The Dolphins won’t hold an end-of-the-year press conference.
They don’t want interim head coach Todd Bowles to answer questions that he isn’t equipped to answer. In lieu of talking to the media, G.M. Jeff Ireland released a statement Monday through Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
"[Owner] Steve Ross and I have a plan in place that is designated to insure that we identify and interview an outstanding set of candidates for the head coaching position. The process will be thorough, it will be in compliance with NFL policies, and provide the best possible result for the franchise.
“That search has begun and there is no designated timetable; it will be conducted in a manner that give us the greatest opportunity to hire the individual we feel is best suited to become the team’s head coach.”
Salguero believes Jeff Fisher is on the team’s radar, but doubts they’ll get him. The presence of Ireland would seem to discourage an established veteran coach.
Instead, the Dolphins are more likely to look at coordinators. Salguero writes the following names will be in the mix: Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, and Cowboys special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis. Salguero puts Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski and Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey in the “maybe” category.
There may not be big names on that list. But if you look at the best recent hires, they are rarely ticket-selling hires. If anything, some of those names above may be too big.
Mike McCarthy, Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, Mike Smith, and Sean Payton were hardly well known quantities when they got hired.