The replacement of Chad O’Shea as the Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator was something that at least one member of the 2019 team embraced, offering a blunt description of O’Shea’s performance in the role.
Barry Jackson, Adam H. Beasley and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald wrote that the chief problem, according to that unnamed player was O’Shea’s level of complexity with the new Dolphins’ offense.
It was patterned after that of the New England Patriots, where he’d been for the previous decade, but clashed with the relative youth of the Dolphins’ rebuilding roster.
“One player described the situation on offense last season as a ‘[expletive] show,’ noting O’Shea tried to teach an offense that was too complex for a young team and that teaching/instruction during film study was a ‘disaster,'” Jackson, Beasley and Salguero wrote.
“As one player noted, O’Shea tried to run plays that were used in New England, which was predictable because O’Shea had spent the previous 10 seasons there as wide receivers coach.”
Those offensive struggles were clearly evident during the first seven games of the 2019 campaign, when the Dolphins scored only 77 points, an average of 11 per game.
Coupled with a sieve-like defense during that same time frame, the Dolphins found themselves saddled with an 0-7 record to start the year.
While the Dolphins bounced back to win three of their final five games, their head coach Brian Flores wasted no time in replacing O’Shea, dismissing him the day after the season ended.
In O’Shea’s place is veteran tutor Chan Gailey, who has 14 years of NFL play-calling experience. During that time, he’s worked with Hall of Famers John Elway and Troy Aikman, and also spent five years with current Dolphins signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick.
That chemistry and Gailey’s ability to simplify offensive plays figure to benefit the Dolphins and will likely aid new quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Of course, until NFL teams take the field for the 2020 season, the Dolphins won’t know how much improvement has taken place. However, it’s clear that Gailey and the players at least figure to be on the same page.
