The Miami Dolphins closed the 2019 season on a 5-4 run — a stunning turnaround that saw the team generate plenty of momentum for the offseason. The Dolphins’ woeful play on both sides of the ball seemed to take well to Miami’s coaching staff and prompted buy-in from many of the team’s players, most of which will serve was the foundation of the roster in year two of the Brian Flores era in South Florida.
But that momentum quickly led to turnover despite Miami’s underwhelming 5-11 overall record, starting first and foremost with the dismissal of offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea, who came to Miami alongside Flores after spending time with the Patriots as the team’s wide receivers coach. The decision to relieve O’Shea was a stunner and generally seemed out of left field — although once Miami’s plan of attack this offseason became apparent it was easy to tell the Dolphins were looking for an identity change on offense as they begin to transition to a new quarterback of the future.
Now, thanks to Adam Beasley, Armando Salguero and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, we know more about the decision to relieve O’Shea. The change was rooted primarily in O’Shea’s refusal to water down his offense to make it more easy to digest for a young, inexperienced football team.
“The Patriots offense is considered complex, but a player said O’Shea made the situation worse by trying to install especially complicated, advanced elements of the Patriots offense that Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels used,” wrote the Miami Herald’s trio.