Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has decided that continuity is the best way to fix a shaky special teams unit.
Instead of blowing up a group that finished 31st in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings, McDaniel and Chris Grier seem poised to bring back the unit’s four most important people.
Details on Miami Dolphins’ Deal With Jake Bailey
The latest to learn he doesn’t need to call movers? Punter Jake Bailey, who is back with the team on a two-year deal, per multiple reports.
The deal, per Bleacher Report, is worth $4.2 million. That $2.1 million AAV will not only put him into the top 10 league-wide at his position, it is also nearly twice what he earned on the one-year deal he signed with the Dolphins last offseason.
Bailey in 2024 averaged 45.7 yards per punt (40.7 net) with a 5.7% touchback rate and a 37.7% inside-20 rate.
Appearing at Radio Row at Super Bowl 58 last month, he told PFN that it was his preference to re-sign with the Dolphins in free agency.
He has gotten his wish.
The Bailey deal means the Dolphins’ 2023 punter, kicker (Jason Sanders), long snapper (Blake Ferguson), and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman are all under contract for 2024.
So is key special teams contributor Elijah Campbell, who earlier this week agreed to return to the Dolphins on a one-year deal.
When asked at the NFL Scouting Combine last week why he elected to bring back Crossman for another season despite the unit’s struggles, McDaniel replied:
“So many of the decisions that I have to make are very layered,” McDaniel said. “Although results are very, very important — and I think coach Crossman would agree with the statement that the results aren’t where we want them to be — so much of my job is determining the compounding variables and the ‘whys’ of things.
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“And, you know, ultimately, I think that the bottom line is, picturing us moving forward and how to get that phase of the football team to find the improvement necessary for us to take steps in our game as a team, I determined that he was the appropriate guy to lead us to fix the things that haven’t been up to the standard.
“… I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to just point-blank say, ‘OK, the results aren’t there. You shouldn’t be either.’ You have to assess the ‘whys’ and come up with a game plan of how we’re going to improve that phase, which is very important to us moving forward. And which is why Danny is part of it.”
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