Dolphins Notes: McCain, Underwood
- As part of a contract extension he signed last summer, Dolphins cornerback Bobby McCain had $3.018MM of his $5.475MM 2019 base salary fully guaranteed this week, tweets Joel Corry of CBSSports.com. McCain, 25, inked a four-year deal in July that guaranteed him nearly $10MM. With an average annual value of $6.75MM, McCain is one of the NFL’s highest-paid slot corners.
- Former NFL wide receiver Tiquan Underwood is joining the Dolphins‘ staff as an offensive quality control coach, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The ex-Rutgers speedster spent time with the Patriots in 2011 and 2012, which is where he first met new Miami coaches Brian Flores and Chad O’Shea.
Dolphins Hire Patriots’ Chad O’Shea
It’s a done deal. On Wednesday, the Dolphins formally hired Chad O’Shea as their new offensive coordinator, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
O’Shea follows new head coach Brian Flores from New England to South Beach. Flores was not formally hired until after the day after the Super Bowl, but his staff is in place, for the most part. Former Colts and Lions coach Jim Caldwell is expected to serve as Flores’ assistant HC and former Packers linebackers coach Patrick Graham will be the defensive coordinator.
Flores and O’Shea have been working together since 2009. O’Shea is regarded as an up-and-coming offensive mind and he was set to become the Colts’ OC last year before Josh McDaniels bailed on Indianpolis.
Last year, McDaniels was effusive in his praise of O’Shea.
“Chad’s unbelievable,” McDaniels told Mark Daniels of the Milford Daily News. “He’s incredibly responsible for any and all of our success in the red zone. He does a lot of that work and prepares us well for that situation in the game.“
O’Shea, 46, offers 15 years of NFL head coaching experience. Prior to joining the Pats’ staff in 2009, he had stints with the Vikings and Chiefs. As a wide receivers coach, he’s tutored Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and other NFL notables.
Dolphins, Brian Flores Ink Five-Year Deal
The Dolphins believe that Brian Flores is the right man to turn their franchise around and they showed their confidence in him in the form of a unique contract. Flores’ deal is a fully guaranteed five-year pact, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
For the most part, this year’s other head coaching hires inked four-year contract with a team option for a fifth-year. Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Dolphins felt compelled to go the extra mile in order to secure their top candidate. In addition to the Dolphins, the Browns, Broncos, and Packers also considered the former Patriots de facto defensive coordinator.
The Patriots ranked 21st in yards allowed but seventh in scoring this past season, and they’ve only had one non-top-10 scoring defense in the past 13 seasons. Of those 13 years, Flores was with the organization for eight.
In a recent poll, PFR readers said they were not as high on Flores as other hires this offseason. 26% of PFR readers said that new Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was the best hire of the bunch while Flores came in at just 6.26%.
Dolphins To Add Another Patriots Assistant
- Another Patriots assistant will be following Brian Flores to Miami. The Dolphins are expected to name Jerry Schuplinski as their new quarterbacks coach, according to Alex Marvez of Sirius XM Radio (on Twitter). Schuplinski served as New England’s assistant QBs coach for the past three seasons and has been a Pats staffer for six years. The Patriots gave Schuplinski his first NFL job; prior to that, he was an assistant at Division III program Case Western Reserve for six years.
Dolphins: No Ryan Tannehill Decision Yet
- Although Ryan Tannehill is not expected to return to the Dolphins, GM Chris Grier said no decision has been made on that front. The Dolphins are expected to trade or release Tannehill, and the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson tweets a photo of the seven-year Dolphin quarterback has been removed from their press room. Grier wants input from Brian Flores and his new staff on the 30-year-old quarterback, but the Dolphins are expected to move on from their six-season starter. With an eye on the 2020 quarterback class, they are not believed to be targeting a high-priced free agent to replace Tannehill, either.
Dolphins, Jaguars Interested In Dom Capers
Two former Dom Capers employers are interested in bringing the veteran defensive-minded coach back to Florida.
The Dolphins and Jaguars view Capers as a candidate to join their respective staffs as a senior defensive assistant, according to Alex Marvez of Sirius XM Radio (on Twitter).
These AFC teams join the Bengals in pursuing the longtime Packers defensive coordinator and two-time expansion team head coach (in each of the Panthers’ and Texans’ first four seasons). Capers, 68, served as the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator in the two years following his Panthers tenure, 1999-2000. From 2006-07, Capers was part of Miami’s staff.
After the Packers ended Capers’ nine-year tenure as their DC, he did not coach in 2018. He was connected to the Cardinals’ DC search, however.
Miami appointed Patrick Graham to be its DC, but GM Chris Grier said Monday his first-time coordinators — Graham and likely OC Chad O’Shea — will have veteran presences on staff as well. Jim Caldwell is signed on to coach on Brian Flores‘ staff, and Capers would have interest in coming aboard, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, unless he can land a DC job. The Bengals are the only team in this trio with a vacant DC position.
Promoting two position coaches, the Jags have rearranged their defensive staff to some degree this offseason. Capers coming to north Florida would pair him with incumbent DC Todd Wash.
Dolphins, Brian Flores Finalize Deal
The Dolphins have their new head coach. After the Super Bowl, Brian Flores‘ agent finalized terms on a contract to make the Patriots’ defensive guru the new head coach in Miami (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
Terms of the deal are not yet known, but the industry standard is a four-year deal with a fifth-year team option, so that’s likely the structure of Flores’ pact. At 4pm ET/3pm CT on Monday, the Dolphins will introduce their new coach to the public.
The Dolphins agreed to hire Flores nearly a month ago, but league rules prohibit teams from hiring coaches who are still active with their clubs during the playoffs. Last year, the Colts were burned by a gentleman’s agreement with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, but the Dolphins were comfortable enough with Flores to move forward without a signed deal.
Flores did not hold the title of defensive coordinator in New England last year, but he was the de facto DC and got results out of a unit that was undermanned, particularly up front. The D was up and down throughout the year, but things came together later in the year and Flores’ pass rush stepped up on Sunday to stifle the Rams en route to the Pats’ sixth Super Bowl win in franchise history.
The Dolphins’ defense is much more of a fixer-upper, but owner Stephen Ross, GM Chris Grier, and the rest of the Fins front office has confidence in Flores. He’ll take over for offensive guru Adam Gase, who was hired as the Jets’ new head coach in January.
Latest On Brian Flores, Dolphins
Once the Super Bowl ends, the Dolphins are planning on announcing Brian Flores as their new head coach. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that the Patriots linebackers coach will fly to Miami on Monday morning (on owner Stephen Ross‘s private jet, no less), and the two sides will then presumably finalize a contract and announce the hiring (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter).
As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out, this is especially notable following last year’s fiasco between Josh McDaniels and the Colts. Following the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, McDaniels visited New England’s team facility, and it was subsequently reported that the offensive coordinator would instead by sticking in New England.
Naturally, the Dolphins don’t want to find themselves in a similar scenario, and Florio suggests that Miami would be wise to assure that Flores doesn’t even get on the Patriots plane back to Massachusetts. Of course, nothing has suggested that Flores will renege on his presumed deal, but you also can’t blame the Dolphins organization for being a bit wary.
Flores has seen some success in New England, and he most recently served as the team’s de facto defensive coordinator (although he didn’t hold that official title). The Patriots ranked 21st in yards allowed but seventh in scoring this past season, and they’ve only had one non-top-10 scoring defense in the past 13 seasons (Flores has been with the organization for eight of those campaigns). As our own Zach Links pointed out, the Dolphins are hoping Flores will restore order on the defensive side of the ball after having moved on from the offensively-minded Adam Gase.
Grier Hired Flores, Not Ross
While Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has played a large role in hiring Miami’s coaches in the past, that wasn’t the case this time around. Ross identified and hired Adam Gase on his own, but had nothing to do with bringing in new coach-in-waiting Brian Flores, sources told Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald. Instead, it was new GM Chris Grier who is solely responsible for hiring Flores, Salguero writes.
Salguero writes that Grier and Flores are longtime friends, and that now ex-Dolphins coaches told him it was “no secret within the organization that Grier was focused on Flores as the favorite to be Miami’s new coach even before interviews began.” Flores, the current Patriots’ defensive play-caller, and Grier both started as scouts in their respective organizations and Salguero writes that their paths crossed frequently, sparking a friendship. Miami is reportedly all-in on tanking in the 2019 season, and it’ll be very interesting to see how Flores fares.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/1/19
Today’s reserve/futures contracts will be posted here:
Miami Dolphins
- CB Dee Delaney
Delaney was a rookie undrafted free agent this past year who first signed with the Jaguars. He bounced between Jacksonville’s practice squad and active roster, before he was ultimately cut and scooped up by the Dolphins, who stashed him on their practice squad. Delaney played his college ball at Miami, so it makes sense why two of the Florida NFL teams were interested.