New Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver had his first press conference with the media and gave insight into what his unit will possibly look like. Weaver was previously the assistant head coach and defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens until he was hired with the Dolphins after Vic Fangio and the team agreed to mutually part ways.
During his introductory press conference, Weaver was talking about what aspects from the Ravens he will be bringing to the Dolphins. He mentioned how schematically, the Ravens were “extremely multiple and flexible,” which is what the foundation will be for Miami's defense according to the team's transcripts page.
“Yeah, I think the scheme that we used in Baltimore is extremely multiple and flexible, and the foundation of what we’re going to do here will be from that. But the beauty in that is a lot of the things that they’ve already done here that they’ve had success in, we’re very similar there, so there should be a lot of crossover teaching,” Weaver said. “I think in this league, it’s hard to just pigeon-hole yourself as one particular thing because you’re going to face different situations throughout the entire year, whether it’s weather, injuries. There’s a multitude of factors and your scheme better be flexible enough to adapt to the players and adapt to whatever situation you may be in.”
Weaver talks the importance of being a player before coach
Despite being a defensive coach in the NFL since 2012 where he was an assistant defensive lines coach, he was also a player professionally from 2002-2008 where he played for the Ravens and the Houston Texans. For Weaver, that aspect of his life and career make it a “huge asset” for him to help his coaching out.
“I think that’s been a huge asset for me just in general throughout my coaching career,” Weaver said. “Not necessarily for the ups of what I did while I played, but more of the hardships and adversity that I faced, because I can help coach guys through that so they can persevere and ultimately, hopefully, be better than I was at those same situations. That is probably the biggest asset for me as far as my playing career. Just having the ability to coach guys through those adverse situations.”
Weaver taking over a Dolphins defense with a ton of stars
Weaver takes over a defense with a ton of star talent on it, though most dealt with injuries down the stretch of this past season. Looking specifically at the position group he specializes in, the Dolphins defensive line is filled with studs like Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler and more, all players he is “excited about.”
“There are probably multiple guys on every level of defense that you can get excited about. Upfront, you’ve got the Zach Sieler, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Christian Wilkins – you got to love watching him. David Long at the linebacker position. Jevon Holland who is an absolute beast and playmaker out there running around,” Weaver said. “On every level of defense, there is somebody that you get excited about watching. I know there are guys I fail to mention and I apologize to all of them, but the opportunity to come here as a team that has had the success they’ve had, shoot, how do you pass on that? Mike (McDaniel) and that offense, they are going to put up points. That’s definitely going to happen. It’s our job to make sure we give up less points than the other team. We plan on doing that every time we get out there.”
Weaver calls Jalen Ramsey the “ultimate chess piece”
Another piece of the defense that will be huge for Miami going into next season will be star defensive back Jalen Ramsey who was injured for most of the first half of the season, but came back with a force and had an exceptional second half. Weaver goes as far as to say that Ramsey is the “ultimate chess piece” and also mentioned he is the quintessential “prototype corner.”
“I mean, it’s Jalen Ramsey, come on now. You talk about prototype corners, he is that. Size, length, speed, competitiveness. The thing about him is I think he is your ultimate chess piece,” Weaver said. “So to have him just sit outside and be a field corner or boundary corner or something like that is a detriment to him. We got to find ways to move him around where he can be most impactful. We’re committed to doing that.”
It was definitely a shocking announcement when the aforementioned Vic Fangio and Dolphins agreed to mutually part ways as he was only with the team for a single season. However, Fangio will be taking the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles and since he is a Pennsylvania native, the priority was staying close to his family as he has been in the NFL for a long time.
Mike McDaniel excited about Weaver joining the Dolphins
However, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was more than excited to introduce Weaver to the media and fans. He would imply that he has the “biggest impact as a person.”
“This is an exciting day for me and the Miami Dolphins to be able to formally introduce Anthony Weaver as defensive coordinator. The whole process of it was real cool for me because it started as the person and who could have the biggest impact as a person. Then in the process, we got to get down to some nitty-gritty on some schematic football side of it that really allows us to build on what we’ve been good at and continue forward in 2024, which is what we are all focused on. So without further ado, Anthony Weaver.”
Funny enough, Weaver and the Ravens beat the Dolphins towards the end of the season which ultimately decided who would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC. However, both had the same fate as each were eliminated in the playoffs by the Kansas City Chiefs who ended up becoming Super Bowl champions by the end of it.
The Dolphins are looking to build off an impressive season where they were 11-6 on the season, but with the wild-card playoff loss, there was still disappointment from the fans. Miami now has the longest active postseason win drought as the last time they won a playoff game was 2000.
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