Miami Dolphins: 5 Possible New Coaching Candidates?

Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller (#26) carries the football. Shot by Ron Lyons.

The Miami Dolphins have been facing difficulty when it comes to starting games and endure an even more difficult time attempting to win games. For the last three seasons, the Dolphins haven’t made the playoffs and during the fourth year of the Joe Philbin era it’s starting to look like the same story. Could the Dolphins need a coaching change? It might be sad to say because Joe Philbin is such a nice person, but the Dolphins roster isn’t responsive to his words.

The entire coaching staff needs to get cleaned out, not just Philbin alone. Bill Lazor might be the only person that should remain safe. But if the Dolphins decide to move in a different direction to start off next season, here are five potential head coaching candidates that could and should fill the role.

1. Darrell Bevell
You know how they say your greatest strength is also your greatness weakness?

Darrell Bevell is the personification of that phrase. As an offensive coordinator, Bevell’s a bit unpredictable and that’s what makes him great.

Darrell Bevell might be most notoriously known for his decision in the Super Bowl to not hand the football to Marshawn Lynch at the one yard line for the game winner, but he’s actually the type of offensive minded coach that anyone would want running their team. Bevell’s very creative with his playcalling. He creates different formations each week. He also keeps the defense on their heels because they don’t know what to expect from him.

If the Miami Dolphins were to land him as their head coach the Dolphins would be lightyears ahead of their competition in the AFC East (outside of New England) when it comes to offense.

2. Adam Gase
Are you tired of watching explosive plays happen for every team the Dolphins play against? Are you tired of not seeing explosive plays happen frequently for the Miami Dolphins? Tired of a bad running game and lackluster playcalling? If you answered yes to these questions then Adam Gase might be the person you want to hire.

Gase right now is a 37-year-old offensive guru who’s got experience as the offense coordinator of the Denver Broncos and now Chicago Bears. Gase runs a very potent offensive attack that premiers the running game of the offense as a strength. It’s that same philosophy that got the football out of Peyton Manning’s hands into C.J. Anderson’s and made him into a star. It’s also one of the reasons why he interviewed with the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and Buffalo Bills before becoming the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears.

3. Josh McDaniels
Bringing in Josh McDaniels to coach the Miami Dolphins would by far be the biggest risk that the Dolphins would take for a head coaching candidate. McDaniels was one of the former head coaches of the Denver Broncos that had a disappointing stint.

His record as an NFL head coach is 11-17. However, as an offensive coordinator, McDaniels has been outperforming the job. The New England Patriots have had one of the best offenses in the league for the last three years under his tenure and his style of coaching could help the Dolphins as well. In addition, working with Bill Billicheck for as long as he’s done surely will influence his decision making as a head coach again.

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This type of signing could either be a home run for the Dolphins or a bunt. Taking away McDaniels from New England and making them weaker in the process is the type of move the Dolphins should look to do.

4. Hue Jackson
Miracle workers must exist on Earth too because one of them used to coach for the Oakland Raiders. Hue Jackson coached the Raiders back in 2010 and the Raiders more than doubled their scoring output from the last season. In addition, Jackson brought life back into Darren McFadden’s career and made him one of the premier players in the league. Jackson finished the year as the Raiders coach with an 8-8 record and was fired. However, Jackson now is the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals and their offense has never looked so good.

Can you picture how much better Jackson would be with the offensive weapons that the Miami Dolphins have? Not to mention, Jackson’s got the type of personality that gets players rallied up and ready to compete. The Dolphins have needed this type of leadership for almost a decade and Jackson would be a really great fit.

5. Brian Kelly
If Stephen Ross were able to land Brian Kelly in Miami Gardens, Florida to coach the Dolphins this would be the signing of a decade. Kelly is the type of person who wants to control everything and that’s fine because at Notre Dame he’s shown the track record that he can handle that ability. When Kelly interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles job in 2013 he said these words,

“… I get to pick the players that play for me, I get to negotiate the contracts. I’ve got the salary cap, I’ve got all that. In the NFL, you don’t get to do any of that. Look (at) what Chip Kelly’s going through. He tries to control all that and he gets killed for it. I can do all that here at Notre Dame.”

Now, would Ross also work in his deal that he would be able to have that certain power? It might be something worth considering because Kelly already coaches a pro style offense. He also knows how to coach exceptionally well on defense. This is another darkhorse candidate but if the Dolphins can manage to persuade Kelly to leave Notre Dame it would be the perfect fit.

D’Joumbarey A. Moreau covers sports in Miami-Dade & Broward County. You can follow him on Twitter @DJoumbarey.

 

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