MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — If there were ever an appropriate time during the season for Mike McDaniel to move on from Miami Dolphins special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, this is the week.
The Dolphins are on a bye, which is when a shakeup like the Dolphins swapping out Crossman for his assistant Ronnie Bradford — who served as the Denver Broncos’ special teams coordinator two decades ago — would historically occur.
After that, it’ll be 12 straight weeks of games to close out the season. Any major changes would have to happen on the fly.
But based on McDaniel’s loyalty to Crossman over the years — most recently, McDaniel brought him back this season despite a bad 2023 — the safer bet is McDaniel instructing Crossman to simply get it fixed … fast. And if it doesn’t, to finally part ways in the offseason.
Miami Dolphins’ Special Teams Woes Get Worse
Either way, McDaniel’s comments Monday suggest that Miami’s special teams are top of mind — particularly after a comedy of errors Sunday in New England.
The Dolphins had a botched snap, a blocked punt, a missed 41-yard field goal, and committed a costly false-start penalty on a field goal attempt.
Put it all together, and McDaniel’s team was lucky to escape with a win against arguably the worst team in football.
“The mistakes that did occur were unusual, and we’re trying to get down to the bottom of why they occurred that one time and make sure they don’t happen again,” McDaniel said.
“Typically with mistakes like that, you end up losing the game. The pattern can’t exist, hasn’t existed in terms of who was at fault and what happened that was negative. It kind of came out of nowhere, and we have to make sure it stays in nowhere and doesn’t become the rule of thumb.”
But here’s the thing: Sunday wasn’t a one-off, but rather the worst in a series of bad days for Crossman’s unit.
The Dolphins rank 27th in field goal accuracy (75%) and 24th in punt return yardage allowed (11 per return). And they’ve committed at least a dozen penalties this year on special teams alone.
The Dolphins are only one of six teams with a blocked punt (the Tennessee Titans have two). And while those issues haven’t cost the Dolphins a game yet, they will at some point should they continue. So everyone should be on alert — from Crossman to kicker Jason Sanders, punter Jake Bailey, and long snapper Blake Ferguson.
Patriots block the punt!
📺: #MIAvsNE on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/uNSd8Kklx0— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
“We just got to find a way to get on the same page,” Dolphins safety Marcus Maye said. “They did a great job on their end of scheming us up and things like that, but like I said, it’s just a collective effort, all three phases. We just got to continue to get better, continue to sharpen up the details so we can play the ball that we know we can play.”
If not, McDaniel will almost certainly make a move — either during or after the season.
“Ultimately, you want to help a team win a game, not lose it,” McDaniel said. “And there [were] some errors that the team had to overcome.”
