MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins defensive assistant Sean Ryan will lead the team's outside linebackers while Ryan Crow remains on indefinite leave after being arrested Friday and charged with domestic battery, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
"We're going to let the process play out," McDaniel said. "The allegations we take extremely serious, and from an organization standpoint, on the whole spectrum of guilty all the way to innocent, rule No. 1 for our team is to protect the team. The headlines are 'Dolphins,' and they affect all players, all coaches, all staff members, all fans, all media members."
According to the probable cause statement by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Crow got into an argument with someone he lives with and shoved the person. The victim declined to offer a formal statement to police and said they were not injured.
Two witnesses, however, told police that Crow was the aggressor, with one saying the "victim looked terrified."
The other witness said Crow stopped his actions once he noticed people were watching the confrontation and then went back to his apartment.
"To be on a team, it's a blessing," McDaniel said Monday. "You have to have regard for things much bigger than yourself. Rule No. 1 is to protect the team for reasons such as that, and that rule was violated. However, Rule No. 2 on our team is no excuses and adversity is an opportunity. And we have an opportunity to focus this week. We'll have an opportunity for Sean Ryan to lead that outside linebacker group."
Crow, 37, is in his second season coaching outside linebackers with the Dolphins. He held the same position with the Tennessee Titans for the past three years.
Ryan joined the Dolphins' defensive staff in 2024 after spending the majority of his 18-year coaching career in offensive roles. He was a quarterbacks coach with Carolina (2021-2022), Detroit (2019-2020) and Houston (2017-2018). He also won Super Bowl XLII and XLVI as a member of the New York Giants coaching staff.
"We felt very fortunate to have him in the room for the last year and a half, really," McDaniel said. "There's specifics about having a position group that you feel fortunate to have someone that has not only had a position room but led a position room for multiple years and has multiple years of experience. I feel very fortunate with him having an established relationship with all the guys, and I think they were very excited for the opportunity to be led by him."
