Why Second Time Should Be the Charm for Miami Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — There’s a wide chasm in talent between the 2020 Houston Texans defense and the 2024 Miami Dolphins defense.

But there’s also a commonality: Anthony Weaver making the defensive calls.

Weaver lasted just one season as Texans DC. But if his stay with the Dolphins is just as short, it’ll almost be because some other team hires him away as its head coach.

Miami Dolphins’ Anthony Weaver Ready for His Closeup

Weaver is a rising star in the NFL and has a chance to become the hottest name of the 2025 cycle if he can get the most out of Jalen Ramsey, Jaelan Phillips, Jevon Holland, and Zach Sieler.

But that’s all dependent on Weaver learning from his rocky year running the Texans’ defense. A talent-bereft Houston defense in 2020 ranked last in run defense (160.3 yards per game and 5.2 per play), 30th in total defense (416.8 yards per game) and yards per play (6.2), and 27th in scoring (29 per game).

Asked Thursday how it’s been to again call plays on defense, Weaver replied:

“I think it’s been great. We’ll find out. But you know what? Went through ’20 in Houston. First opportunity to call plays in this league, obviously has some adversity for a number of reasons.

“[In] ’21 actually turned down a coordinator [opportunity] to go to Baltimore, because I just thought from a scheme standpoint, my knowledge I was lacking. So Baltimore had played really good defense for a number of years at that point with Wink Martindale, they were top five almost every year.

“So I’d been in that building [as a player]. I knew from a culture standpoint what it was, but I’d never actually been in the kitchen to see how the dinner was being cooked. So at that particular point, I was like, ‘You know what? If I get another op, I’m not going in with less guns than anybody else. I want to make sure I’m fully loaded.’ That was my motivation to go to Baltimore.

“Got there, not only did I learn a bunch defensively, but learned a bunch from coach [John] Harbaugh, who I think is one of the best in the league. And hopefully God willing, taking that step back and acquiring more knowledge helps us be more successful here in Miami.”

Weaver’s goal with the Dolphins? To bring not just the Ravens’ scheme to Miami but also their culture.

“I think there’s so much ingrained in that building just from that 2000 Super Bowl team, right? And in the fabric of that team, you still feel it when you walk between those walls. We’re building towards that. I think we have the men in this locker room to get that done.

“But why that sustains in Baltimore is because they finished the job in 2000. So we have everybody in this building to have that type of dawg mentality, so to say that they have in Baltimore, but ultimately you’ve got to win it all if you want it to be long-lasting.”