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Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Darrell Bevell reportedly declined interviews with the New York Jets and Washington Commanders, according to the NFL Network.
That means Bevell, widely considered a top offensive mind and quarterback teacher in the league, currently plans to stay in Miami, barring other opportunities arising.
Bevell worked wonders for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in his third NFL season. Tagovailoa, after uneven play in his first two professional campaigns out of Alabama, led the league in passer rating (105.5) and yards per attempt (8.9) in 2022.
With the Dolphins reaffirming they’re sticking with Tagovailoa going into 2023, the final year of his rookie contract, Bevell’s presence would be a huge boost for the left-handed thrower’s continued growth.
Bevell was also part of the process in selecting third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson in the seventh round of the past draft. He helped develop the rookie to handle three starts, including Sunday’s 34-31 wild-card round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills that eliminated the Dolphins, after Tagovailoa and backup Teddy Bridgewater suffered injuries. Thompson was 18 of 45 for 220 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, while nearly helping Miami to pull off an improbable upset in the difficult position of playing on the road in a hostile Orchard Park environment.
Bevell, 53, has deep NFL coaching experience that includes 15 seasons as an offensive coordinator between the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings. He also was an interim head coach at the end of the 2021 season with Jacksonville and 2020 season with Detroit and coached quarterbacks early this century with the Green Bay Packers.
Between all his experience, Bevell has worked with quarterbacks of the likes of Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford and Trevor Lawrence. It was a reason why Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel targeted him for the role when he built his first staff as a head coach.
“I knew that one of the biggest priorities for the organization was to get some leadership in the quarterback room, have a coach who has experience developing younger quarterbacks and has done it on multiple occasions and also has a disposition that is to be trusted,” McDaniel said late in the season. “And you can’t find a more trustworthy, honest, loyal human being.”
Bevell has previously expressed that he has future aspirations to become an NFL head coach.
“It’s something that I definitely want to do,” Bevell said in a media session late in the regular season. “Whenever the time happens, it’s something that I’d be ready for.”
Bevell still figures to draw more interest for jobs around the league this coach hiring cycle.
Gesicki, Morstead share perspective
At least a pair of Dolphins heading into free agency this offseason made thoughtful posts early in the week following the team’s elimination from the playoffs.
Tight end Mike Gesicki posted a lengthy message on Twitter along with pictures of a one-handed catch in a game against Buffalo and one of him leaping into the front row of stands behind a Hard Rock Stadium end zone.
“I didn’t even know I was making memories, I was just having fun,” Gesicki wrote. “No telling what the future holds, just control what you can control. Everyone that knows me knows I would stay in South Florida forever, time will tell. No matter what and no matter where, the show goes on.”
Gesicki played on the franchise tag for the Dolphins in 2022 but saw his lowest receptions and yardage totals since his rookie season in his first year in coach Mike McDaniel’s offense. He only started one game and had some of the lowest in-game snap totals of his five-year career.
“We’ll see what the future holds,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said of Gesicki on Monday. “He’s earned the right to be a free agent. We’re happy for him. He did a nice job.”
Gesicki recalled some of his favorite memories with the Dolphins — from getting drafted to his first catch and the winning touchdown in the 2019 upset win over the Patriots in Foxborough.
“I’m not sure what the next step has in store for me and I’m not positive where it will be,” he wrote, “but if my time in Miami has come to an end I will forever cherish every moment and can be grateful for the highs and lows.”
Punter Thomas Morstead also shared his thoughts in a Tuesday post on Twitter as he wrapped up his first year in Miami after 12 with the New Orleans Saints and 2021 split between the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets.
“I’m grateful to have been a part of this 2022 Dolphins squad,” he wrote, in part. “It was a great new experience for me and my family.”
Morstead thanked Grier, McDaniel and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, among others.
Morstead, who is set to turn 37 on March 8 and could also opt for retirement, had 28 punts land inside the 20-yard line in 2022, the second-highest total of his career.
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