Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith: ‘Right now we’re starting over’

The Miami Dolphins proceed to work their method by the offseason coaching program, with organized crew actions beginning subsequent week. On Wednesday, the crew gave the media an opportunity to talk with the coordinators, together with offensive coordinator Frank Smith. Because the crew appears to be like to organize for 2025, Smith mentioned placing 2024 behind them and the way they could be a higher offense this 12 months.

A 12 months after main the league as the highest offensive unit, Miami completed 18th in whole offense in 2024. They have been fifteenth in passing offense, twenty first in dashing offense, and twenty second in scoring offense. The Dolphins dropped from 29.2 factors per sport in 2023 to only 20.3 in 2024.

“I feel the results of the season was disappointing for the place we needed to go,” Smith mentioned of analyzing the offensive efficiency in 2024. “There’s positives littered all through, however I feel in the end whenever you take a look at the previous you actually research it, take a look at it and use so far as every current day as your motivation. I feel for us proper now we’re beginning over and mainly going again to the fundamentals and ensuring we all know them inside and outside to begin a very good season.”

Miami’s potent offensive assault in 2023 was constructed on timing patterns within the passing sport, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa anticipating the strikes extensive receiver Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle would make as they ran their routes. The Dolphins have been capable of get the ball into the fingers of their prime offensive weapons all through the 2023 season, however struggled with timing, precision, and route operating.

Smith was requested concerning the route operating struggles in 2024, and the way he thinks the crew can enhance it in 2025. “I feel in the end as we had guys coming out and in of the lineup, I feel that this 12 months we’re wanting to verify we will preserve the consistency, related issues we did in 2023,” he replied. “Finally for us it’s ensuring we get the continuity with the fellows, for everybody being on the identical web page with our expectations for fundamentals and methods in order that method we will actually use the offseason to construct to get ourselves prepared for the season.”

How is the crew progressing of their reset for this upcoming season? “I’d say proper now it’s going nice,” Smith said. “Guys are actually investing the time and utilizing all the sources they’ve. To date we’re actual happy and we’re wanting ahead to ending this week and moving into OTAs.”

Smith additionally appears to be like to the offseason to provide an opportunity to work on rotations and use depth gamers. “Within the offseason it’s sort of practical to how the season will go as a result of every week there are variables with the personnel,” he defined. “So it permits guys to do issues and increase what they in season possibly wouldn’t get as many reps at to allow them to financial institution it now and use it later by coaching camp and all that. That’s what the offseason permits us, is to work variables with totally different guys and see no matter we will do.”

Hill was a focus of the media’s dialogue with Smith, partially as a result of Hill was not as a lot a focus of the offense in 2024. The coach defined, “I feel it’s a man who’s extraordinarily motivated to get higher every day and to be a constructive influence on the offense and crew. He’s acquired power day by day, he’s working by his course of. He’s been nice to this point by the offseason.”

The 2024 season ended with Hill seeming to specific a need to depart Miami, although these feedback have been walked again all through the offseason. Requested if Hill has proven he desires to proceed to play for the Dolphins, Smith answered, “Yeah, and I feel to this point our buy-in with the fellows and everybody collectively and making an attempt to make use of the way in which final season went as our motivation to verify we maximize every day. You don’t look ahead, you don’t look to the previous; simply say, what do I have to get carried out proper now, and I feel Tyreek and all the guys are actually embracing that.”

The receiver, nonetheless, is recovering from offseason surgical procedure to restore a wrist harm, a restore that included inserting screws into this wrist in February and a second process earlier this month to take away them. “I don’t know if there are actually timelines to the whole lot,” Smith mentioned of when Hill would possibly get again on the observe area. “We simply mainly are ensuring that we get the whole lot someday at a time, maximize it, so when he’s able to go, he’s able to go.”

Miami added extensive receiver Nik Westbrook-Ikhine in free company this 12 months, signing a 3rd choice to play behind Hill and Waddle. Of his preliminary impression of Westbrook-Ikhine, Smith said, “I feel in the end it goes to who he’s as a person, and you’ll see it’s a really detailed, very process-oriented man. He’s going to be extraordinarily dependable. I feel in the end should you speak to the fellows that knew him in Tennessee and our publicity to this point has been constant work ethic. I feel that’s in the end the place he places himself in place to achieve success is as a result of he actually is a pupil of the method, ensuring he’s on the little issues so, due to this fact, on Sundays he may be dependable for the quarterback and actually the remainder of the offense.”

Smith ended his media availability discussing if the Miami offense must be extra bodily than they have been in 2024. He defined, “I feel that in the end what we should be is extra constant. That’s the factor we’re taking pictures for, is consistency. That’s what this time of 12 months supplies, is for us to make use of the time to get related on the identical web page in order that method our expectations by the whole play intent is then maximized by simply logging in each day alternatives to verify for the season we’re all related on the identical web page and being constant.”