Ever since Joe Philbin was dismissed in Miami, there has been a great deal of speculation as to who his next successor might be. As it turns out, the Dolphins feel that they might have their next head coach already in the fold. The Dolphins plan to give interim head coach Dan Campbell a total of 4-6 weeks on the job before they start looking for a new coach, a source tells Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
That means that tonight’s contest against the Patriots, which was already pivotal for the 3-3 Dolphins’ hopes in 2015, carries extra significance. Campbell is already two weeks into his tenure as the interim head coach, so he is potentially getting four more games to show what he can do. The early results under Campbell have been promising and the offense is performing as expected behind the running of Lamar Miller. Of course, with all due respect to the Titans and Texans, the Patriots are the ultimate test for the resurgent Dolphins.
If Campbell can lead Miami to victory over intra-divisional rivals New England and Buffalo, his odds of being retained for 2016 and beyond will certainly improve. If he doesn’t, one has to imagine that we’ll see some big-name coaches linked to the job once more, including Saints coach Sean Payton.
Using a road game against the Patriots isn’t a very good measuring stick and a loss should not determine his fate or factor that much. If he keeps the game competitive that should be enough.