The Miami Dolphins have their new defensive coordinator.
The team is finalizing a contract with Anthony Weaver, as first report by Bleacher Report and confirmed by a league source.
Weaver joins the Dolphins after spending the past three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, the last two as assistant head coach/defensive line coach.
Weaver, who will turn 44 in July, worked with five different teams before joining the Dolphins — the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans were the others.
In his first of two seasons in Cleveland, 2014, Weaver served on the same staff as Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.
Weaver's only experience as a defensive coordinator was with Houston in 2020. The Texans finished 30th in the NFL in total yards allowed that season and last in the league in takeaways with only nine, though in fairness the Texans weren't exactly talent-laden beyond J.J. Watt.
Under Weaver's tutelage, Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike emerged as a star in 2023, finishing with 12 sacks. After Weaver took over as run game coordinator in 2021, Baltimore finished first in the NFL in run defense in 2021 and third in 2022.
Weaver was credit for the development of fellow Baltimore defensive linemen Travis Jones and Broderick Washington, and he helped lead Baltimore's 2023 offensive coordinator search that ended with Todd Monken being hired for the position.
Prior to his coaching career, Weaver played seven seasons as a defensive lineman with the Texans and Ravens after being a second-round pick of the Ravens in 2002.
WEAVER COMES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Weaver was among the eight identified candidates for the position, one of the five remaining after Leslie Frazier, Chris Shula and Bobby Babich all took jobs elsewhere.
The other candidates identified were Ryan Slowik, Anthony Campanile, Chris Kiffin and Brandon Staley.
Weaver also interviewed for the head-coaching positions of the Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons this offseason before they hired Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, respectively.
The Ravens lost their defensive coordinator, Mike Macdonald, this offseason when he became head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, but they promoted Zach Orr, who had been their inside linebackers coach.
Head coach John Harbaugh, though, made clear the respect he has for Weaver when he was asked about his status Thursday and said he would make a great head coach.
“He didn’t get hired this cycle, and great coaches got hired, but someday, some people are going to look back, and they’re going to say, ‘We had a chance to hire Anthony Weaver.’ I guarantee you that,” Harbaugh said. “They’re going to see that they missed their chance. The next time around, somebody’s not going to miss their chance. That’s how I feel about Anthony.”
More must-reads: