Another Former Dolphins Assistant on Candidate List

The Miami Dolphins have now reached double digits in terms of candidates they have interviewed or requested to interview.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins are adding another of their former assistant coaches to their list of head coach candidates.

The Dolphins have requested permission to interview Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, according to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero.

Campanile becomes the 10th candidate the Dolphins have contacted or requested to interview, joining former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator and former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and defensive coordinators Jesse Minter of the Los Angeles Chargers, Chris Shula of the Los Angeles Rams, Kelvin Sheppard of the Detroit Lions, Patrick Graham of the Las Vegas Radiers and Jeff Hafley of the Green Bay Packers.

The Dolphins interviewed Kubiak via Zoom over the weekend, met in person with Stefanski on Tuesday and are scheduled to meet with Hafley on Wednesday, according to reports.

CAMPANILE'S QUALIFICATIONS

Campanile just finished his first season with Jacksonville after he spent the 2024 season as linebackers coach/running game coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, where he crossed paths with new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan.

Before that, Campanile spent four seasons as the Dolphins' linebackers coach, and he then interviewed for the defensive coordinator position after Vic Fangio left to join the Philadelphia Eagles, but the job went to Anthony Weaver.

In his first season as Jacksonville's DC, Campanile guided a defense that finished 11th in the NFL in fewest yards allowed and eighth in fewest points allowed, major improvements over the Jaguars' 2024 rankings of 31st in yards and 27th in points.

Jacksonville held five opponents to 10 points or less in 2025, including three games against playoff opponents.

And Campanile's group got all that accomplished despite having only one player earn postseason accolades — linebacker Devin Lloyd, who earned second-team All-Pro recognition.

During his time in Miami, Campanile became known for his viral speech during a team meeting that was captured on the 2023 midseason edition of "Hard Knocks" and featured one of the all-time classic lines, "All over the world they speak whoop-ass."

The 43-year-old Campanile, part of a coaching family from New Jersey, has never been a head coach at any level, which might be the one negative in his candidacy.

Campanile joined Graham and Sheppard as a former member of the Dolphins who are now candidates for this head coaching position, though Sheppard's time was as a player in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Graham was the defensive coordinator for the Dolphins in 2019 before he left to take the same position with the New York Giants in 2020 and eventually moved on to Las Vegas, where he has spent the past four seasons.

Like Campanile, Graham has never been a head coach, and he also crossed paths with Sullivan in Green Bay. Before he joined Miami in 2019, Graham had spent the 2018 season as linebackers coach/run game coordinator for the Packers.

Graham's NFL career began with seven seasons as an assistant for the New England Patriots. His 2019 Dolphins defense ranked 30th in the NFL in yards allowed, but that shouldn't be held against him, given the massive roster turnover throughout that season.

Under Graham, the Raiders finished 14th or 15th in total defense the past three seasons despite the absence of marquee players beyond Maxx Crosby and an overall struggling team.