ORLANDO — A full decade before they teamed up with the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel, Anthony Weaver, and Jordan Poyer were young guys living and working in Cleveland, trying to jump-start their nascent careers.
McDaniel, then 31 years old, was the Browns’ wide receivers coach in 2014. Weaver, two years older than his future head coach, coached Cleveland’s defensive line. But Poyer was the youngest of them all. At 22, he was an important special teams cog but barely saw the field on defense.
Ten years later, their roles have expanded. As have their expectations. Poyer and Weaver elected this offseason to try to help McDaniel win a championship in Miami.
Mike McDaniel on Miami Dolphins S Jordan Poyer
McDaniel and Chris Grier convinced the free-agent Poyer to switch sides in the AFC East’s fiercest rivalry.
Cut by the Bills in recent weeks after seven seasons in Buffalo, Poyer signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Dolphins early in free agency.
“It was a classic, ‘If you can’t beat them, join them,'” McDaniel, who is 1-4 in his career against the Bills, explained this week. “No, I think he’s a really, really cool player that I actually have experience with from my year in Cleveland in 2014. I think one of the most exciting things about his addition is he has an attachment to the city of Miami, wants to see goals that we have as a team accomplished.”
Poyer also insists he wants to help unlock the very best of new teammate Jevon Holland, the Dolphins’ talented fourth-year safety.
“I want to help as much as I can,” Poyer said after signing with the team. “[I’m] 32, I guess you can call me old or whatever, but at the same time, I have a lot of knowledge about this game that I feel like I can bring and help players see the game in maybe a different light, a different perspective. (I can) help them essentially get one step closer to the ball, one step closer to making that play, or even them helping me in those situations.”
As McDaniel tells it, that work has already begun.
“To hear him have conversations with Jevon Holland and just exuberance about both players taking their game to another level, that gets you excited,” McDaniel said at the NFL’s Annual League Meeting in Orlando Monday.
‘I think that’s really good news for the Miami Dolphins organization because at the end of the day, you want guys who are fully invested, that are excited and energetic towards the goal and come into the building every day and work. I know that’s what he is going to do and I know players on the team are excited to have him.”
As for the McDaniel-Poyer dynamic, it sounds like they won’t have any problems picking up where they left off 10 years ago.
“I texted him the day I found out I was signing with Miami,” Poyer said. “I think it was a Friday morning or a Thursday morning and it was six o’clock in the morning. I was in Costa Rica and had just got up, so it was 4:30 in the morning, so 6:30 [a.m.] out here.
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“As soon as I hit send — I don’t even think he had a chance to read my text,” he continued. “I sent him a long text, and I don’t think he had a chance to read it. My phone started buzzing, and it was him. I picked up the phone, and we talked for a good 30 minutes.
“His energy is unmatched. So much respect for him, not just as a coach but as a player for overcoming a lot of his stuff that he’s had to deal with that I can really relate to, right? I’m just here to shed my light and to be a light and that’s exactly what he is too. You see it on the Hard Knocks. You see it on the field when you cross [paths]. It’s just him man. He’s a great dude and a great coach. I have a lot of respect for him.”
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