Dolphins Bringing Back Hill as Assistant Coach
The Miami Dolphins coaching staff is making another significant addition, one very familiar not only to new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio but to the organization itself.
Renaldo Hill, who is among 14 people to have played and coached for the Dolphins, is returning for a second stint as an assistant coach. Hill will be joining head coach Mike McDaniel's staff as defensive pass game coordinator.
Hill spent the past two seasons as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, who he joined after spending two seasons as DB coach for the Denver Broncos under — you guessed it — Vic Fangio.
"First and foremost, Renaldo is a good coach," Fangio said Monday during his introductory press conference. "Really, a talented coach with a bright future in the NFL. He worked with us for two years in Denver, so his familiarity with me and the system and what we do was important to me. But regardless of that, just his ability to be a great coach is what attracted me to him."
Prior to going to Denver in 2019, Hill spent one season as assistant DB coach for the Dolphins under head coach Adam Gase.
Hill's 10-year playing career as a safety included three seasons with the Dolphins. He started 38 of the 39 games he played from 2006-08 and helped the team win the AFC East title in 2008 when he started 15 games and had three interceptions.
RENALDO HILL A BIG ADDITION TO COACHING STAFF
Getting Hill for his defensive staff is a nice coup for Fangio, with ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting Hill was one of his top targets once he took the job with the Dolphins.
While Hill's defenses ranked in the bottom third in the NFL in total yards allowed in his two seasons as coordinator, the Chargers were 12th and seventh in pass defense in 2021 and 2022.
Above and beyond anything else, though, we should remember the job the Chargers defense did against the Dolphins passing game in the 2022 game at SoFi Stadium when the injury-riddled Chargers pretty much shut down Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on their way to a 23-17 victory.
It will be interesting to see whether Hill's arrival means anything in terms of Sam Madison's role on the coaching staff, considering he was cornerbacks coach/pass game specialist last season.
Guess it's not impossible the Dolphins could have a pass game coordinator and a pass game specialist, though that doesn't seem likely.
As an offshoot of Hill's departure, the Chargers will be promoting Tom Donatell to secondary coach/pass game coordinator, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That's noteworthy because the Dolphins reportedly had requested permission from the Chargers to interview Donatell to join their staff.
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