Bigger role for Jalen Ramsey, scheme versatility among priorities for Dolphins DC

MIAMI — The words may be different, but the sentiment behind Anthony Weaver’s introductory press conference Thursday should feel familiar.

The Miami Dolphins‘ new defensive coordinator, fresh in town after three seasons as the Baltimore Ravens‘ defensive line coach and associate head coach, described to local media the lessons he learned during his previous stint as a defensive coordinator, for the Houston Texans in 2020.

“Problems are gifts,” he said. “With all the adversity we dealt with throughout that season, although we didn’t get the results on the field we wanted, I felt like that unit, as a whole, always stayed together and fought their butts off to the bitter end. I take a tremendous amount of pride in that. What did I learn? I learned one, problems are gifts. But two, you better be multiple enough in your scheme, like I talked about earlier, to handle whatever situation arises.”

It was reminiscent of head coach Mike McDaniel’s core mantra — “adversity is opportunity”.

Weaver, though he had never heard the phrase before, has a pre-existing relationship with McDaniel dating back to their days with the Texans and Cleveland Browns.

That type of synergy is a good start.

Weaver is the third defensive coordinator to coach under McDaniel in as many years and takes over a unit that was 10th in yards allowed per game in 2023. Under Weaver, Miami will be a team that provides multiple looks for its opponents to sift through, similar to what the Ravens did last season.

“I think the scheme that we used in Baltimore is extremely multiple and flexible, and the foundation of what we’re going to do here will be from that,” Weaver said. “But the beauty in that is a lot of the things that they’ve already done here that they’ve had success in, we’re very similar there, so there should be a lot of crossover teaching. I think in this league, it’s hard to just pigeon-hole yourself as one particular thing because you’re going to face different situations throughout the entire year, whether it’s weather, injuries.

“There’s a multitude of factors and your scheme better be flexible enough to adapt to the players and adapt to whatever situation you may be in.”

Weaver brought up the talent on Miami’s defense, specifically defensive tackle Zach Sieler, ends Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, safety Jevon Holland and linebacker David Long Jr..

He also lauded over cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who played primarily on the outside during the 2023 season.

That won’t be the case in 2024.

“I mean, it’s Jalen Ramsey, come on now. You talk about prototype corners, he is that,” Weaver said. “Size, length, speed, competitiveness. The thing about him is I think he is your ultimate chess piece. So to have him just sit outside and be a field corner or boundary corner or something like that is a detriment to him. We got to find ways to move him around where he can be most impactful. We’re committed to doing that.”

Weaver said he would love to coach defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but made no promises that the 13th overall pick in 2019 would return in 2024.

He was asked about his philosophy on blitzing, to which he answered it must be done “with intent”.

The two centerpieces of his pass rush, Phillips and Chubb, are coming off season-ending Achilles and ACL injuries, respectively. There is no public timetable for their return to the field, although Phillips shared on social media that he is walking without crutches after rupturing his Achilles in late November.

“I have spoken to both of them. Obviously I’m extremely excited to be around them,” Weaver said. “They’re tremendous players and better people. I’ll tell you what, I saw Jaelan Phillips the other day and he had his shirt off, and I almost went and put a sweater on him. I mean he is chiseled, right? Oh my goodness.

“But man, just super excited. They have great personalities. They’re people you want to be around. You can tell they’re going to make everybody around them better by just being out there.”

Weaver has a reputation of being a coach who can extract the most out of his players. His new cast gives him plenty of talent to work with. The pressure is mounting on the Dolphins, who have not won a playoff game since 2000. McDaniel has led the team to consecutive playoff berths, but they’re looking to take the next step.

Despite the questions surrounding his new defense, Miami hopes Weaver will help it get there.

“I am excited to add Anthony to our staff, not only for what he will bring to the Dolphins as a teacher and coach, but even more so who he is as a leader of men,” said McDaniel. “He has a proven resume of success, built on his personal investment in his players. Most importantly, he shares our belief that player development is the cornerstone to both team building and sustained excellence.”