Tag: Jon Embree

Dolphins will reportedly practice backup head coach contingency plan

Mike McDaniel hasn’t missed a game since taking over as Dolphins coach, but the team will practice Plan B anyway on Friday night.

The Miami Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel will hand the head coaching reins to assistant head coach and tight ends coach Jon Embree after halftime Friday night so the Dolphins can prepare for a scenario where they’re without McDaniel, according to Mike Cugno of CBS Miami.

Miami hasn’t had to turn to a Plan B at head coach during the McDaniel era, but plenty of other teams have had to turn to a backup since COVID began. During a November 2020 game, the Dolphins were without five assistant coaches — Gerald Alexander, Robby Brown, Austin Clark, Marion Hobby, and Kolby Smith — due to COVID protocols

Embree, 58, is entering his third season with the Dolphins after following McDaniel from San Francisco. He served the same positions (assistant head coach and tight ends coach) during his time with the 49ers. Prior to that, he spent time as tight ends coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns. He also had a two-year stint as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes in 2011 and 2012.

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3 Dolphins coaches who could be promoted to OC if Frank Smith leaves

If Miami needs to find a new OC, who could get a promotion?

With just one week left in January, there are still plenty of job openings around the NFL, including two that Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith is up for – the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers.

So, while it’s not a guarantee that Smith will leave the team in the coming weeks, the Dolphins would be smart to plan for who takes over his current role if he does.

Head coach Mike McDaniel may look outside of the building, but here are a few internal candidates who might get a look:

Dolphins TE coach to participate in NFL’s Coach Accelerator

This could provide him with head coaching opportunities in the future.

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As the NFL is in the midst of their 2023 offseason, the league is preparing for the Spring League Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota which is set to be held from May 21-23.

One of the events that the league will be hosting at this meeting will be the Coach Accelerator. As the NFL describes, the Accelerator “aims to increase exposure between owners, executives, and diverse coaching talent, providing ample opportunity to develop and build upon their relationship.”

The league will host 40 participants who are considered to be potential future head coaches, this includes Miami Dolphins tight ends coach and assistant head coach Jon Embree.

Embree, 57, followed Mike McDaniel to South Florida after they worked together in San Francisco from 2017-21. Prior to that, he had stops with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, the University of Colorado and others.

His time at Colorado (2011-12) was his only head coaching experience, but he’s held assistant head coaching responsibilities for nine years now between his time with UCLA, San Francisco and Miami.

Embree has been noted to have the respect of a number of his former players, including 49ers tight end George Kittle, who credits the coach for his growth in the league.

If Embree gets an opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL one day, it will be a challenge that he’ll certainly be prepared for.

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Dolphins rookie TE Elijah Higgins watching George Kittle tape to improve

Mike Gesicki did the same thing last year.

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Miami Dolphins sixth-round pick Elijah Higgins is taking part in the team’s rookie minicamp, along with the three other selected rookies, 21 undrafted free agents and a number of players who received tryouts.

As the former Stanford Cardinal makes his transition to the NFL game, he’s also switching positions, moving from wide receiver to tight end for the Dolphins, something that most teams talked to him about prior to the draft.

With that comes a lot of work with Miami’s tight end coach Jon Embree, who has had a long career of getting the most out of his players at the position. In his previous stops, he’s worked with Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Jordan Cameron, Cameron Brate and George Kittle.

Since following Mike McDaniel to South Florida from San Francisco, Embree has had some tough projects to work on. In 2022, he was tasked with getting Mike Gesicki to fit to the system as well as help Tanner Conner transition from college wide receiver to NFL tight end.

While Gesicki never truly did fit McDaniel’s scheme last year, Embree spent a lot of time showing the Penn State product film of Kittle during their time together with the 49ers, and now, Higgins is getting that same treatment.

Not everyone can be Kittle, that’s something that everyone should understand, but there are definitely things that Higgins can learn from watching his tape and asking questions from the coach who helped him develop into the player that he is today.

Dolphins fans will just have to hope he can adjust more than Gesicki was able to.

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Dolphins TE coach Jon Embree addresses Mike Gesicki’s usage

The coach is nothing if not honest.

Four weeks into the 2022 campaign, Miami Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki isn’t exactly being used like a player who received the $10.9 million franchise tag this offseason.

Last season, he played a career-high 72% of Miami’s offensive snap, and that has dropped to 48% in Mike McDaniel’s system. On the other hand, Durham Smythe, who’s viewed as the better blocker of the two, has dropped just slightly from 62% to 61%.

On Thursday, tight ends coach Jon Embree, who also doubles as the team’s assistant head coach, spoke to the media about the division of opportunities for the tight ends.

“It’s just more of trying to get guys to fit their skill sets,” Embree said (transcribed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel). “We’re not going to ask Mike to block power. When we’re doing some of the heavy running stuff, that’s obviously going to be Durham.

“It’s just more of a flow of what we’re trying to get accomplished or what’s going on, as far as scheme for that week. Durham gives us a little more in the run game, and we want to be a run-first team.”

The team’s not upset with Gesicki’s performance thus far. He’s recorded eight receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown while doing everything that he’s asked.

“I feel like we’re getting what we need out of him and what he’s capable of,” Embree said.

With Tua Tagovailoa out with no timeline for a return, Gesicki’s presence in this offense may be much more important going forward.

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Dolphins TE Durham Smythe has been unsung and unheralded

The fifth-year tight end might see a jump in production in 2022.

Throughout an NFL roster, there are players beyond the superstars that hold extreme value for their clubs. The unsung heroes whose names may not be mentioned nearly as much as some of their teammates.

It’s these role players and timely situational specialists that are more valuable than they are popular on a national scale outside their fan base.

When looking at the Miami Dolphins roster, you can look at several position groups where examples of these players continue to simply do their jobs.

The tight end room for Miami has been successful to an extent the past several years with the battery of Mike Gesicki and his partner-in-crime, Durham Smythe. While it’s Gesicki who gets the fanfare as well as the franchise tag recently, it’s Smythe, who compliments his best friend, that will make this tight end group efficient in 2022.

Smythe has proven just that in his last few seasons as a pro, following being drafted out of Notre Dame in the same selection process as Gesicki. The Dolphins spent their fourth-round pick on Smythe in 2018 and recently re-signed him this offseason to the tune of two years and $7 million.

The efficiency mentioned earlier, especially in 2020 and 2021, translated to an 89.7% and 82.9% catch rate in those seasons, respectively. His career rate is 76.8% and, to take it a step further, it’s Smythe’s timeliness of his receptions that truly shows his value to the Dolphins.

Something else of note is his consistent upward trend in his yards per target. Increasing yearly in his output, Smythe has gone from 4.5 to 4.6 to 7.2 and last season finished with 8.7 yards per target. Mix in a few other factors in this equation like a maturing quarterback, an improved offensive line and a coaching staff that’s built to make tight ends, Smythe may have his best season yet…and the same goes for Gesicki.

Of course, the volume will go to Gesicki, but don’t discount the progression of Smythe as well, as both players will be under the coaching of a new position coach, Jon Embree.

Embree has a laundry list of outstanding tight ends as well as projects who have had career seasons while he was their coach. Smythe should benefit from his tutelage and, like Gesicki, should increase the touchdown production.

Smythe only has a pair of scores from the 2020 season to his record, but that should certainly change in 2022, as the Dolphins will more than likely spend a bit more time targeting the tight ends in a plus territory as well as the red zone, which is something that was lacking in the last few seasons.

Along with his blocking, leadership and seeming dedication to keeping Gesicki entertained, Smythe should see yet another spike in production in 2022.

Smythe finished 2021 catching 34 of his 41 targets, with 15 leading to first downs. He produced 357 yards and played in all 17 games last season. In 2020, the quarterback rating when he was targeted was 119.5, and last season, it was a respectable 92.8.

A fresh offensive staff, a newly minted contract and a positional guru at his disposal should equal a loud season from an otherwise quiet key to the Dolphins’ offense.

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Everything Mike Gesicki, Austin Jackson and Elandon Roberts said at their first media availability of 2022

The guys seemed happy to be back in the building.

A trio of Miami Dolphins met with South Florida media on Wednesday, as Austin Jackson, Elandon Roberts and Mike Gesicki were all available for questions, each providing clarity in several areas.

Jackson, the young offensive lineman heading into his third NFL season, immediately spoke about his excitement for 2022 and the Dolphins’ new-look offensive coaching staff.

“I’ve talked to Mike [McDaniel] and Frank [Smith] a bunch, and I’m really excited for what we have in place,” Jackson told reporters. “I’m even more excited for the work we’re about to start. First things first, it starts now. That’s why we’re meeting and training together and getting the details down really of our concepts of what we’re going to do.”

Jackson was asked about his position, as he was drafted in 2020 as a left tackle yet moved around the line in 2021 and was even inserted at guard. Adding the big-splash free agent signing of Terron Armstead, Jackson is placing his chips on the right side.

“I’ve actually played right tackle,” Jackson stated. “This isn’t the first time playing a new role for me. I played it in high school, I played it in college – actually collegiately, like starting at it.

“It’s not completely new for me, but at the end of the day, I have to make sure I’m 100% right in my techniques and my fundamentals because what our offense does is if you get the technique down and use that same technique, it’s supposed to be the same at every position.”

Jackson also described the newfound energy in the facility stemming from the strength of the new head coach hiring.

“It’s a great feeling in the building,” he said. “At the end of the day, the front office or whoever brought us all in together did a great job of bringing in a bunch of like-minded guys who are willing to work hard, want to work hard, and are willing, hopefully, God-willing, reap the benefits of that.”

He then added, “and we do it with a smile on our face.”

Re-signed veteran linebacker Elandon Roberts stepped up to the podium as well, and no time was wasted in asking him about the new coaching situation and the defensive structure.

When asked about Brian Flores no longer being in Miami, yet defensive coordinator Josh Boyer being retained, Roberts was short and to the point.

“I think Josh is going to do a great job and do what he’s been doing since he took over the last two years,” Roberts said. “That’s it.”

He has ties with Boyer as they were both with New England before making the jump to the Dolphins. Roberts went on to talk about the reasons he returned to Miami, and the team captain from the last few seasons didn’t pull his punches.

“To be fully transparent, I just felt like this is my defense,” Roberts answered with ultimate confidence and conviction. “I’m a leader on the team and a leader on the defense. It was kind of a no-brainer for me, to be honest with you. I love being in Miami. My family loves it out here. I have a good relationship with everyone in the building. It was kind of a no-brainer.”

Roberts spoke as definitive as he hits offensive opponents, and he looks to build off his 2021 season where he made a career-high 83 tackles and forced a pair of fumbles. He also had four passes defended and took the only NFL interception he ever recorded to the house for a score against the Las Vegas Raiders back in Week 3.

Mike Gesicki is simply living his best life. A wedding, a franchise tag, a honeymoon and a trip to The Masters made for a remarkable month’s run for the fan-favorite tight end. Gesicki seemed nearly as happy to be back in Miami for 2022 as the fanbase was back in March when he was tagged.

While happy to be back, Gesicki alluded to it not being the exact plan, as it seems a long-term stay in Miami is desired.

“It’s obviously not the goal, the end-all, be-all goal,” he said when asked about playing on the tag. “It’s definitely more team-friendly than it is player-friendly. But it just gives me more reason to continue to come back here, work hard and continue to be motivated, get back to work and help this team win football games and hopefully, eventually, get what I deserve moving forward.”

Gesicki has improved in his receptions and yardage statistics in each of his first four NFL seasons. 73 catches and 780 yards in 2021 came despite arguable misusage on a consistent basis by last season’s Miami offensive staff. He was seldom used in the red zone, and as the Dolphins got closer to paydirt, he was unfathomably targeted less.

It’s a brand-new offensive scheme and coaching staff that could have Gesicki not only have a career year but a potential run at a Pro Bowl.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a different scheme as to what we’ve played in, but at the end of the day, football is football,” Gesicki said with his trademark swagger.

The Penn State product certainly has a tight end coach to help him shoot for the moon in Jon Embree. Embree has had Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley, Cameron Brate and George Kittle under his watch. He even turned Jordan Cameron into a Pro Bowler, his only such honor, back when they were in Cleveland together.

Gesicki’s skill set along with Embree’s coaching could be a lethal combination. Embree was with McDaniel in San Francisco and is the Miami assistant head coach, and Gesicki seems rather excited about it.

“I think having coach Embree here and he’s kind of a guy that helped – I’m not saying that he’s the reason that George [Kittle] is where he’s at or that George is the reason that Jon is the coach he is, but they worked together and did a very good job together, so he was able to help him in a lot of aspects and obviously George is the player he is now,” Gesicki said. “So I’m happy to have Coach Embree here, and it’s definitely some good tape to watch, watching Kittle out there.”

As for his new head coach, Gesicki seems to relate to him, which is pretty important one could assume.

“Yeah, funny dude,” he said about McDaniel. “I had a meeting with him last week and it went well and just talking with him just about everything – the atmosphere in the building, the guys, the locker room everything. So, he’s awesome.

“It’s been great and I’m excited to play for him and work for him and do everything I can to earn his trust for some big-time opportunities coming up this fall.”

Seems like there is a match made in heaven, and that doesn’t mean nuptials. Hopefully, it means touchdowns.

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Examining Dolphins TEs coach Jon Embree’s impact

The veteran coach has gotten a lot of his tight ends in the past.

They say a student is only as good as their professor. While this may not be the exact case in the NFL, quality teaching/coaching is key to a successful pupil in developing one’s career.

For the Miami Dolphins, most specifically the tight end position, a new faculty member is bringing his curriculum to the classroom in Miami Gardens. A certain tight end must be as excited as when you got the “cool teacher” back in high school.

Jon Embree may as well have a doctorate in the tight end academia world. Recently of the San Francisco 49ers, and even as an assistant head coach to Kyle Shanahan, Embree’s last student may not have necessarily needed his masterful teaching, as George Kittle is a top-two player at the position.

However, it’s before his tenure with San Francisco, which began during Kittle’s rookie year, conveniently, that there’s tangible proof that Embree gets the absolute best out of his players.

The first stop in Embree’s NFL journey came in Kansas City as the Chiefs tight ends coach. Prior to this role, Embree had a resume cluttered with jobs in college and high school programs, yet the consistency was always the same at the tight end position.

Following roles at Colorado and UCLA, Embree hooked up with Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, well into his stellar career. From 1997 to 2013, the original “basketball player tight end” averaged approximately 78 receptions, 889 yards, and six touchdowns in his illustrious run.

In his three years with Embree, from 2006 to 2008, the touchdowns were nearly identical, yet Gonzalez averaged 89 receptions and 1,043 yards in those campaigns.

Next up for Embree was a trip to Washington where he met Chris Cooley. A fine player in his own right, and a two-time Pro Bowler, Cooley had a career-high in receiving yards with Embree. Cooley caught 77 passes for 849 yards, a nice spike from his career seasonal averages of 60 receptions for 662.

Following Cooley was another one-year stint, and perhaps the most telling. Former Dolphins tight end Jordan Cameron was another “basketball player” that had an underwhelming first two seasons in Cleveland. The fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft out of USC was a three-sport star in high school, playing football, basketball and volleyball.

For the Charles Dickens scholars out there, this is called foreshadowing.

In Cameron’s six NFL seasons, a few shortened by injury, he had one lone Pro Bowl campaign. When was that? You guessed it, it was in 2013; Embree’s season with him.

Cameron had a career year by a mile with 80 receptions, 917 yards, and a whopping seven touchdowns. This compared favorably to his next-best seasons in those statistics – 35 catches and three scores in 2015 with Miami and 424 yards in 2014 back in Cleveland.

Following his time with the Browns, Embree found his way to Tampa Bay, and for three seasons, he had Cameron Brate. 2014 was Brate’s rookie year, matching Embree’s start as a Buccaneer. While he had a steady development in the first two seasons, Brate had a career year in 2016, Embree’s last in Tampa Bay. Brate was the Buccaneers’ second-leading touchdown scorer with eight, and yardage producer with 660, both behind Mike Evans.

Brate’s 57 receptions, 660 yards, and those eight touchdowns were massive spikes from a career average of 32 receptions, 335 yards and four touchdowns.

Now in Miami, Embree gets to work with freshly franchise-tagged, and former three-sport high school star, Mike Gesicki. The charismatic and talented Dolphins tight end was secured for at least another year on the same week of his wedding and honeymoon. While the Gesickis were a match made in the football heaven at Penn State University, Embree and No. 88 are a match made in the red zone.

It’ll be fun and exciting to see how Embree, head coach Mike McDaniel and offensive coordinator Frank Smith utilize Gesicki. He’s coming off career-highs last season in both receptions and yards. His touchdown output was his lowest since his rookie season with just a pair, and that could be attributed to a lack of usage and targets in that area of the field with Miami’s previous regime.

If a bar is to be set on a statistical outlook for Gesicki in 2022 80 receptions, 900 yards and a new high in touchdowns would be a great gift in a year that’s already been pretty kind to this rising star.

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George Kittle bids farewell to TE coach Jon Embree, who will join Miami coaching staff

George Kittle writes heartfelt goodbye to #49ers TE coach Jon Embree, who will depart to join the Miami Dolphins staff.

One of several changes on the 49ers coaching staff this offseason was the departure of tight ends coach and assistant head coach Jon Embree. He is set to join the Miami Dolphins coaching staff where former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is now the head coach.

Embree joined the 49ers staff in 2017 as the tight ends coach and assistant head coach when Kyle Shanahan took over as the head coach. He held that job for all five years and oversaw George Kittle’s rapid ascension from fifth-round pick to First-Team All-Pro. The tight end spot is also one of the most important positions on the field in the 49ers’ offense, which makes Embree’s loss a potentially significant one.

Evidence of the gravity of Embree’s departure was shown in Kittle’s heartfelt Instagram post thanking the only position coach he’s known since joining the NFL:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZxI_jPPx9t/

“Embo!!! Thank you!” Kittle wrote. “The last 5 years have gone by too fast. Being able to start my NFL career with you was the best possible thing for me. You showed me the standard at which you had to play to have a chance to succeed in this league. Always reminding me to have fun and to give great effort. You convinced me to never run out of bounds and to set the tone on each play, with or without the football. You also leveled up my taste in tequila. I am happy that more guys get the chance to be coached by you. Continue to raise the bar!”

Report: Dolphins are hiring 49ers Jon Embree to be their TEs coach

The new head coach makes his first hire.

The Miami Dolphins have hired head coach Mike McDaniel, and now he’ll begin assembling his coaching staff around him.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch, McDaniel is bringing San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach and assistant head coach Jon Embree to Miami with him to coach in the same role. The job was previously being held by George Godsey who also served as co-offensive coordinator.

This is the first hiring under McDaniel, however, there have been reports that he is interviewing Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks coach Charles London.

Embree has been coaching in the NFL since 2006 when he was brought on to Herm Edwards’ staff with the Kansas City Chiefs. Since then, he’s had stops in Washington (2010), Cleveland (2013), Tampa Bay (2014-16), and San Francisco (2017-21).

The 56-year-old got a great shoutout from his former tight end George Kittle on his way out the door.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZxI_jPPx9t/

It seems the Dolphins are getting a respected positional coach who’s put in the work around the league.

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