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In Miami during the early 2010s, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. was reserved for the Dolphins’ young, hungry group of assistant coaches to gain an edge on that week’s opponent. They obsessed over the minute details of gameplanning and didn’t leave until they were satisfied.

“When the rest of the world was going to bed, we were the only people doing anything,” said Phil McGeoghan, an assistant wide receivers coach with Miami from 2012-14.

Look around the Dolphins’ practice facility, and you’d probably see assistant quarterbacks coach Ben Johnson aggressively sketching out new passing plays and concepts. You’d hear tight ends coach Dan Campbell screaming about blocking techniques. You’d walk past the smiling face of quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor and take a break by discussing sitcoms like FX’s “The League.”

Then there was running backs coach Jeff Nixon; cool, calm, consistent. McGeoghan said Nixon would always drop whatever he was doing to help you, whether that was showing somebody how to splice practice tape or answering a question about that week’s run scheme. In an environment of grinders and football geeks, Nixon fit like a glove.

“Jeff Nixon’s one of the good ones,” McGeoghan said. “If anyone is born to be a head coach, that’s Jeff.”

Miami’s coaching staff in the early 2010s featured a litany of modern football’s brightest minds, including five current NFL head coaches — Johnson (Chicago Bears), Campbell (Detroit Lions), Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals), Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Brian Daboll (New York Giants) — and veterans like Joe Philbin and Mike Sherman. Though he’s not yet a head coach, those who know Nixon wouldn’t be surprised if he one day follows in his colleagues’ footsteps.

With the Dolphins from 2011-15, Nixon coached running backs like Reggie Bush and Lamar Miller into their best selves. More importantly, he emulated his star-studded counterparts to form his current coaching philosophy, which he exhibits as Syracuse’s offensive coordinator.

“I got a chance to take a piece from each one of those guys, and it’s molded me into the coordinator I am today,” Nixon said of his five seasons in Miami.

Jeff Nixon barks out instructions to a Syracuse player during its spring camp in 2024. Nixon has helmed the Orange to 13 wins over his first two seasons with the program. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer

Nixon, who entered SU in 2024 bearing 14 years of NFL experience, was hired by the late Tony Sparano — the Dolphins’ head coach from 2008-11. Miami fired Sparano after a 4-9 start in 2011 and hired Bowles, its secondary coach, as the interim. Even after a head coaching search in the 2012 offseason, which resulted in Philbin getting the job, Nixon remained with the Dolphins as their running backs coach.

Nixon said Philbin set a standard of excellence throughout the Dolphins’ organization, building off the pillars of being “smart, sound and tough.” Philbin was also the most detailed coach he’s ever worked with, he said.

McGeoghan said the head coach’s preparedness went so deep that when he would prepare play sheets of Miami’s defensive backfield coverages, he’d have to re-submit them “10 times.” Philbin would use a red pen and Post-it notes to point out little details McGeoghan missed, most of which he never noticed.

Away from the field, though, Philbin was caring toward all his assistants.

“When you work for somebody that has high standards but doesn’t treat you like a bag of hot trash, then you get better naturally,” McGeoghan said of Philbin.

Miller said everyone on the coaching staff reflected Philbin’s detailed methods. Though for Miller — who totaled 2,930 rushing yards with Miami from 2012-15, including a 1,000-yard season in 2014 — no one maximized his game more than Nixon.

After graduating from the University of Miami and getting drafted by the Dolphins in 2012, he said he hunted for massive gains on every rush. In turn, he was less decisive. But Nixon taught him the discipline and precision necessary to hit holes on short rushes, Miller said.

“When I first got there, I used to always look for the big runs because of my time in college, just being a home-run hitter,” Miller said. “But he used to teach me, ‘Get the two-or-three-yard gains and the big ones will come.’ And that helped my game.”

McGeoghan encapsulated Nixon’s impact in Miami through how he developed the Heisman-winner Bush into an every-down back. Nixon said Bush was beginning to be seen as a bust when he signed with the Dolphins in 2011, coinciding with Nixon’s arrival. But under Nixon’s watch, Bush evolved into a dangerous blend of power and speed, which he used to deliver two 1,000-yard seasons while Nixon coached him in Miami.

After practice, Nixon had Bush push heavy sleds. He demanded that becoming a better back starts by improving as a pass protector. Bush got stronger and more violent. And he grew into a high-stamina runner who could handle an immense volume.

“Jeff was getting more out of our best player than other people were getting out of players that needed to work even more,” McGeoghan said. “I saw those guys, and I would see the ways the standard rose.”

That’s how it was in each position group in Miami. Nixon elevated his coaching by feeding off his colleagues — arguably no more than Johnson. A quality control and assistant quarterbacks coach, Johnson had his hand in a lot of Miami’s offense under coordinator Mike Sherman.

Nixon would work with Johnson to gameplan the Dolphins’ rushing attack. In their discussions, Nixon came away with one thing: Johnson is a “computer wizard.” He said Johnson was using Microsoft Visio “before its time.” Now, it’s a common technology. But Nixon was surrounded by innovation.

Nixon also spent time with Campbell, the then-tight ends coach, who’s known for his explosive personality. He’s since gone viral as the Lions’ head coach for his wild but inspiring speeches. Before working with a different boisterous coach in SU’s Fran Brown, Nixon got a taste of the fire it takes to lead men via Campbell.

“He has that talent where he can really motivate, especially from a player’s perspective,” Nixon said of Campbell. “He knows how to hit all the right buttons of guys playing top-level football.”

Among other coaches who shaped his philosophy, Bill Lazor, a longtime offensive coordinator who called plays for Miami in 2014, was influential. Nixon said Lazor helped him learn aspects of the West Coast offense — particularly playing in an up-tempo style — which he uses consistently today when calling Syracuse’s offense.

He also credits Sherman as the architect of Miami’s offense for each of his first three years, providing the foundation for how his knowledge base expanded in his 14-year NFL career.

More than anything, Miami is where Nixon figured out how to make good players great — which he says is emblematic of the Dolphins’ environment.

“That’s probably what I loved the most, just coaching those guys, really trying to pour knowledge into them and help them along with their careers,” Nixon said.

His players felt the same way. Namely Miller, who was harshly reminded last November of what Nixon can instill in an offense. To cap off SU’s 9-3 regular season in its first year of the Brown/Nixon era, the Orange shocked then-No. 6 Miami 42-38. It was a game where Nixon coached quarterback Kyle McCord to a victory over future No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Cam Ward. The win also knocked the Hurricanes out of Atlantic Coast Conference title contention.

Miller said he’d already booked his flight to Charlotte for the ACC Championship game. When he checked the final score later, his heart sank. He immediately texted Nixon, “C’mon, coach!” However, Miller said he shouldn’t have been too surprised based on what he saw from Nixon with the Dolphins.

“Going into a Sunday, Monday or Thursday, you feel like you always have the advantage with coach Nixon,” Miller said.

And now Saturdays, too.

Published on October 7, 2025 at 10:18 pm
Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews