Dolphins in store for big week of interviews with coaching candidates
The Dolphins are reportedly interviewing San Francisco 49 ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel on Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coordinators Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore on Thursday and, on Friday, they’ ll speak with Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Los Angeles Rams running backs coach Thomas Brown. In addition to that slate of five,...
The Miami Dolphins’ interview slate has been revealed in what will be a critical week in the hiring of the team’s next coach.
The Dolphins are reportedly interviewing San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel on Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coordinators Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore on Thursday and, on Friday, they’ll speak with Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Los Angeles Rams running backs coach Thomas Brown. The interview schedule was reported by NFL Network on Wednesday morning.
In addition to that slate of five, the two other known candidates the Dolphins requested permission to speak with, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, were interviewed on Sunday.
All seven have coached in this year’s playoffs. Daboll and Frazier impressed with the Bills’ offense and defense, respectively, in Buffalo’s 47-17 win over the New England Patriots. McDaniel, although he doesn’t call plays for the 49ers, helped develop an effective offensive game plan for the wild-card round’s lone upset over the Cowboys, at the expense of Quinn and Moore. Brown’s Rams got the best of Joseph’s Cardinals on Monday night.
Miami’s head coaching role is open following the firing of former coach Brian Flores on Jan. 10. He was 24-25 in three seasons at the helm for the Dolphins and completed back-to-back winning seasons before the organization parted ways with him.
McDaniel, 38, is one of three candidates under 40 years old. He is a Yale grad who has long ties to San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan. McDaniel is completing his first season coordinating the 49ers’ offense after serving as the team’s run game coordinator since 2017, when Shanahan first got the job in San Francisco. The 49ers’ run game was the strength of their offense when they made a run to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium.
It’s the second straight offseason where the Dolphins pursue McDaniel. He was interviewed for Miami’s opening at offensive coordinator last January, which eventually went to co-coordinators George Godsey and Eric Studesville after Chan Gailey’s departure.
Quinn, 51, is the candidate with the most prior head coach experience and success. He was at the helm for the Falcons from 2015 to 2020 and the leader of the franchise when it blew the 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl to the Patriots with Shanahan and McDaniel on the staff. He had a 46-44 record, including playoffs, as a head coach.
Coordinating the Cowboys defense this season, Quinn was also defensive coordinator of the treacherous “Legion of Boom” Seattle Seahawks defenses in 2013 and 2014, winning one Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos and losing in the big game the next year to New England. Quinn, like Daboll and Joseph, has a previous stop in Miami as Dolphins’ defensive line coach under Nick Saban in 2005 and 2006.
Moore, 33, could be held accountable for some of Dallas’ offensive miscues, along with coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott, on Sunday in the loss to San Francisco. He’s the candidate that Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa might identify most with as the last left-handed quarterback to start an NFL game before Tagovailoa.
After a stellar college career at Boise State and six seasons as a backup and practice squad NFL quarterback, Moore has quickly risen through the coaching ranks from quarterbacks coach with the Cowboys offensive coordinator after one season.
Joseph, 49, who was Dolphins defensive coordinator in 2016, is another former head coach in the bunch. He was at the helm for the Denver Broncos in 2017 and 2018 and had a record of 11-21.
His one season in Miami was the first of the Adam Gase era and the last time the Dolphins reached the playoffs. Joseph’s defense that year was critical in Miami’s run to the postseason. It landed him the job in Denver, and after his brief tenure with the Broncos, he went back to coaching defense in Arizona.
Brown, 35, who had Rams’ assistant head coach added to his title last offseason, is considered an up and comer in NFL coaching circles. He has previous Miami ties, but not with the Dolphins. He was the Hurricanes’ offensive coordinator under coach Mark Richt from 2016 to 2018, but Richt called offensive plays for UM.