Reggie Bush playing for the Dolphins (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Reggie Bush has a major issue with how the Miami Dolphins operate their offense under head coach Mike McDaniels.
The Dolphins have stagnated this season and clearly regressed. A team that was previously considered an annual playoff contender is now 1-4 this season. Despite featuring a number of talented players on offense, including the likes of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Darren Waller, and De’Von Achane, Miami ranks 21st in scoring.
Furthermore, Tua Tagovailoa has also shown a major decline in play, throwing a number of interceptions that have cost the Dolphins games. His net yards per attempt (5.9) ranks 21st in the NFL.
Bush says McDaniels is the perfect example of a coach who is better suited to be an offensive coordinator rather than a head coach.Â
“(With) the Miami Dolphins. Mike McDaniels has been running the same exact offense since he’s been there,” says Bush in a one-on-one interview with RG. “He stands in front of the podium with this exact same look — like he’s depleted. He just doesn’t know. People have to start understanding he just doesn’t know. It’s OK if you don’t know. But if you’re doing the same things over and over and over and you’re expecting different results, come on, you can’t be serious.”
Bush Puts Blame on Miami Owners
Bush, who played for the Dolphins during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, blames the owners in large part for boosting the ego of a lot of these offensive coordinators who end up becoming head coaches.
“It’s not their fault, because the owners and everybody else is pumping their heads up and telling them, ‘Oh my God, you’re the greatest and you’re this and that.’ They run the same s*** year after year, and wonder why they can’t get over the hump. Wonder why they can’t win big games. This guy is coaching one of the best receivers in the NFL right now (Hill).”
When asked about Tagovailoa and his regression in play, the former Heisman Trophy winner says he’s a big fan of him and defends his play this season. Bush says a big reason for Tagovailoa’s struggles is that the Dolphins are leaning too heavily on the passing game and that he’s taking too many hits.
“I like Tua,” says Bush of Tagovailoa. “Tua is just throwing the ball too much. That’s my assessment. Just stop having him drop back so much and throw the football, run the football. Give him some help in the run game. You got De’Von Achane, a great running back.”
Bush praises Tagovailoa’s ability to get the ball out quickly, but expresses concern over his injury history, especially when it pertains to the concussions. He says the Dolphins need to set the tone with the running game and then allow Tagovailoa to carve defenses.
Instead, Miami is trying to rely on Tagovailoa and the passing game to establish the tone.
“Run some two tight end sets with the fullback, that old school run game,” says Bush. “Teams don’t run the football like that anymore that punishes linebackers. When you have a fullback, when you have two tight end sets, you got guards pulling, and that punishes linebackers, and that punishes defenses. You have to think about football like boxing — where are my jabs and left hooks that will really knock somebody out?”
Dolphins Not Using Weapons “The Right Way”
Bush continues to hammer home that the Dolphins have a ton of offensive weapons and that they’re just not being used in the right way.
“The Miami Dolphins have a ton of weapons, but they’re just not being used the right way,” says Bush. “It’s unfortunate, because I like Tua a lot. The thing that worries me with Tua is just the amount of concussions he’s had. That’s my only worry with Tua and one more concussion, one more bad concussion and I’m taking him out for good. I’m not even allowing him to go back in there. That’s just the player in me.”
Bush points towards the effects it has had on Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. Favre suffered multiple concussions during his 20-year playing career. He revealed a couple of years prior that he suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, which could be a result of the concussions he suffered during his career.
“Look at Brett Favre right now — he just announced he has Parkinson’s Disease,” says Bush. “Look at the residual effects. Brett Favre got hit a lot. We know that, we saw that, some nasty hits. That’s for a different conversation, I don’t want to harp on that.”
Dolphins Need to Lean More on Run Game
The 40-year-old former running back once again reiterates that the Dolphins need to learn how to establish the run more, so that it not only protects Tagovailoa from getting hit, but it hides some “weaknesses” from the defense.
“What I see from Tua right now is his ability to get the ball out quick and fast,” says Bush of Tagovailoa. “I just think sometimes he gets paralyzed on receivers and it gets him into trouble. That comes from just throwing the football too much honestly, and not that he can’t do it, not that he can’t throw it 30-to-40 times a game. He can. But when you ask somebody to do that week in and week out, it’s 17 weeks we’re talking about here. That is a lot of throwing and teams they learn your weaknesses and they learn your tendencies and where you want to go. That’s how the run game can help with that.”
Bush once again says the problem is the coach’s philosophy — McDaniels doesn’t believe in establishing the run game to set up the pass game for Tagovailoa.
“If you don’t have a coach who believes in the run game, then you’re going to get this every year,” says Bush of the Dolphins. “I’m saying this is what you’re going to be at every year, you’re going to be 8-8, 7-9 you’re going to be staring at every year. You must control the tempo of the game first and foremost. That’s why I talked about tone setters. Tone setters are the tempo controllers. They let the other team know that is how it’s going to be.”
He says that McDaniels is a great guy and offensive mind, but isn’t a championship head coach.
“Mike McDaniel is a perfect example of probably a great offensive coordinator, somebody who you want,” says Bush. “Then that’s as far as it goes and the reason why — and that’s not a knock on him as a person — he can be a great guy, but great guys ain’t going to win you championships. You need a different mindset. You need a different attitude. When you have to deal with everybody, when you have to deal with offense, defense, you gotta turn it on. You got to be a completely different type of coach, and that is something you can’t manufacture.”