Dan Marino has lately been passing along advice, and Ryan Tannehill is happy to be the receiver.
Tannehill says he has been getting helpful tips at the Miami Dolphins’ complex from Marino, who was hired in August as a special adviser to team owner Stephen Ross.
“Dan has been great,” Tannehill said following practice Wednesday, which Marino attended. “He has been around a lot as of recent. I’ve watched tape with him, and he has been in the QB room. He’s a great resource to have around, just because of his knowledge of the game and obviously the success he had during his career.”
Marino was the most prolific passer in NFL history when he retired following the 1999 season. The Dolphins haven’t publicly defined his role, but Tannehill said he and the Pro Football Hall of Famer have watched film together two or three times.
“It’s cool,” Tannehill said. “Just him being around showing that he cares, it’s nice. He’s always just pointing out little things on tape, whether it’s a receiver’s routes or something I’m doing. He’s good at picking up little things and passing them along.”
Tannehill has a quarterback rating of 86.1 this season, the best of his three-year career. But he continues to battle inconsistency, and the Dolphins’ offence scored only one touchdown in last week’s win at woeful Jacksonville.
Perhaps Marino can help with accuracy on long passes, a persistent problem for Tannehill. He’s 6-for-20 with no touchdowns on throws of more than 20 yards this year.
On the other hand, Tannehill has rushed for 198 yards this season, more than double Marino’s total for his entire 17-year career.
Miami (4-3) play at home Sunday against San Diego.
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