Miami Dolphins

Monday at Dolphins practice: Tug-of-war and Michael Jordan

Published Oct. 13, 2015 10:08 a.m. ET

foxsports

A change of culture is already occurring for the Miami Dolphins under new head coach Dan Campbell. Along with rearranging the locker room to group players by position, Campbell is instituting some interesting practice strategies.

In his first practice, Campbell put his team through "Oklahoma drills," which instill toughness in players. On Monday, Campbell's second practice, Campbell went back to the playground.

"We had 1-on-1s on the side," assistant head coach Darren Rizzi said via the Palm Beach Post. "We did a little tug of war today -- a little tug of war battle -- which the guys had fun with. We did a little one handed catch with the linemen -- little things to create competition."

Tug-of-war probably isn't something practiced at many practices in the NFL, but that doesn't mean it won't work. The Dolphins lack intensity and toughness, and that's exactly what Campbell is trying to bring back.

Another way in which Campbell tried to do that came from one of the best NBA players of all time: Michael Jordan. Campbell showed his team a motivational video of Jordan in practice, preaching competitiveness.

"In this video, he talks about how there’s not a more competitive person he’s ever met than himself," Rizzi said. "Dan’s message to the team was that he wants us to have a room full of Michael Jordans. He wants the 63 guys, including the practice squad guys, to be the most competitive people that they knows and not have to have the coach be able to motivate you."

If tug-of-war and Jordan can't motivate the Dolphins, nothing will. That's not completely true, but Campbell is doing everything he can to change the culture in the locker room and push his team to salvage their season. Sunday will be the first test for the Dolphins as they take on the Tennessee Titans.