The Miami Dolphins were one of the worst offensive teams in the NFL this season, ranking 30th out of 32 teams in points scored per game. They wisely decided to fire offensive coordinator Dan Henning in search of someone who can help turn things around. Naturally we agreed with the move, but that was until we learned his replacement would be Brian Daboll, whose offense in Cleveland was worse than Miami’s! Yes, that’s right, the Browns were 31st in the league in points per game, scoring 16.9 points on average. I didn’t think it was possible for the Dolphins to backtrack, but they have.
While the fans in Miami may be willing to give Daboll a chance, one of his former players already knows it’s a bad move. Appearing on ESPN 760, Saints fullback Heath Evans spoke frankly about Daboll saying “The Dolphins probably just got worse. … When he was in New England, he was never a guy that I would have considered the brains of the operation. Obviously there’s been a lot of growth from his stint with Mangini, as soon as I saw it, I second-guessed the decision. A franchise that is really just struggling for success, why do you take in an unproven commodity?”
Evans played for the Patriots from 2005-2009 while Daboll coached wide receivers for New England from 2002-2006. In fact, Evans nailed it regarding most former Patriots assistants: Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli were the brains of the operation, not anyone else. Also, Tom Brady will make any offensive coach look good, so Daboll certainly benefited from that. The good news is Daboll will have a chance to prove us all wrong. The bad news is he doesn’t have a quarterback who can help.
Thanks to Pro Football Talk for bringing our attention to the story.
