The Dolphins are taking a look at an AFC South assistant for their offensive coordinator role under new head coach Jeff Hafley. Via Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com, Miami has put in a request to interview Houston quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson for the role. Johnson, 37, has been the Texans’ quarterbacks coach since 2023. That season, he helped C.J. Stroud win AP offensive rookie of the year. Johnson has also spent time with the 49ers, Colts, and Vikings.
Seems to be a big jump from coaching a QB to designing an offense and calling plays. Has he ever called plays in college maybe?
At least he's done the job before, and won't be a rookie coordinator on the job. That combined with already knowing the key players have to be plusses. Not a fan of what Houston did when he was there. When they scored points, it was often in a bombs away, caution to the wind style that I'm absolutely not a fan of. Their run game was also often highly inconsistent. Though the fact that they ran more on the road, and ran well on the road, is interesting. In two seasons there, their run game outright sucked at home most of the time, which is weird and worrying. Even moreso when you think about how their defense has been great, and they should have worked to compliment that with long, sustained drives. But they were very bad at number of plays run and first downs gained, same as the Fins have struggled with.
Here's the thing with the run game- it's the hardest part to execute perfectly. The ball is snapped, you need a clean handoff. Then you need the tackle to get inside leverage, the center to get outside leverage, and the guard to at least chip the linebacker. That's not taking into account dozens of other defensive variables...blitzes into the A gap or around the edge, defensive alignment, safety coverage, etc. Yet you still need these five or six players to execute perfectly to run the ball five yards (or for a TD, because getting past the 2nd level is where RB talent actually comes into play). Look at a five yard slant pass. The guard whiffs. The tackle gets smoked on a spin move. The center fails quickly. Yet the WR takes two steps and cuts towards the hash while the pass is already in the air. Here, you need two people to execute at a high level, not necessarily perfectly, for the same 5 yard gain. Even when you become a successful run team like we did towards the end of the season, teams are keying the run and finding ways to get more players involved. So you have a choice, keep running and doubling down, or start throwing intermediate throws which are now open because the linebackers are committed to hitting the gaps. A smart run team will know when to abandon the run and when to lean on it once again, because it's really not about running or passing. It's about taking what the defense gives. Now, I love some smashmouth football, I love our team to have that identity. But you absolutely must build for that style of offense because it's violent and much harder to master.
The Dolphins have a back that took loses and turned them into chunk plays. Achane changes the algorithm IMO. 3 and 5 is a running down with him. He breaks tackles and makes people miss like no back that I can remember Miami having. Ricky was about a speed, vision, and power combo that broke defenses down, a slightly bad angle and he was gone, he punished tacklers almost always falling forward. He didn't have Achane's ability to change direction, or quite the same acceleration. He didn't break ankles in the open field like Achane. Achane making that quick subtle cut and leaving previously perfectly aligned defenders watching him run by is something special. His contact balance is Ronnie Brown like. Get an offense that threatens him running on any down and you make the QB have to read less. When the D back field has to devote attention to the running back, there are less options with coverage games. That's what being able to run into Boxes does. It doesn't have to be smash mouth. Make the D play 3-5 or 3-4 like 1-10 and vise versa. They seem to be keeping the same O in place with the coordinator hire. That O, with a focus on running, is why I hoped MM would have been kept. Unless, Tua has a miraculous return to his 2023 form (unlikely), that would have been his only path for success IMO. I am hopeful that Bobby Slowik can do the same. His Texans team improved running from year 1 to year 2 of him being OC. 3.7 to 4.4 YPC and 1600 to 1900 yards.
If yesterday’s AFC Championship game proved anything, you HAVE to be able to run the ball, especially when our division opponents are all northeast teams susceptible to foul weather.
I agree in spirit but I am not sure that game really proved that given how poorly NE actually ran it.
