duties — in turn also letting assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski walk as well.
Perhaps these were Flores’ choices in part by supply and demand based on Miami’s timing of hiring Flores in the first place. It’s hard to say whether or not we’ll really know the true motivations behind the changes — but so long as this team keeps improving, it shouldn’t really matter in the end.
