Watch CBS News

Vance Joseph Sticking To Roots And Working With Young CBs

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

DAVIE (CBSMiami) – Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is considered a rising star amongst NFL coaches and has worked hard to gain that reputation.

Joseph played two seasons in the league as a cornerback in the mid-1990s, an area that quickly became his expertise.

He spent 11 years in charge of the secondaries in San Francisco, Houston and Cincinnati.

Now Joseph shifts to Miami where he'll be responsible for head coach Adam Gase's entire defense.

Making the transition from running one defensive position to every defensive position can be quite a challenge, and Joseph admits that he had to figure out a good way to manage his time.

"At first I couldn't find a spot to keep myself busy," said Joseph. "Now I float from spot to spot."

It's no surprise that Joseph usually starts with the defensive backs considering his history with the position both as a player and coach.

Dolphins rookie cornerback Xavien Howard is fighting for a starting spot and Joseph is keeping an eye on him.

"He has showed us that he has great movement skills," said Joseph. "He has long speed. He has ball skills. He has great lateral quickness. Obviously, being a rookie, he knows nothing about playing the position on this level but talent-wise, he's what we thought he was going to be."

Howard is still at the early stages of adjusting to the speed and pace of the NFL but that doesn't stop Joseph from asking for more from the Dolphins' 2nd round pick.

"Vance Joseph leans on me hard, so he's expecting a lot from me." Said Howard. "I have to work hard every day and listen to him.

"The tempo is way fast. I thought it was fast at Baylor, but here, it's fast. So, [I am] getting in the right position and [being] there to make a play and trying to adapt to the defense and learning everything that the coaches want me to do."

Howard isn't the only rookie in Miami's secondary that is getting valuable advice from Joseph.

6th round pick Jordan Lucas is fighting for a roster spot while making the same adjustments that Howard is.

Of all the lessons that he's learning, Lucas said there is one message that Joseph stresses more than others.

"Patience. It takes a lot of patience and just knowing where your help is," explained Lucas. "That's the best advice that I've gotten from Coach Joseph so far, just knowing where your help is. You don't have to cover everything but you will always have help somewhere when you're in the slot."

Lucas has been working at the nickel corner position, an area that Joseph knows will get a lot of playing time when the Dolphins begin working through their schedule.

"That's an obviously important job. That's a starting position," said Joseph. "Most of your snaps are going to be in nickel, so that spot is obviously an important spot. And we have to find a guy who can do it from down to down."

As for the competition at nickel, Joseph had several names come to mind.

"We have Bobby McCain working there. We have the young kid from Penn State, [Jordan] Lucas, working there, also. (Tyler) Patmon is working there, also. That's an, obviously, important job. That's a starting position. Most of your snaps are going to be in nickel, so that spot is obviously an important spot. And we have to find a guy who can do it from down to down," said Joseph.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.