The
Miami Dolphins made their first assistant coach hiring under
Tony Sparano and second of the offseason today, naming
Mike Maser offensive line coach. Maser had previously served in the same capacity for the
Carolina Panthers from 2003 to 2006, and worked with Sparano when the two were assistants for the
Jacksonville Jaguars in 2002.
Maser replaced
Hudson Houck, who recently re-joined the
Dallas Cowboys after serving a Miami's offensive line coach from 2005 to 2007.
Background
Born in 1947 in Clayton, New York, the 61-year-old Maser has over 35 years of college and pro coaching experience. He was a guard for the
University of Buffalo from 1966 to 1968 and then held various assistant titles for multiple high schools and colleges, including Buffalo,
Marshall and
Maine, through 1980.
From 1981 to 1993, Maser served as offensive line coach for
Boston College. The Eagles went to six bowl games during Maser's time with the team and produced the school's only
Heisman Trophy winner to date in
Doug Flutie (1984).
In 1995, Maser moved to the NFL coaching ranks as offensive line coach for the Jacksonville
Jaguars. He held the title through the 2002 season, during which time linemen
Tony Boselli and
Leon Searcy earned a combined seven
Pro Bowl selections. The team also had three all-rookie selections in center
Michael Cheever (1996), guard
Brad Meester (2000) and tackle
Maurice Williams (2001). The Jaguars also topped 2,000 yards rushing in four of Maser's last five seasons with the team.
With the Panthers from 2003 to 2006, the team produced three of the five-highest rushing totals and three of the four-lowest sack totals in team history. Under Maser's tutelage in 2004, guard
Mike Wahle become the first offensive lineman selected to the Pro Bowl in franchise history.
Analysis
While Maser has an impressive résumé, so did Hudson Houck when he arrived in Miami. The team's run blocking improved greatly under Houck and this progress was most evident in 2007, however the pass protection has continued to be abysmal. Since most of Maser's accolades
revolve around the run, it's hard to know what to expect.
In Houck's defense, a lot of Miami's problems on the offensive line may have just been the result of a lack of talent.
Vernon Carey is clearly not meant to be a left tackle, while
Chris Liwienski and
L.J. Shelton shouldn't be starting for anyone. Rookie center
Samson Satele was the lone bright spot for the unit in 2007, and while free agent
Rex Hadnot's had his ups and downs it would be wise to retain him. Yet even with Satele and Hadnot, there's still a long way to go for this group.
I apologize once again for this video being a day late; I've been battling the flu recently. The wide receivers offseason preview turned into two videos based on the stuff there was to talk about (or at least stuff I felt like saying) so be sure to watch both parts. The running backs video will be up tomorrow, followed by the quarterbacks video on Thursday, February 28. Then free agency begins. Well, thanks for watching and enjoy!
