Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland revealed that his viral video that he posted following Vic Fangio’s departure from the Dolphins was not in response to the coach leaving the team.
Holland said that he did not know that Fangio had parted ways with the team when he posted the video.
Dolphins S Jevon Holland telling me today that his instagram story that went viral of him "kicking rocks" was NOT in response to Vic Fangio no longer being the Fins Defensive Coordinator. Said he didn't know Fangio and the team had parted ways when he posted it. #FinsUp #NFL… pic.twitter.com/dfnvuQufCw
— Josh Moser (@TheMozKnowz) February 1, 2024
“It just so happened that I posted that right when the news came out that Vic got fired,” Holland said. “I wasn’t necessarily sure that Vic got fired until after I posted the video. It just so happened that I picked up some random rocks, kicked them and filmed it and posted it on Instagram. Everybody wants to call me the bad guy. I’m innocent. I didn’t do anything wrong. All I was doing was just posting a simple video as an analogy, but that analogy had nothing to do with Vic. I wish that brother the best.”
Both Holland and defensive back Cam Smith appeared to react to Fangio’s departure from the Dolphins.
Smith posted on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) an emoji that seemed to be signaling the unlocking or freeing of something.
🔓
— Cammmm ひ (@yjbcam) January 24, 2024
A recent report about Fangio shared that he didn’t allow position coaches to share things with the team’s defense – instead presenting the information himself.
“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,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote. “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.
“So while Fangio may have wanted to go to Philadelphia all along, his departure from Miami wasn’t exactly voluntary. And my sense is whoever’s next (former [Los Angeles] Chargers coach Brandon Staley meets with the Dolphins on Sunday) will have to employ a more collaborative style, plus mesh better with stars such as Jalen Ramsey.”
Fangio will now continue his long coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Holland and the Dolphins will have a new look themselves on defense next season. Miami is currently still interviewing candidates to replace Fangio, as the team was scheduled to speak with Chris Shula, the grandson of legendary coach Don Shula, on Thursday.
Holland may not have been referring to Fangio with his kicking rocks video, but it certainly was curious timing. Fangio has not appeared to publicly respond to the social media posts from Holland and Smith.
The Dolphins didn’t play poorly on defense under Fangio, as the defense was tied for No. 10 in the NFL in yards per play allowed.
Thy also forced a lot of turnovers, ranking No. 9 in the NFL in takeaways. Furthermore, the team tied for fourth in yards per carry allowed (3.8) and allowed the 15th fewest passing yards in the league.
Holland, who appeared in 12 games for the Dolphins in the 2023 season, recorded 74 combined tackles, three forced fumbles and one interception.
After returning in Week 17 from an injury (the Dolphins lost that week to the Baltimore Ravens), Holland played just 35 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in Week 18 of the season (a loss to the Buffalo Bills) and was inactive for Miami’s playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s clear that the Dolphins missed Holland — and some of their other key players on defense like Bradley Chubb — in the postseason.
Miami has made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, but it hasn’t won a playoff game over that stretch, losing in the first round on both occasions.
The Dolphins are hoping that Holland and other players on the roster can get healthy to improve an already solid defense when the team suits up in the 2024 season.
