Your typical NFL team will have the head coach prowling the sidelines on Sundays — but the team’s play-callers are typically reserved to the coaching booth, a private box far above the field that allows the coordinators a bird’s eye view of the action on the field. Presumably to see tendencies and coverages and errors in a more timely manner before making adjustments.
Brian Flores and the Miami Dolphins are going to be anything but the typical experience on Sundays, however. Flores has gone on the record preaching that coaching and player development is an essential piece of Miami’s formula for success. And that coaching experience is apparently going to revolve around hands-on coaching — not just on the practice field but also on the sidelines during games.
Flores announced yesterday that both offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will be on the sidelines on game days, scorning the box for the opportunity to work with and engage their players directly and not through mouthpiece assistants.
Whether or not the tactic works is still to be determined, but give credit to Brian Flores for this decision. “Culture” is often preached about in football, but rarely followed up on. Flores is approaching every little detail about this Miami Dolphins team with the intent on cultivating the coaching and style of play that he envisions for the team. That is, ultimately, the very definition of culture.
