As of last night, the Dolphins were preparing to part ways with head coach Joe Philbin, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Schefter cautions that owner Stephen Ross could reconsider and change his mind, but after yesterday’s loss in London, the team was leaning toward making a change as early as today.
According to Schefter, if the Dolphins do decide to fire Philbin, tight ends coach Dan Campbell would be the top candidate to be promoted to the head coach role on an interim basis. On Sunday, Albert Breer of the NFL Network identified special teams coach Darren Rizzi as another possible interim option for the Dolphins if they let go of Philbin.
Earlier today, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald wrote that Ross is more likely to fire defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle than Philbin, though he acknowledged that Philbin is unlikely to continue as the Dolphins’ head coach in 2016, barring a massive turnaround. Presumably, if the team were to fire its head coach, the offensive and defensive coordinators’ jobs would be in serious jeopardy as well, which explains why Campbell and Rizzi have been mentioned as interim HC candidates.
While interim coaches typically come from inside the organization, Salguero doesn’t view the Dolphins’ internal choices as great ones, and wonders (via Twitter) if the team might look at Jim Schwartz, who has a history with the team’s underachieving free agent prize, Ndamukong Suh. However, as Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (Twitter link) observes, Miami would have to satisfy the Rooney Rule before hiring an outside interim coach, and it seems unlikely that the club would go through an extensive interview process during the season.
Of course, before identifying a replacement, the Dolphins will have to make an official decision on Philbin, which will likely happen sooner rather than later.
