Over four seasons with the Miami Dolphins Jimmy Johnson went 36-28 and made the playoffs three times.
Though Miami never made it past the divisional round under Johnson, simply getting back to that level of success would be a step forward for a franchise that has made the playoffs only four times since Johnson departed and twice in the past 20 seasons. The task of getting the Dolphins back to the postseason now falls to first-year coach Mike McDaniel.
“I think you want to see improvement,” said Johnson, who was celebrating the finale of his “Quest for the Ring” Championship Fishing tournament on Saturday. “You want to see improvement at the quarterback position. You want to see improvement in the running game. Getting to the playoffs, I think would be a great accomplishment.”
Johnson said he thinks bringing in the offensive-minded McDaniel will help Miami’s young offensive players to develop — quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in particular.
“In professional football, so much of it is your quarterback,” Johnson said. “And so bringing in an offensive coach will allow Tua to be as good as he can be.”
Johnson will have a presence with the Dolphins again, in a way. Two of his former players, cornerbacks Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain, have taken jobs on Miami’s coaching staff.
“Seems like all my guys are coming back,” Johnson said. “You got Jason Taylor back with the University of Miami. I’ve got Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain back with the Dolphins. All my guys. Next thing to do is to hire old Greg Mark.”
Can McDaniel get the Dolphins, who went 19-14 in the last two seasons under Brian Flores, to take the next step and make the playoffs? Johnson thinks so.
“I think they’ve got a chance to not only make the playoffs,” Johnson said, “but do some damage in the playoffs.”
