Featured Columnist IVJanuary 30, 2024
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Baltimore Ravens defensive line coach Anthony Weaver will interview with the Miami Dolphins as part of their search for a new defensive coordinator, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Weaver, who’s also an assistant head coach in Baltimore, previously met with the Atlanta Falcons to discuss their head-coaching vacancy. Russini noted he had a second interview with the Washington Commanders on Monday as well.
The 43-year-old is widely considered an assistant on the rise and a prime candidate to become a head coach at some point.
“As owners search to build the right culture, a name that has come up in conversations is [Weaver],” Russini reported in December. “…An NFL executive likened Weaver to a Dan Campbell type who has great discipline. We’ve seen Campbell successfully make the jump from assistant head coach to head coach, and maybe Weaver, also a former player, can bring a team that same fire if gets a shot.”
The Dolphins are looking to replace Vic Fangio, who seemed to wear out his welcome in just one year with the team.
“Fangio’s one-voice approach to running the defense wore on other coaches—an example being that he didn’t allow position coaches to present their work to the defense, instead gathering information from them and doing it himself,” The MMQB’s Albert Breer reported. “That sort of approach is decidedly old school, and seeped through to players who, by the end of the season, started to tune Fangio out.”
Weaver would seemingly present a welcome contrast to that.
The only real downside for Miami is that by hiring Weaver it could plausibly be on a path to having a third defensive coordinator in as many seasons. Should the defense take a big leap forward in 2024, the former defensive end will have firmly positioned himself for a promotion elsewhere.
That’s certainly not a compelling enough argument to not hire Weaver if the opportunity presents itself, though.
