Madison, Surtain happy to be back with Dolphins: ‘We’re going to always be linked together’
Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain grew together as NFL cornerbacks that found considerable success playing the position with the Miami Dolphins between the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The end of their playing careers branched off elsewhere before they came back to South Florida in retirement, coaching various levels from little league, to 7-on-7 football and high school.
Now, that lethal cornerback combination of some stout defenses from the last era where the Dolphins were consistently competitive is reunited — as coaches. Last week, Madison was named Dolphins cornerbacks coach and pass-game specialist while Surtain joined coach Mike McDaniel’s first staff as a defensive assistant.
“We’re going to always be linked together,” said Surtain on Wednesday from Dolphins facilities with Hard Rock Stadium as the backdrop for the staff’s introduction to the media.
The duo combined for 60 interceptions with the Dolphins. Madison had 31 in nine seasons, third-most in team history, and Surtain’s 29 in seven seasons are tied for fourth. They now join forces once again to coach a secondary that has its own pretty-good cornerback combo of Xavien Howard and Byron Jones, while Surtain will also get to work some with the upstart safety tandem of Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones.
Madison and Surtain were both initially going for the cornerbacks coach position, but with Madison spending the past three seasons holding that role with the Kansas City Chiefs, he got the job.
Surtain was interviewing for it, and he heard there were three other candidates. Although he hadn’t spoken to Madison, he knew he was one of them. After Madison ended up with the role, Surtain still got a call from Dolphins general manager Chris Grier.
“His number popped up,” Surtain recalled, “and I’m like, ‘I know they just hired Sam. Oh, you got another position? Okay, let me think about it.’ It took me about two seconds.”
“I was like, ‘Yes! Back together again!’ ” said Madison of how he reacted when he found out Surtain would join him. “He’s been coaching a long time. He knows exactly what to do. It might be some little adjustments that he has to do.”
While Madison coaches cornerbacks and Steve Gregory is the Dolphins’ safeties coach, Surtain will be under them on the staff, ready to assist with anything needed for defensive backs. He’ll have a hand in the cornerback, safety and nickel positions.
Surtain makes the jump from being a high school head coach to an NFL assistant, but he wouldn’t have left American Heritage, where he won three state titles (2016, 2017, 2020) for just anything.
“It had to be the right situation,” Surtain said.
Madison was able to make the transition on the 2019 Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs. He was at another local high school powerhouse, St. Thomas Aquinas, as defensive backs coach before that. In fact, between the two of them at their respective schools in 2017, they coached three then-high school seniors that went on to play three seasons of college and just completed their rookie NFL seasons last year — Patrick Surtain II (Denver Broncos), Tyson Campbell (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Asante Samuel Jr. (Los Angeles Chargers).
“Hours!” Madison proclaimed about what he learned was different about coaching in the NFL. “But it’s rewarding, right? To be able to see how you take the whole entire process, bottle it all up and then put it all together and then deliver it.”
But, knowing Surtain for so long, Madison is confident he’s ready to put in the work that’s necessary.
“He’s a wealth of knowledge. He’s an almanac,” Madison said of Surtain. “You can sit here, ask him something about track, about baseball, hockey, tennis, he can just throw it right out there. And that’s the way he’s been since 1998, first time I met him.
“We were able to make adjustments in-game together because he sees some things, I’ll be able to see some things. And now, we’ll be able to collaborate those things and get them to our players, and hopefully, they’ll be able to go out there and execute it.”
Surtain is not entering the NFL coaching ranks with any kind of an ego just because he has three Pro Bowls and an All-Pro selection, like how Madison has four Pro Bowls and two All-Pros to his name.
“I’m getting my feet wet,” Surtain said. “This is my first time in this thing, so I’m not going to come in here like, ‘I need to do this. I need to that.’ I’m coming in here willing to learn, willing to help with whatever.”
Surtain could also eventually run into a scenario where he’s coaching against his son after so many years developing him and being his head coach at Heritage. The Dolphins don’t play the Broncos this season, but they would be slated to host Denver in 2023.
“It’s going to be exciting,” the elder Surtain said. “It’s amazing that your dad’s a head coach and you’re in the NFL. It’s going to be a special moment. … I can’t go to his games this year, but I’m there in spirit.”
Surtain’s final season in Miami was 2004, while Madison stuck around until 2005 before Surtain went to the Chiefs as a player and Madison finished off his playing career with the New York Giants, where he won a Super Bowl in 2007. New wide receivers coach Wes Welker was also a rookie on the 2004 team, meaning three assistant coaches played together on that roster in Miami.
McDaniel spoke briefly to reporters before introducing the coaching staff and bringing them out on Wednesday. He jokingly alluded to planned 1-on-1s for Welker against either Madison or Surtain, “barring old-man injury. Hopefully, it’s a fixture for Miami practices moving forward.”
Welker said on Wednesday he does recall facing them in practice that season when, as a rookie return specialist that wasn’t getting his slot receiver reps yet, he would line up against them on scout team.