Getty Wes Welker looks on as the Dolphins face the Buccaneers.
The regular season is over, and for fans, that means our focus moves toward the playoffs. Who is playing who? What teams have the best chance this year? But, for NFL teams who didn’t make the playoffs, front offices are already planning their next moves and scheduling interviews with prospective coaches.
During this part of the season, sometimes names get thrown around we didn’t expect, and sometimes names get mentioned for certain jobs that fans would hate to see go. Dolphins wide receivers coach Wes Welker is certainly one of those and this morning, Friday, January 12th, it was actually one of the Dolphins’ own who threw his name out there.
Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill took to Twitter to post, “Wes Welker needs a job interview, Underrated coach.”
Wes Welker need a job interview , Underrated coach
Welker, of course, made a name for himself catching passes from Tom Brady in the years they played together for Dolphins’ foe, the New England Patriots. But, those years are long gone now, and Welker might be transforming into an offensive guru right before our eyes.
What Hill and Welker Have Accomplished Together in 2023 Can’t Be Overstated
Just like it says in Omar Kelly’s FanNation article about how well this offense performed, “Head coach Mike McDaniel infamously told Dan Marino, or Uncle Dan as he’s called by this generation’s players, that the 2023 team was coming for all his records during a sideline conversation that got aired on Hard Knocks.”
Well, they didn’t quite beat out Uncle Dan, but they did have a heck of a season. In his article Kelly says, “The Dolphins were 17 points and 114 total yards away from setting a new franchise record in each category, and finished with the second most productive offense in team history.”
He goes on to say, “(The) Dolphins finished 2023 season ranked first in the NFL in offensive yards (401.3) per game, sixth in rushing yards (135.8), first in yards per carry (5.1), second in red zone efficiency (65.5%), and second in scoring offense (29.2 ppg).”
Coach McDaniel, offensive coordinator Frank Smith, Welker, Hill, and the entire Dolphins fan base must be excited about those numbers! If Welker is as great to work with as Hill seems to think he is then he certainly could garner some interest.
Hill Has a Track Record for Encouraging Teammates and Coaches in the Media
This isn’t the first time one of Hill’s quotes about a teammate made the rounds on social media, though. Back in July of 2022, Hill got everyone’s attention when he said Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa was “the most accurate quarterback in the NFL.”
At the time, some were perplexed by Hill’s comments because he had just come from playing with who many considered the best young QB in the league in Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs – the same Chiefs that the Dolphins face this Saturday in their Wild Card playoff matchup.
Mahomes did some of his own record setting this year when he became the youngest player to throw for 200 touchdown passes. Mahomes also passed the 25,000 yard mark, making his pace something for the whole NFL to be terrified of for years to come.
When the Dolphins Take the Field Saturday They Won’t Just Be Fighting Off the Chiefs
When the Dolphins face the Chiefs on Saturday, January 13th, they won’t just be struggling against Mahomes and Canton bound, Andy Reid’s offense, though. They’ll also be struggling against the elements. The weather was predicted to hit -23 degrees with wind chill in what will be one of the coldest games in NFL history. According to statistics, this doesn’t bode well for the Dolphins.
If the Dolphins are going to win, they’re going to need their offense to have another strong showing. Their defense will also have to war against the elements with several new faces. With key players on the defensive side of the ball like OLB Bradley Chubb and LB Jaelan Phillips out for the season, and CB Xavien Howard looking like he’ll miss as well, the Dolphins are likely having to get creative.
The Dolphins have signed some veterans to bolster their ranks, but with Kansas City quickly becoming an icy tundra, it’ll likely be about how much heart and hustle the players can bring to this contest rather than who is wearing the jersey.