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The Miami Dolphins made a number of changes to their coaching staff this offseason despite making the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Head coach Mike McDaniel, following his introductory season with the Dolphins, fired defensive coordinator Josh Boyer along with safeties coach Steve Gregory, outside linebacker coach Ty McKenzie, assistant linebackers coach Steve Ferentz and offensive line coach Matt Applebaum.
They also lost defensive assistant Patrick Surtain, who left to become Florida State’s defensive backs coach.
To lead a loaded defense full of talented players, Miami hired veteran coach Vic Fangio. They also brought in Renaldo Hill to be their defensive backs coach and pass-game coordinator, as the 44-year-old took a rarely-seen step down from Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator.
Hill and Fangio will work closely together in South Florida, but this isn’t the first time they’ve done so, as Hill was the defensive backs coach for Fangio from 2019-20 when the latter was the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
With that prior knowledge, Hill shared some details about Fangio’s coaching style and philosophy following last week’s mandatory minicamp session.
“The biggest thing with Vic is he’s strong in his convictions,” Hill said (transcribed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel). “It’s worked over time. He knows where the troubleshoots are at, he knows how the teams are trying to attack him.
“The other thing with Vic is he’s always not looking to stay stagnant. He’s always looking to what’s the next thing, what’s the next thing in the NFL. How it changes from our scheme, and how we can incorporate our scheme to make it better each year.”
Fangio’s 35 years of NFL experience will be invaluable for McDaniel and his team, as they look to bounce back from a poor defensive season in 2022 that was partly due to a number of injuries that stacked up on that side of the ball.
With his expertise and his players’ talent, the unit has a chance to be one of the best the league has to offer in 2023.
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