Who has the best offense in the NFL this season? Sure, the Dallas Cowboys are scoring slightly more points, but the Miami Dolphins, with the No. 1 ranked rushing offense and the second-best passing offense, clearly have the best offense in the NFL in 2024.
Tua Tagovailoa’s return to top form while staying healthy has been a key component to Miami’s offensive success. Yet, the real change occurred when Mike McDaniel came on as head coach in 2022. Since then, the Dolphins have maintained a top-ten scoring attack.
Seeing the drastic improvement in Miami, which is surely boosted by Tyreek Hill’s arrival last season too, has other teams around the NFL wondering what makes the Dolphins’ offense so effective.
Unlike the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles, the Dolphins don’t have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. And unlike the San Francisco 49ers, they don’t have the game’s best running back either, even if Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane are highly productive.
With the 2024 NFL hiring cycle approaching fast, as mentioned, teams will want to find ways to learn Miami’s secrets offensively, but Coach McDaniel isn’t going anywhere.
However, that doesn’t mean his offensive coordinator, Frank Smith, won’t become a popular candidate in the next few months.
Even though Smith does not call plays in Miami and has no previous NFL play-calling experience, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler expects the Dolphins’ OC to “gain a lot of traction” during the interview process.
Smith is relatively unknown in NFL circles. But the 42-year-old Milwaukee, Wisconsin native has been an NFL coach since 2010 when he joined the New Orleans Saints as an assistant offensive line coach. Smith then joined the Bears from 2015-17, working with tight ends, before taking the same position in Las Vegas with the Raiders from 2018-20.
In 2021, Smith joined the Chargers as their run game coordinator and offensive line coach. Then, Smith was hired as McDaniel’s offensive coordinator despite having never worked with him before. That’s a bit of a rarity when it comes to coaches assembling their first staff.
Yet, obviously, Smith impressed McDaniel, and now, he could be ready to get his foot in the door as a legitimate NFL head coaching candidate too. He’d be far from the first to become a head coach with no previous play-calling experience, and chances are, he’d be far from the last. But first, Smith needs to get an interview. We’ll see if that happens later this winter.
