Danny Crossman joined the Miami Dolphins as special teams coordinator in 2019. He also served as assistant head coach in 2021.
The 2024 season marks Crossman's 32nd coaching special teams, including 22 seasons in the NFL. He has been a special teams coordinator for 20 seasons with Carolina (2005-09), Detroit (2010-12), Buffalo (2013-18) and Miami (2019-present).
Crossman helped the Dolphins post winning seasons in four consecutive years from 2020-23. It was the first time Miami had four straight winning seasons since 1997-2003. Miami earned playoff berths in 2022-23, the franchises first back-to-back trips to the postseason since 1997-2001.
Crossman has coached kicker Jason Sanders in all but one of Sanders' NFL seasons, helping him become the most accurate kicker in Dolphins history. Sanders enters 2024 having converted 150-of-180 career field goal opportunities, good for 83.3 percent. He had the longest active PAT streak in the NFL during Crossman's tenure, converting 69 straight extra points from Dec. 15, 2019 to Nov. 28, 2021, covering 31 games without a miss. In two consecutive seasons, Sanders also made game-winning field goals to send Miami into the postseason. In 2023, Sanders was perfect on all five field goal attempts in Week 16 vs. Dallas, including three 50+ yard field goals and a 29-yard attempt as time expired to seal Miami's victory and playoff berth. Sanders won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week following the playoff-clinching victory. He also made a 50-yard game-winning field goal with 18 seconds remaining on Jan. 8, 2023 to defeat the N.Y. Jets and send Miami to the postseason.
In 2023, Miami added Pro Bowl punter Jake Bailey to its roster. Bailey was only asked to punt 53 times – the fifth-fewest number of punts by any NFL team that year – but he made the most of his limited opportunities by posting a 40.7 net punt average that was good for fifth-best in team history.
Crossman's units were one of just two teams (Indianapolis) in the NFL to block a punt in three consecutive seasons from 2020-22. Two of those blocked punts were returned for touchdowns while the third was returned to the 1-yard line and Miami scored on the next play.
The Dolphins signed veteran punter Thomas Morstead in 2022. The 36-year-old had one of the best years of his career, pinning 28 punts inside the 20, just one shy of his career high. In Week 9 of that season, linebacker Jaelan Phillips blocked a punt at Chicago that linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel scooped up and returned 25 yards for a score. It was the longest blocked punt returned for a touchdown in franchise history.
In 2021, Crossman integrated a new punter in Michael Palardy. The free agent signee had one of the best seasons of his career, finishing third in the NFL with 31 punts inside the 20. He ranked fifth in the league with 11 punts inside the 10 and was third with five punts inside the five. Palardy earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in the Week 13 win vs. the N.Y. Giants after pinning three punts inside the 20 and having a career-long 65-yard punt. The Dolphins also blocked a punt in a Week 12 win over Carolina, as linebacker Duke Riley took the ball off the punter's foot and cornerback Justin Coleman returned it two yards for a touchdown.
Crossman helped the Dolphins win 10 games in 2020 for the first time since 2016 and delivered the seventh-best special teams unit in the NFL that year, according to veteran writer Rick Gosselin. Sanders earned first-team All-Pro honors after tying the franchise points record with 144 that season. His 36 field goals made were the second-most in the league and second-most in Dolphins history. Sanders' 92.3 field goal percentage was a franchise record. He led the NFL with 20 field goals made from 40-plus yards and won two AFC Special Teams Player of the Month and two AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Punt returner Jakeem Grant finished the year with 330 punt return yards, which ranked second in the NFL. He set the team's punt return touchdown record with his third career punt return score in Week 8 vs. the L.A. Rams. The 88-yard return was the longest in franchise history.
Crossman's special teams units had several memorable moments in his first season with Miami in 2019. Sanders earned two AFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards and was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December, after he kicked 13 successful field goals in the final month of the season. He broke a Dolphins single-game record with seven field goals on Dec. 8, 2019 at the N.Y. Jets. One of Sanders' honors came after he caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from punter Matt Haack on Dec. 1, 2019 vs. Philadelphia. The fake field goal was named the NFL Bridgestone Clutch Performance Play of the Year at NFL Honors and marked the first time since 1964 a player who led his team in punts threw a touchdown to a player who led his team in field goal attempts. Grant had a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on Nov. 17, 2019 vs. Buffalo, making him the franchise record-holder with three career special teams return touchdowns.
Prior to Miami, Crossman spent six seasons (2013-18) as Buffalo's special teams coordinator. According to Gosselin's rankings, the Bills had the NFL's second-best special teams unit in 2014 and seventh-best in 2017.
Prior to his tenure in Buffalo, Crossman spent three seasons (2010-12) as the special teams coordinator for Detroit. In 2012, kicker Jason Hanson set a franchise record with 134 points. His 134 points were the most in his 21-year NFL career.
Crossman began his NFL coaching career in 2003 with Carolina as a special teams assistant. He was promoted to special teams coordinator in 2005. In his seven seasons with the Panthers, the team made three playoff appearances, won the NFC South twice and won the NFC Championship in 2003.
Crossman spent 10 seasons as a collegiate coach and worked with the special teams units in all 10 seasons. He began his collegiate coaching career at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy as a special teams/defensive backs coach in 1993. From there he moved to Western Kentucky, where he was a special teams/secondary (1994-95) and special teams/outside linebackers (1996) coach. He spent the 1997-98 seasons at Central Florida, coaching special teams and defensive backs. Crossman moved to Georgia Tech in 1999 and coached special teams/defensive ends from 1999-2000 and special teams/defensive backs in 2001. In 2002, he was a special teams/linebackers coach at Michigan State.
Crossman was an All-American and All-Big East defensive back as a three-year letterman (1987-89) at Pittsburgh. He also started at fullback in the 1988 season. As a senior in 1989, Crossman was a team captain and named the team's MVP, earning second-team All-America honors after posting 62 tackles and one interception. He began his collegiate playing career at Kansas, where he was a Freshman All-American in 1985.
Crossman spent time with Washington (1990) and Detroit (1991) at training camp following his college playing career. He was a team captain and earned All-League honors with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football in 1991-92. He led the Monarchs to an inaugural World Bowl title in 1991 and was named MVP of the game after securing three interceptions.
Crossman earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and communications from Pittsburgh. He and his wife, Susan, have a son, Kyle, and a daughter, Kaylie.
