The Miami Dolphins are coming off back-to-back winning seasons. But the franchise has a new head coach once again. What changes are in store for the team?
There’s certainly more to come in regards to the saga between the Miami Dolphins and head coach Brian Flores. The bottom line is that the latter led the team to consecutive winning seasons – this after losing his first seven games in his debut year in 2019. However, the ‘Fins failed to qualify for the playoffs each year.
All told, 2021 proved to be quite the challenge. A year after finishing 10-6, the club knocked off the Patriots in New England in Week 1 and proceeded to lose seven straight games. The club rebounded with seven consecutive win and took an 8-7 record to Nashville in Week 17. But the Dolphins were routed and their playoff chances ended that Sunday.
The new head coach is former San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. But the roster figures to be a little different. What three players could be cut loose by the team over the next few weeks?
3. LB Vince Biegel
While Mike McDaniel is the team’s newest head coach, the Dolphins will retain defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. In 2021, Miami was near the middle of the pack (15th) in the league in terms of total defense. After leading the league with 29 takeaways in 2020, the ‘Fins dropped off a bit (26) in 17 games this past season.
Most of those opponents’ miscues came during the team’s seven-game winning streak. All told, the Dolphins forced 19 turnovers in nine wins while coming up with only seven takeaways in eight setbacks.
Originally a fourth-round draft choice of the Packers in 2017, linebacker Vince Biegel wound up playing for the Saints in 2018 and dealt to the Dolphins a year later. All 10 of his career starts came in ’19 with Miami. He finished with 57 defensive stops, 2.5 sacks and one interception. But he has played in a total of five games the last two seasons and missed all of 2020.