The Miami Dolphins made a number of changes to their coaching staff this offseason, but only one happened on the offensive side of the ball.
Head coach Mike McDaniel fired offensive line coach Matt Applebaum after just one season in South Florida, replacing him with former Denver Broncos offensive line coach Butch Barry.
The news came as a bit of a surprise, considering the injuries that the unit worked through the season, but McDaniel took some time at this week’s combine to explain the decision.
“The way the staff was orchestrated the previous year, I really needed to get more offensive coordinator work out of Frank Smith and he was devoted a little too much to the offensive line,” McDaniel said (transcribed by the Miami Herald). “And I needed more, selfishly, to alleviate some stuff off my plate; and so that was the motivating factor to make that move, was to facilitate Frank Smith being able to appropriate his time more as a coordinator and less in the offensive line room.”
While McDaniel is the one calling the plays, the Dolphins still rely on Smith to work on different aspects of the offense both throughout the game and during the week. If his time is being used as a second offensive line coach, he’s not able to do some of the other things that could benefit Miami more.
