Following a 7-10 season, the Miami Dolphins parted ways with head coach Mike McDaniel after four seasons at the helm. McDaniel led the Dolphins to a 35-33 record. McDaniel’s tenure in Miami started off strong as they made the postseason in his first two seasons. However, the Dolphins regressed in their next two seasons as they ended below .500 on both occasions as the team failed to make the postseason.
Now, the Dolphins have begun a new era modeled after the Green Bay Packers. The Dolphins hired former Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager, and hired former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their new head coach. The Packers have been a model NFL franchise, making the postseason in the past two seasons. Miami will try and replicate their success.
Previously, the Dolphins tried to replicate the success of the New England Patriots. Entering the 2019 season, Miami made Chris Grier their highest-ranking front office member. Grier possessed a background working as a scout for the Patriots. Grier then hired Brian Flores as the team’s new head coach, who was the Patriots’ linebackers coach. Flores then hired Chad O’Shea as his offensive coordinator; he had previously been the Patriots wide receivers coach. Replicating New England’s success failed, but the Dolphins will hope the right foundational pieces are now in store.
Former Dolphins Coach Hired by Chiefs
While the Dolphins’ 2019 rebuild based on the Patriots model failed, some of the coaches Miami hired are still prominent figures in the NFL. Brian Flores has become one of the league’s best defensive coordinators, and has drawn interviews for head coaching jobs. Now, another member of the Dolphins coaching staff from 2019 has made headlines.
Former Dolphins offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea has been hired by the Kansas City Chiefs as their wide receivers coach. O’Shea spent just one season with the Dolphins as he was fired following the 2019 season. Despite the offense averaging 26.7 points per game in O’Shea’s final seven games with the Dolphins, the offense was reportedly too complex. O’Shea tried to run a Patriots-style offense, but Miami’s young roster in 2019 struggled to execute the complex offense. Prior to the 2019 season, O’Shea had never called plays.
Miami Dolphins’ Offensive Staff Questions
Following Hafley’s announcement as the team’s new head coach, the Dolphins will have to wait and see the kind of staff he assembles. Hafley has a defensive background, as he served the previous two seasons as a defensive coordinator. That means the playcaller for the Dolphins offense remains to be seen. Hafley could follow a similar approach to Flores in 2019 and bring someone over from Green Bay.
The potential for an inexperienced offensive coordinator struggling in his first year as a play caller is a real possibility, as evidenced by O’Shea’s struggles with the Dolphins. However, there have been instances of coaches having success in their first turn as playcallers. Mike McDaniel had not called plays prior to being the Dolphins’ head coach, and he led the Dolphins to the third-best offense in the NFL in points per game in 2023.
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