Brandon Marshall arrived in Miami in 2010 having had three straight 100-catch seasons in Denver. But he thought he could get better with the Dolphins.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way. Marshall says that he didn’t get much coaching at all, as far as teaching him how to improve as a wide receiver, and for that matter he never had that in Denver, either.
“To be honest [when I arrived in Miami] I was like, ‘You know, I need some coaching. Right now I’m coming off my natural ability. I want a coach who’s played the position or played the game before, who knows and understands the receivers position. So they can take me and my world to a whole other level,’” Marshall told the Chicago Tribune. “I haven’t had a good coach as far as that receiving position since I’ve been in the NFL. . . . As far as technique and someone who understands the game, the last time I had a good receiving coach was DJ McCarthy in college.”
Marshall also made a point of saying that contrary to some reports that former NFL receiver Cris Carter has mentored him, that’s not the case.
“Honestly there ain’t too much of a relationship there,” Marshall said of Carter. “I always wanna be around people that I can pick their brains but now there’s just nothing. He was busy back then. I’d come down and work out and he might be at the facility once or twice in a month. So I really never built a relationship with him. The reason why I may sound a little defensive right now is because there’s stories out there as far as him being my mentor or someone I go to, but that’s not true basically.”
Bears receivers coach Daryl Drake, at least, has Marshall’s respect.
“He’s been around the position. Coached it for 30 years now, 20-something years. He’s played the position,” Marshall said of Drake. “He’s already helped me a ton already. So I respect coaches a lot but I haven’t really had that -- a receiving coach.”