Tag: George Godsey

Co-offensive coordinator George Godsey back with Dolphins

Co-offensive coordinator George Godsey back with Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins received their first run-in with the COVID-19 virus this summer when the news broke that co-offensive coordinator George Godsey had tested positive, shelving him for a week of practices and pushing his co-coordinator Eric Studesville into a singular role at practice. But the Dolphins are nearly back to status quo; signaled by Godsey’s return to the team facility on Monday for assistant coach interviews with the press.

Godsey, who is part of a collaborative effort to construct the Dolphins’ playbook, is part of a mystery combination of responsibilities for Miami. And even with the first preseason game on the horizon this Saturday against Chicago, the Dolphins remain unrelenting in keeping the details of their arrangement close to the vest.

We still don’t know which coach specifically will be responsible for calling the plays or whether or not the coaches will be upstairs, downstairs or a combination of the two on game day. One thing Godsey did dish on was the continued growth of Miami’s second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and what the team is expecting moving forward.

“(Tua is) continuing to improve. His leadership is improving. His communication is improving. Not just on the field but off the field. He knows that every day is a chance to get better and he’s done that. There’s certain parts of his game that we want to continue to improve. He knows that we’ve never reached our ceiling. That’s kind of the way we look at it. So we’ll go travel to Chicago, we’ll see some different stuff, we’ll have to make some corrections I’m sure and then we’ll go from there,” said Godsey on Monday.

The messaging falls in line with what Tagovailoa himself shared the other day with Judy Battista of NFL.com in that there’s constant improvement to search for and to not forsake the opportunity of the day to try to look at the big picture. But Godsey and the staff is willing to credit Tagovailoa for taking ownership of the offense and making sure he’s assertive with how things are run.

“I think when we speak as coaches, we give the 30,000-foot view on how we feel like the play should be run and how we want it executed. But ultimately that player that is running that particular route may run it a little bit different than another player. So (Tua) has taken that to go ahead and talk to those individual players and how they run it. Right now it may be DeVante (Parker) or somebody that may have not repped that play; but he’s capable of running the play so there’s got to be communication that can continue to grow to make that play work. That’s what happens – the players make the plays work, so they have to go ahead and take ownership and take it as their own and grow from there.”

Godsey has worked closely with Tagovailoa going back to the midway point of last season. So his return to the coaching staff will be a welcomed one for the Dolphins’ young quarterback; as well as the team’s desire to play up the mystery and intrigue of who is ultimately calling the plays on game day.

Dolphins co-offensive coordinator George Godsey sidelined by COVID-19

Dolphins co-offensive coordinator George Godsey sidelined by COVID-19

The Miami Dolphins’ first prominent run-in with COVID-19 this season has arrived. The Miami Dolphins have been tracking well in updates regarding COVID-19 vaccinations; but with cases on the rise in Florida and breakthrough cases remaining as a slim possibility, the news this afternoon shouldn’t come as a surprise. The report, coming from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, indicates that Miami Dolphins co-offensive coordinator George Godsey has tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.

Every NFL team is likely to have some level of conflict with the virus once again this season with players ultimately being given the right to make their own decisions regarding vaccinations and how they’ll be charged with working through the 2021 season. The NFL has been fine tuning COVID-19 protocols for vaccinated and un-vaccinated players alike this summer; but as Godsey serves as evidence for, being vaccinated unfortunately isn’t a foolproof defense.

But it should mitigate the impact of this flareup within the Dolphins’ building. As Schefter points out, the tight end room may need to keep their distance until they clear testing to ensure there’s no spread among the players; but the hope is that the vaccination rate of the team will help prevent the domino effect that would otherwise spread steadily throughout the roster and building over the course of the coming days and, potentially, weeks.

Miami has not formally announced the distribution of responsibilities for their co-offensive coordinators this season; but the next week or so will be crystal clear: Eric Studesville will run the offense at training camp with Godsey likely contributing to the install remotely until he’s recovered from his positive test.

2021 NFL coaching changes: Miami Dolphins

Dolphins turn to dual offensive coordinators.

The Dolphins enter their third season with head coach Brian Flores but the offensive coordinator position has been constantly churned with a different one for each of the last five seasons. That’s not exactly a model of consistency.

Flores’ first year tabbed Chad O’Shea to run the offense since both were fresh from stints with the Patriots. The Fins went 5-11 that first year and the offense gave up 56 sacks while featuring the NFL’s worst rushing attack. O’Shea was released after just one season.

For the second year with Flores, he went back into the past to lure Chan Gailey out of retirement. He had last ran the  Jets offense (2015-2016) and his lengthy resume included two head coaching stints and numerous other offensive coordinator jobs in the league. He helped turn around the franchise that ended with a 10-6 season. Gailey had a history with Ryan Fitzpatrick and helped the mid-season transition to 1.05 pick Tua Tagovailoa. Gailey resigned at the end of the season.

All of Flores’ previous coaching jobs had been on the defensive side of the ball, so he relies more on the offensive coordinator than many other NFL teams where the head coach may call plays and has a more direct hand in the offensive scheme and personnel. Flores went with an unusual approach for 2021. Not only do the Fins have a different offensive coordinator for the fifth-straight season, they actually have two.

Flores promoted up Eric Studesville and George Godsey to become co-coordinators. It’s highly unusual to give both the same title.

Coaching tendencies

Offensive Coordinator (Run Game) Eric Studesville  – Starting in  1997, Studesville started coaching the running backs in the NFL for the Bears (1997-2000), Giants (2001-2003). Bills (2004-2009), Broncos (2010-2017), and finally the Dolphins (2018-).  Studesville was also the assistant head coach for the Broncos (2017). That’s 23 years of coaching running backs, and he’s also been the run game coordinator for the Fins for the last three seasons.

The Dolphins’ backfield has been one of the least productive for the last three years though that’s hard to pin on Studesville. There hasn’t been a top back in Miami in many years, and the last two with Flores had the lead backs of Myles Gaskin and Patrick Laird. There’s been little to work with and the offense has tended towards passing more often in the last few years if only due to trailing in games.

While the play-calling duties are still not certain, both coordinators will be involved and the offensive scheme is not expected to change much from what Gailey has left behind.  While the Dolphins ranked only No. 28 in rushing yards by running backs (1,380) last year, they completed 104 passes for 849 yards to the position, ranking Top-5 for each.

The Fins have been in a full rebuild for the last two years, and the improvement in the backfield should be seen this year with a better offensive line and a likely upgrade in personnel.

Offensive Coordinator (Pass Game) George Godsey – The Dolphins promoted Godsey into the co-coordinator role after two years as their tight ends coach. He spent time with the Patriots, Texans, and Lions over the previous nine seasons and was the offensive coordinator in Houston (2015-2016).

Like Studesville with his backfield the last two years, when Godsey ran the offense in Houston, he had little to work with as well. The starting quarterbacks were Brian Hoyer (2015) and Brock Osweiler (2016). The Texans drafted Deshaun Watson the year after Godsey left.

Godsey had experience with Ryan Fitzpatrick and then helped to transition Tagovailoa into the offense. The Fins are all-in with their second-year quarterback and Fitzpatrick may not resign. While Fitzpatrick was more of a pocket passer, Tagovailoa brings more mobility to the position with three to six rushes per game last season.

As with Studesville, any deviation from the offensive scheme of last year is difficult to forecast.  They should see higher rushing numbers but that depends more on adding new personnel.

The offensive scheme should be an evolving one with input from two different coordinators. Since both were there last year under Gailey, there shouldn’t be much difference at least in the earlier part of the season.

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Personnel changes

This is the season that the Fins under Flores should take shape. They are armed with four picks in the first two rounds – 1.03, 1.18, 2.04, and 2.18. With a solid defense, there’s a good chance that at least three of those first four could go to the offense – wideout, running back and offensive line. All three could be Week 1 starters.

Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed will return as the top two backs from last year’s roster. Gaskin turned in several solid games in the second half of 2020 but only totaled 142 runs for 584 yards on the season. The Dolphins need an upgrade for their backfield that hasn’t seen a top rusher in many years. Studesville helped squeeze that they could from the mishmash of players these last two seasons, but the team needs a true No. 1 back and has the draft capital to make that happen.

Tagovailoa returns for his first full season. There was speculation that the Fins could end up trading for Deshaun Watson, but that appears to be just offseason chatter.

Devante Parker enjoyed a breakout season in 2019 (72-1202-9) when he feasted on the prevent defense in a throwaway season. He dropped back to only 63 receptions for 793 yards and four scores last year while helping to break in the rookie quarterback. He still managed two 100-yard efforts with Tagovailoa.

Preston Williams Is a 6-4, third-year player that has flashes of talent and twice was lost for the year in Week 9 each season. He tore his ACL and then injured his foot. The Dolphins are expected to use one of their first four picks on a wideout and may even consider burning their 1.04 on a top wideout in the draft to give Tagovailoa three solid wideouts, at least until Williams leaves again in Week 9 this year.

Mike Gesicki returns for his fourth-year after a breakout 2020 campaign that saw him with 53 catches for 703 yards and six scores, four of which came from Tagovailoa in the second half of the season.

Fantasy football takeaway

How the dual coordinators work out remains to be seen and it will likely evolve as the season progresses. Keeping continuity by promoting two position coaches  will help Tagovailoa’s development continue, as will spending an early pick (or getting a top free agent) on wideout.

There is no consensus early on as to whether the Fins buy an early wideout or running back in the draft, but both should be addressed. The Dolphins already showed improvement last year though mostly on defense. While the passing effort naturally declined with the rookie, there’s every reason to expect at least incremental improvement from Tagovailoa with a chance for fantasy relevance if they upgrade the offensive line and skill players around him.

Parker and Gesicki are the only offensive players that are locked into being fantasy starters.  But any early pick on a running back could turn into a fantasy star in this improving offense. The dual coordinators will be worth watching during the season since it is a new flavor to offensive schemes.

Former Lions QB coach George Godsey is now the co-offensive coordinator for the Dolphins

Godsey coached with the Lions in 2017-2018

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Former Lions assistant coach George Godsey is climbing back up the coaching ladder with the Miami Dolphins. Godsey is the new co-coordinator for the Miami Dolphins offense.

Godsey is splitting the duties in Miami with Eric Studesville under head coach Brian Flores. It’s a promotion for Godsey, who was the Dolphins’ TE coach in 2020.

The 42-year-old Godsey coached two seasons in Detroit. In 2017 he was a defensive assistant under Jim Caldwell. The following season, the first under Matt Patricia, Godsey returned to the more familiar offensive side of the ball as the quarterbacks coach for the Lions.

He came to Detroit after working as the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans in 2015-2016.

Report: Dolphins promoting two to serve as co-offensive coordinators

Report: Dolphins promoting two to serve as co-offensive coordinators

The Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator search is reportedly over. Nearly four weeks after the Miami Dolphins saw 2020 offensive coordinator Chan Gailey resign from his post in the aftermath of the 2020 season, the Dolphins’ extensive interview process saw plenty of names attached to the position — but no decisions made. Until now, apparently. The Miami Dolphins, according to a report from ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe and Adam Schefter, are promoting offensive assistants George Godsey (tight ends/quarterbacks) and Eric Studesville (running backs) to co-offensive coordinators of the Dolphins’ unit in 2021.

The news comes after weeks of waiting out a decision the speculation that the Dolphins may have been sitting on someone else still coaching in the playoffs to take the position. Bills QB coach Ken Dorsey was a popular name, as was Bucs assistant head coach and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin. But now, just a few days before the big game to close out the season, Miami has presumably made their decision.

The Dolphins used both coaches in a coordinator role throughout the course of last week at the 2021 Senior Bowl — and apparently Dolphins head coach Brian Flores liked what he saw from their collective effort.

The upside for Miami here? This approach should yield to more stability with the coordinator position — this will be Flores’ third different offensive coordinator situation in as many seasons. And, better yet, the Dolphins’ terminology for their offense presumably won’t change — they’re keeping the hire in-house which means many of Miami’s young players won’t have to start from scratch and absorb a new playbook.

But this is an unconventional approach. The good news for Brian Flores is that much of his unconventional style, including the “bullpen quarterback” in 2020, came up roses for him. If this decision does the same, the Dolphins’ offense will be in great hands for 2021 and beyond.

Dolphins OC candidates split play call duties during Senior Bowl game

Dolphins OC candidates split play call duties during Senior Bowl game

The Senior Bowl is a well-known evaluation tool for college prospects looking to make a lasting impression on head coaches and general managers across the NFL. But the 2021 Senior Bowl was unique for the evaluation window it offered the Miami Dolphins beyond the players on the field. It seems as though the Dolphins were committed this week to conducting an on-field evaluation of two of their internal candidates for their vacancy at offensive coordinator. Running backs coach Eric Studesville and tight ends (and quasi-2020 quarterbacks coach) George Godsey took turns throughout the course of the week with being hands on with the players — and head coach Brian Flores confirmed that effort extended into Saturday’s Senior Bowl game.

“We split – so Eric (Studesville) called half the game and George (Godsey) called half the game. I thought both guys did a nice job and I’m confident in all the guys on our staff,” said Flores.

“I thought they did a great job. As I said the other day, we’re still working through those – the coordinator situation.”

Flores and his staff definitely enjoyed a week of valuable evaluation of the prospects — but the evaluation of the offensive coordinator candidates was just as critical. The Dolphins can ill-afford to continue to see their play caller role cycle through coaches on an annual basis and create a lack of continuity with how the team installs offenses. Changing vocabulary will be harmful to player development and chemistry, too. There’s plenty at stake — which is why if this week’s evaluation helps provide the Dolphins clarity to hire a coach who can serve in the role for several seasons and take the best aspects of the 2020 offense but expand upon the weaknesses, we should all be happy.

Even if that means an internal hire that isn’t considered as sexy as some of the other candidates at the beginning of the process.