The 2023 Miami Dolphins didn’t exactly have the best defensive season in team history. In fact, they allowed 399 points, the sixth most since the team was founded in 1966.
While a lot of that can be contributed to the slew of injuries that took out or slowed down impact players like Xavien Howard, Nik Needham, Brandon Jones, Emmanuel Ogbah and Byron Jones, the defensive scheme coached by Josh Boyer just wasn’t cutting it.
That’s why Miami opted to make a change this offseason, firing Boyer and bringing on an experienced defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio. On top of that, the Dolphins addressed the defensive side of the roster as well, adding Jalen Ramsey, David Long, DeShon Elliott and Malik Reed.
In the draft, they even selected South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith with their first pick despite the position not being their biggest need.
With all of this in mind, it’s not hard to see why former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, speaking with The 33rd Team, has the Dolphins’ defensive unit ranked as the fifth-best in the NFL.
From Vic Fangio to Jalen Ramsey, @ChuckPaganoNFL explains why additions made by the #Dolphins has Miami as his fifth-best defense entering the 2023 season#FinsUp
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) May 8, 2023
One of the interesting points that Pagano made was his reference to Miami’s hiring of defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill. While the move has been mostly an afterthought with all of the splash news coming out with the team in the last year, having another coach with defensive coordinator experience to help one of the most talented secondaries in football can only help.
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