The Dolphins opted for continuity on the defensive side of the ball by retaining Josh Boyer as the defensive coordinator after changing head coaches from Brian Flores to Mike McDaniel.
Boyer helped put together a defense that fueled a seven-game winning streak that put the Dolphins into playoff contention after a 1-7 start to the year, but said on Wednesday that his return doesn’t mean the unit will be a carbon copy of the one that took the field in 2021. He said there will be some carryover, but that it is “going to be different in 2022" than it was last season.
Part of the reason for that is the change in head coaches as McDaniel brings an offensive background that’s very different than the one Flores brought with him to Miami.
“We spent 13 years together in New England coming up through the same system,” Boyer said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “Flo worked on special teams, offense. We had a little bit of different perspective. He played linebacker, coached linebackers. I’ve always been on the back end. I see things from the back end down. I see the game a little bit different than what he was doing for 13 years.”
McDaniel isn’t likely to have the same hand in defensive game planning that Flores had and that will allow Boyer to put more of his own stamp on things. The Dolphins will need that to go well if they’re going to improve in the first year of the new regime.