Diving Into the Dolphins DC Search
The Miami Dolphins' search for a new defensive coordinator continues to move along, with interviews scheduled this week, per multiple reports.
The four candidates who have been or will be interviewed, as confirmed by a league source, are longtime NFL defensive coordinator and former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, Seattle Seahawks associate head coach/defensive assistant Sean Desai, New Orleans Saints co-defensive coordinator Kris Richard, and Dolphins linebackers coach Anthony Campanile.
This, of course, doesn't mean there won't be other candidates who get interviews, and we've already seen the names of Arizona Cardinals DC and former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph and current 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek mentioned as possibilities. Those two, it should be mentioned, are former Dolphins assistants.
Other names to remember would include former Bears and Texans head coach Lovie Smith, current Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero (if he's not retained by Denver's eventual new head coach) and Jets defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton.
FANGIO THE PROHIBITIVE FAVORITE?
While all the candidates have something unique to bring, it sure does seem as though Fangio stands as the favorite.
Maybe the big reason is that word was that McDaniel wanted to hire Fangio after the Dolphins made him their new head coach last February but the organization wanted him to retain Boyer.
While McDaniel and Fangio have never coached together, they share the same agent (Richmond Flowers) and have a long-standing relationship.
Fangio's track record also is another factor.
While he's currently a consultant with the Philadelphia Eagles, Fangio has served as a defensive coordinator in the NFL for 19 years with five different teams — the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears.
His defenses have finished in the top 10 in fewest yards allowed eight times, including his last season as a DC with the Bears in 2018 when they were third.
Since then, Fangio spent three seasons as Denver head coach before his work with the Eagles this season.
In May 2022, The Athletic called Fangio "the most influential DC in modern NFL" and broke down his system, which features two deep safeties and a lot of pre-snap disguising, among other things.
In a 2019 ESPN story, former McDaniel colleagues Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan all were asked to name the coach with the toughest defense to read and attack. All three named Fangio.
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DESAI, RICHARD AND CAMPANILE
Richard is no stranger to the Dolphins, considering they interviewed him for the head-coaching opening in 2019 before hiring Brian Flores.
Richard spent three years as Seahawks DC after replacing Dan Quinn when he left to become head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2015. Richard inherited "The Legion of Boom" defense that had ranked first the previous two seasons and Seattle finished second, fifth and 11th in his three seasons before he was let go.
Merely getting an interview should be viewed as big kudos for Campanile, who has just three years of NFL experience on his resume, all of them as Dolphins linebackers coach. Campanile also never was a full-time DC in college, serving as co-DC/DB coach at Boston College in 2018.
He's also fighting precedent here, since the Dolphins haven't hired a defensive coordinator from within since 1996 when new head coach Jimmy Johnson promoted linebackers coach George Hill.
Desai just finished his first season with the Seahawks after being the Bears defensive coordinator in 2021. In his one season as a DC, Desai guided a Chicago defense that finished sixth in total yards allowed.
There are similarities between Desai and McDaniel in terms of age (they're both turning 40 this year) and their Ivy League education, with Desai graduating with a master's degree from Columbia before he earned a doctorate at Temple.
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