Report: Dolphins Go to College Ranks for O-Line Coach

New Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel apparently has filled another opening on his coaching staff, and this one could end up being the most scrutinized of all.

The Dolphins are set to hire Boston College offensive line coach Matt Applebaum for the same position, according to ESPN writer Pete Thamel.

Sources: The Miami Dolphins are expected to hire Boston College offensive line coach Matt Applebaum as the team’s new offensive line coach.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 12, 2022

Applebaum would be the third new coach to join the Dolphins this week, but the first to come from the college ranks.

The first, confirmed by a league source, was assistant head coach/tight ends coach Jon Embree and the second, revealed by McDaniel himself during a radio interview with WQAM was wide receivers coach Wes Welker.

Also Saturday, the Dolphins interviewed L.A. Chargers run game coordinator/OL coach Frank Smith for the offensive coordinator position, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. He's the third identified candidate for the position, after Falcons QB coach Charles London and Saints WR coach Curtis Johnson.

The #Dolphins are interviewing #Chargers run game coordinator/OL coach Frank Smith today for their offensive coordinator job, source said. Smith has a strong history developing tight ends and O-linemen, including turning around L.A.’s unit last season.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 12, 2022

If Applebaum does indeed join the Dolphins, he will become an NFL offensive line coach for the first time in his career. He's had two prior stints in the NFL, including one year as an offensive assistant with Washington in 2010 and with Jacksonville in 2014.

Applebaum actually spent three years with Washington, the first two in the scouting department (pro personnel assistant and college personnel assistant), but left that team right before McDaniel arrived for a three-year stint as an assistant coach.

Under Applebaum's tutelage, BC offensive linemen Zion Johnson, Alec Lindstrom and Christian Mahogany earned some kind of All-America honor.

Applebaum's resume also includes stops at Central Connecticut State, Davidson University and Towson University.

The Dolphins have had a hard time finding a long-term answer for the offensive line coach position, going through six coaches (including one twice) at that position over the past five years, including Lemuel Jeanpierre last season. The others were Chris Foerster and Dave DeGuglielmo in 2017, Jeremiah Washburn in 2018, Pat Flaherty and DeGuglielmo in 2019 and Steve Marshall in 2020.

Probably no position on the Dolphins roster is in need of coaching more than the offensive line, which went through some nasty growing pains as a young group last season.

The 2021 line included one first-round pick (Austin Jackson), two second-round picks (Robert Hunt and Liam Eichenberg) and one third-round pick (Michael Deiter), so there was reason to expect more than it produced last year when it rated in most places as among the worst in the NFL, if not the worst.

Maybe that's why bringing in a first-time NFL offensive line coach to try to get the most out of that group feels like a pretty big leap of faith in Applebaum.

Along with offensive coordinator, the Dolphins still have to settle on a quarterbacks coach, an outside linebackers coach and a defensive backs.

The coaches who have been retained, as confirmed via a league source, as Eric Studesville as associate head coach/running backs coach, Josh Boyer as defensive coordinator, Danny Crossman as special teams coordinator, Austin Clark as defensive line coach, Charles Burks as cornerbacks coach and Anthony Campanile as linebackers coach.