East Notes: Philbin, Coyle, Murray, Patriots

Despite falling to 1-3 after today’s loss to the divisional rival Jets, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said he plans to retain defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Of course, Philbin himself might not be around for much longer, and even if does stay on, the call on Coyle’s status might not fall to Philbin.

Here’s more from Miami and the rest of the NFL’ two East divisions:

  • Rumors have swirled that Philbin could be fired if the Dolphins lost in London today, but now that they have, Philbin still didn’t express any worries about his fate, writes James Walker of ESPN.com. “We still can’t panic,” Philbin said. “It all seems like the walls are closing in on you. We all realize that. So we gotta look at things and be honest about where we are, what we’re doing well and what we’re not doing well.”
  • One reason that Philbin’s job might be safe is that the Dolphins lack a viable candidate to take over on a interim basis, per Salguero in a separate piece. Neither the offense nor the defense has played well enough where it would make sense to elevate Coyle or OC Bill Lazor to the top job, and no one on Miami’s staff has any head coaching experience. Linebackers coach Mark Duffner and assistant offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. each have led teams at the collegiate level, however.
  • DeMarco Murray ran for 36 yards against Washington today, more than tripling his season total entering the contest, but the Eagles running wants more work. “No, I’m not. I don’t think I am,” Murray told Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) when asked if he was getting enough touches. Murray did allow that he knew he signed up for something of a timeshare with the Eagles, but still expects to see the ball more.
  • In his latest notes piece, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe looks at how several teams — including, notably, the Patriots — have taken to trading for players rather than finding similar free agents. Since the preseason ended on September 4, notes Volin, there have been 17 NFL trades — four more than the past four years combined. We at PFR certainly won’t complain about the uptick in player movement.
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