3 former Dolphins coaches among top candidates in next hiring cycle

The Miami Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel this offseason, after he led the team to a 7-10 record and a third place finish in the division in 2025.

Following that move, the team hired former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who also previously served as head coach at Boston College before returning to the NFL in 2024.

With Hafley just joining the staff this offseason, it’s unlikely that the team will bring on a new head coach next offseason. However, three former Dolphins coaches are already being identified by Bleacher Report as potential candidates for the next hiring cycle.

The 45-year-old began his coaching career with the New England Patriots in 2008 and was there under Bill Belichick until 2019 when he took over as the head coach of the Dolphins. In three years in Miami, he led the team to a 24-25 record.

After his firing, he filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams alleging racial discrimination. He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers staff under Mike Tomlin as a linebackers coach in 2022 and has been serving as the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator since 2023.

The 50-year-old began coaching in college in 1998 at Bridgton Academy in 1998 and after a few stops at the college level, he jumped to the NFL with the Tennessee Titans in 2004. He served as Dolphins linebackers coach in 2016 and defensive coordinator from 2017-18.

Burke wasn’t retained in 2019 when Flores took over, and he’s since worked with the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans in different capacities.

The 53-year-old played in the NFL from 1995-97 and in both NFL Europe and the Arena Football League after. He vegan coaching at Colorado in 1999 and had one more stop at Bowling Green in 2004 before jumping to the NFL as assistant defensive backs coach with the San Francisco 49ers in 2005..

Over a decade later, Joseph served as the Dolphins defensive coordinator in 2016 and was so successful, that he earned a head coach job with the Denver Broncos after just one season. Since the Broncos fired him in 2018, he’s worked with the Arizona Cardinals from 2019-22 as defensive coordinator. The Broncos brought him back in 2023 as their defensive coordinator, and he’s been in that role since.

This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: 3 former Dolphins coaches among top candidates in next hiring cycle