You can spin the Vic Fangio departure whichever way it suits you. It seems the defensive players are happy that Vic Fangio is gone, most notably Dolphins Safety Jevon Holland whose “Kick Rocks” YouTube video got a lot of clicks and attention. The problem is, why was Vic Fangio here in the first place? What was the plan, the vision? We all know he’s a great defensive coordinator with tons of experience, but was he right for this team? I can give Head Coach Mike McDaniel a pass due to the fact that this is his 2nd season as a Head Coach, but GM Chris Grier has to know how to vet coaches after being the GM for 8 seasons now. Continuity is a good thing in the NFL, especially when you’re successful. I feel that the defensive side of the ball was the better unit down the stretch, despite the myriad of injuries they were dealing with for that unit. In fact, considering how bare the shelves were, I think the defense was worthy of praise. Of course, part of this is this talent we had, DL Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler were so impressive, all the while playing more snaps than most of their NFL counterparts. CB Jalen Ramsey did his best playing with a lesser CB on the other side and way too many safety combinations due to injuries to Safeties Jevon Holland, DeShon Elliott and Brandon Jones. Not to mention the Linebackers in the last couple of games, especially the playoff game where we needed to sign 3 LB’s off the street, Justin Houston, Bruce Irvin and Malik Reed. As good as the unit performed, now we’re forced to go in another direction, which breaks the continuity. If Vic’s heart was in Philly all along, that’s a bad job by the Dolphins, period.

On January 15th both GM Chris Grier and HC Mike McDaniel had a press conference discussing the future of the team. Regarding DT Christian Wilkins, Grier praised Wilkins, stated that he was happy for him, that he bet on himself after the Dolphins offered him a fair market offer, but now he’s earned the right to be a Free Agent. Grier didn’t close the door, he said he would like to have Christian Wilkins and will keep his eye on the situation, but we’re in cap hell right now, and it truly seems as if there will be big changes here, not just player personnel, but obviously coordinators and assistant coaches too. DL Coach Kenny Baker is leaving the Dolphins to be the Defensive Line Coach for the University of Texas. Assistant Offensive Coaches Mike Judge, Ricardo Allen, Kolby Smith as well as Special Teams assistant coach Brendan Farrell are all leaving as well. If you think about our defense, it’s hard to argue against the statement that our best, most consistent unit was the defensive line, and out goes our DL Coach. Not trying to be negative, but that’s not good. Then again, after listening to Grier, and perusing our cap problems, we probably won’t have Christian Wilkins either.

Back to Christian Wilkins, and really one of the Dolphins shortcomings for quite some time. Drafting quality players and signing them to second contracts. We drafted Christian Wilkins in RD1 #13 in 2019. He had a fantastic season in 2022, played every game, nearly led the team in tackles with 98, but perhaps one shortcoming, only 3.5 sacks was what kept Grier from giving Wilkins more money. They couldn’t agree on a contract, and Wilkins balled out this season, and while he didn’t have as many tackles, he really showed an amazing improvement rushing the passer and creating havoc. Wilkins finished ’23 with 65 tackles, 9 sacks and 23 QB hits. If you watched Hard Knocks, you saw how close he is with his DL mate Zach Sieler. If there’s a contract that needs to get done, this is it right here folks. You can’t let your star walk on his 2nd contract, one you drafted, developed, and actually became a top player. If you’re going to overpay anyone, this is the one.

Back to Tua Tagovailoa. I listen to WQAM every morning, I don’t live in Miami, but I listen to Miami. Host Joe Rose is on the West Coast covering the game out there, so “Hollywood”, Omar Kelly and others have been filling in. This morning, they had CBS Sports NFL commentator Leger Douzable on, former NFL DL for the Rams, Jaguars, Jets, Bills and 49ers. Omar asked Leger point blank, do you give Tua a new contract or let him play on his 5th year option? Leger responded “No way, I let him play on his 5th year option”. In addition to this, there was discussion about Tua and whether he’s a top 5 QB, or even top 10 or worse, as someone else had Tua ranked #16. Douzable said for a good part of the year, Tua played like a top 5 QB, but the way he played in big spots, and down the stretch, he has Tua somewhere around 10-12. He said Tua’s biggest deficit is not being able to elevate the team in big spots. Of course the world is littered with opinions on both sides, but I feel that too many people are too easily willing to overlook how small his play is against better competition and especially big games. I can say if the Dolphins do give Tua a huge contract and can’t find the money to pay Christian Wilkins, I may lose my mind.

Let’s get back to coaches and Defensive Coordinators. We know the players didn’t like Vic Fangio’s “Old School” attitude, “My way or the highway” type of relationship. This is going to be a very big hire. At the end of the season, despite the injuries, Fangio got this defense, or the defense got itself to top 10. We need to improve on this. Of course player personnel will be changing, and the issue of both/either of OLB’s Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips not being available at the start of the season and beyond is already troubling. Add in the likelihood that CB Xavien Howard won’t be back, along with LILB Jerome Baker, DE Emmanuel Ogbah, OLB Andrew Van Ginkel and every Safety not named Jevon Holland, which includes DeShon Elliott, Brandon Jones, and Elijah Campbell. Perchance, maybe we’ll finally see the ascension of CB Cam Smith, who we spent a 2nd RD pick on in ’23 (#51). It was well illustrated that Fangio didn’t trust the rookie, but we must get more out of him next season. With all the turnover on defense, including our Coordinator, GM Chris Grier has a load of work to do. One of his signature moments had better be re-signing DL Christian Wilkins to a contract. He’s the player worth investing in. Much like Wilkins proved his mettle, and worth by elevating his play on the last year of his contract, we have to hope that the same could happen for our QB, Tua Tagovailoa. 

I’ve had some discourse with fans on “X”, AKA Twitter regarding our young QB. I love when fans say “you keep moving the bar with Tua”. My answer to that is you keep putting the blindfold on about other deficiencies that come up. Yes, Tua played 17 games, but does that prove he can really be relied on to finish a 17 game season on a regular basis? It might, if he plays in the bubble wrap he played in all season long. Could he ever be expected to dive over the center to get a first down like every single QB remaining in the playoffs, and even those that were already eliminated do on a regular basis? The answer is NO. If the game is on the line and a defender and he are converging short of the first down, can you expect Tua to engage the defender and attempt to get that first down or lose the game? The answer is NO. That’s how he played this season, there’s no denying this. 45 YO Tom Brady was diving over the center for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Brady didn’t have concussion issues. I’m not blaming Tua for his concussions, but I think you have to be realistic about what you’re paying for. Now maybe McDaniel and Tua change things up and they allow Tua to play with abandon, and put his body on the line. Do you really think he will last? Some of you will point to Joe Burrow and say he didn’t last. Joe Burrow is a BIG GAME QB. Tua is the king of SMALL GAMES. I don’t say this with animosity towards Tua, just speaking true, and it’s all there for everyone to see, even those wearing blindfolds. I love the kid, he’s a nice, likable player, I just don’t think he’s a winner in his compromised form. I believe he has just as much heart as Joe Burrow, but his HC so desperately wanted to have Tua play the entire season, and with good reason. Tua did not extend plays, as evidenced by his fastest in the NFL release times. You don’t get hurt if you don’t have the football. I’m not saying your QB has to run like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson, but if you can’t see Tua’s self preservation for what it is, I can’t help you see it. You just don’t want to.

As for Free Agents, our most notable one is the extremely aforementioned DL Christian Wilkins. OG Robert Hunt. NT Raekwon Davis. Safeties DeShon Elliott and Brandon Jones. OC Connor Williams, OLB Andrew Van Ginkel, NB Nik Needham. WR’s Braxton Berrios and Cedrick Wilson. OG’s Isaiah Wynn and Robert Jones and OT Kendall Lamm. CB Eli Apple. I feel like we can do better at NT than Raekwon Davis, especially considering how good both Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler were. I think #55 was never really appreciated here. Like Randy said, he’s a very good weakside LB, he’s out of place as an inside banger. I think we do need a new ILB though, which probably ends Jerome Baker’s tenure here. I’ll miss him. Safety DeShon Elliott was a good signing. I would like him back. Eli Apple was a necessity, and therefore he was exposed when relied upon. He’s a good coverage guy who never seemed to get his around to play the ball, despite being step for step with the receiver in coverage. He’s also a willing tackler, and a good one. Robert Hunt should be the 2nd priority. Once again, you want to get those 2nd contracts on your good players, the best NFL teams do this on a regular basis. It shows you’re drafting players. I think we’ll find a new OC, it probably won’t be Connor Williams, despite the fact that he played well. We probably won’t have the cap space available. There will be many difficult contract decisions, most all, I hope they get Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt and Tua Tagovailoa all correct. Fingers crossed!

GO DOLPHINS!!!