Headlines

Miami Dolphins News & Rumors

AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Rizzi, Bills, Jets

By | at January 9, 2019 5:48 pm

The Dolphins are one of three teams which still has yet to hire a new head coach, but they will meet with another potential Adam Gase replacement this week. Incumbent special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi will interview for the position on Friday, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. As Garafolo adds, other candidates that Miami has met with are still coaching in the postseason, so the club may not announce its next head coach any time soon. A former collegiate head coach at New Haven and Rhode Island, Rizzi is the only internal candidate the Dolphins are considering. Rizzi, 48, has been with the Dolphins since 2010, and last year led Miami to a No. 21 ranking in special teams DVOA.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

  • Ex-Falcons special teams coach Keith Armstrong recently interviewed for the same role with the Bills, reports Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Armstrong, who had been Atlanta’s ST coach since 2008, was fired last week as the Falcons cleared out each of their coordinator roles. Based purely on performance, Armstrong posted a strong effort in 2018, as Atlanta ranked 10th in special teams DVOA. The 55-year-old Armstrong took two interviews for the Cardinals’ head coaching job last season, and was one of two candidates Bruce Arians personally recommended as a successor (the other being incumbent DC James Bettcher). He’s also been linked to Tampa Bay, where Arians is now head coach.
  • Quincy Enunwa‘s four-year extension with the Jets is worth $33.4MM in total and contains $10MM in full guarantees, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 26-year-old wide receiver received a $9MM signing bonus, meaning his remaining guarantee will likely come via his 2019 base salary. Enunwa will collect a $6MM base salary in 2020, but that figure — for the time being — guaranteed for injury only. It’ll become fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2020 league year.
  • In case you missed it, Cowboys defensive backs coach Kris Richard may not be a serious contender for the Jets‘ head coaching job, but he could the favorite to land the top gig with the Dolphins.
2 comments Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins New York Jets

Only Three NFL Head Coaching Vacancies Remain

By | at January 9, 2019 1:56 pm

Eight NFL teams were in search of a head coach to start the New Year, but five clubs have already found their man. Let’s quickly run down the jobs that are off the table and check in on where things stand for the three remaining vacancies:

“No Vacancy”:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Kliff Kingsbury, offensive coordinator (USC): Hired

Cleveland Browns

  • Freddie Kitchens, offensive coordinator (Browns): Hired

Denver Broncos

  • Vic Fangio, defensive coordinator (Bears): Hired

Green Bay Packers

  • Matt LaFleur, offensive coordinator (Titans): Hired

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Bruce Arians, former head coach (Cardinals): Hired

Jobs Still Open:

Cincinnati Bengals

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

The Bengals, so far, have cast a wide net, but the recommendation of Marvin Lewis and the club’s history with Jackson could lead to the ex-Browns coach landing on his feet. They’re also considering another recently fired head coach in Joseph and the group lacks general star power, so Jackson’s chances cannot be dismissed.

The buzz is slowly building around Richard in Miami, even though he is not believed to be a serious candidate in New York. From a pure knowledge standpoint, Allen may be the best bet of the free agent bunch. Overall, the Dolphins’ top choice could be Harbaugh, but he won’t be an option for them if he signs an extension with the Ravens. Even if he doesn’t, the Dolphins might not want to part with significant draft capital and shell out big bucks to land him.

The Jets never really had a chance at Kliff Kingsbury, but Jets fans probably won’t lose sleep over seeing the inexperienced young coach go to Arizona. What’s left is a mishmash of head coaching retreads (Caldwell, Gase, McCarthy), coordinators and assistants (Monken, Richard, Bieniemy), and one more college-to-pros candidate (Rhule). Some believe that Rhule, the head coach at Baylor, is the Jets’ No. 1 target.

The list above, derived from the 2019 Head Coaching Search Tracker, was edited to omit candidates that are no longer in consideration or have taken jobs elsewhere.

11 comments Cincinnati Bengals Miami Dolphins New York Jets PFR Originals

Kris Richard In Lead For Dolphins Job?

By | at January 9, 2019 11:53 am

The Jets don’t have Kris Richard high on their list, but the rival Dolphins might. League sources believe that the Cowboys defensive backs coach will come away with the top job in Miami, according to Alex Marvez of SiriusXM (on Twitter). 

This is far from definitive word on the matter, but it sounds like Richard at least has a real shot at being the ‘Fins next head coach. For now, he’s in a fairly limited candidate pool that includes Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Patriots DC Brian Flores, in-house assistant head coach Darren Rizzi, and possibly Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, assuming that he does not sign an extension with Baltimore.

Speaking of Rizzi, his interview is scheduled to take place on Friday, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). So, barring something unexpected, we won’t see the Dolphins hire Richard or anyone else before the end of the week.

5 comments Miami Dolphins

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/8/19

By | at January 8, 2019 8:19 pm

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2019 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • WR Duke Williams

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Miami Dolphins

  • LB Sam Eguavoen

New England Patriots

  • C Jake Eldrenkamp

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Houston Texans

Philadelphia Eagles

  • LB Alex Singleton

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • K Matt McCrane

Seattle Seahawks

1 comment Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Chicago Bears Christopher Ezeala Cleveland Browns Houston Texans Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers Seattle Seahawks Transactions

Coaching Rumors: Packers, LaFleur, Rhule

By | at January 7, 2019 7:05 pm

Matt LaFleur has the Packers job and he has Rams coach Sean McVay to thank. The two are close friends and it’s likely that McVay lobbied for him, Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel tweets.

McVay employed LaFleur as his offensive coordinator in 2017, but McVay called the plays himself. Then, last offseason, he allowed LaFleur to fly the coop and call plays for the Titans. Without that stepping stone, LaFleur probably wouldn’t have gotten the big gig in Green Bay.

Meanwhile, the Packers are over the moon about LaFleur because his offensive focus will allow the club to keep defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and the rest of the staff, provided that LaFleur is not keen on making major changes.

Here’s the latest round of coaching rumors from around the NFL:

12 comments Green Bay Packers Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets

Dolphins Notes: Munchak, Rizzi

By | at January 7, 2019 5:55 pm

  • Pittsburgh’s offensive line coach Mike Munchak has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to leave the Steelers, and a source told Aditi Kinkhabwala of ESPN.com that he turned down an interview request from the Dolphins (Twitter link). Munchak has been very selective over who he’ll talk to in recent years, and it seems like the only way he’ll be on the move this cycle is if he lands the Broncos’ job. Recent reports have him as the “early favorite” for that gig.
  • The Dolphins were originally supposed to interview their special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi for their head coaching vacancy today, but the interview has been rescheduled for later in the week, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Rizzi is an outside the box candidate, but numerous former and current Dolphins players have lobbied for him to receive consideration. So far the Dolphins have interviewed Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, and Cowboys’ defensive playcaller Kris Richard in their search to replace Adam Gase. Whoever gets the job in Miami will likely have a new quarterback under center, as the team is expected
15 comments Cleveland Browns Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New York Jets

Dolphins Call Off Vic Fangio Interview

By | at January 7, 2019 9:26 am

Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio won’t be interviewing with the Dolphins after all. A chat was originally slated for Monday, but the Dolphins did not schedule the interview despite doing significant research on him (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).

For now, the Broncos are the only known team with interest in Fangio, but one of the other six teams (not counting the Dolphins) could always add him to the list. Fangio offers experience in five different locations as a defensive coordinator and guided a Bears defense that dominated up until Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to the Eagles.

Fangio is out of the picture, but there are still plenty of intriguing candidates on their list, including Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

3 comments Chicago Bears Miami Dolphins

2019 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

By | at January 6, 2019 5:00 pm

Several NFL teams are currently hunting for a new head coach, and amidst reports about interview requests and potential candidates, it’s easy to lose track of the latest updates in the shuffle. So we’ll use this space – which will be updated until every team has hired a new head coach – to keep track of the most recent news and rumors. It can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “PFR Features.”

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here’s the current breakdown:

[Updated: 2/5/19, 8:17am CT]

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

30 comments Arizona Cardinals Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Denver Broncos Green Bay Packers Miami Dolphins New York Jets PFR Originals Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dolphins Notes: Richard, Allen

By | at January 6, 2019 3:12 pm

  • As had been expected, Richard will interview with the Dolphins and Jets today, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed to Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “It doesn’t surprise me at all that clubs have the interest that they have in him,” said Jones. “There are no secrets in the NFL when it comes to people that can help you win football games. And he’s a winner.” Assistants preparing for a Wild Card playoff matchup aren’t allowed to interview in the week preceding said game, so Richard had to wait until Dallas completed its victory over Seattle on Saturday night. Richard is also meeting with the Buccaneers on Sunday.
  • In a bit of record-keeping, the Dolphins announced that they completed their head coaching interview with Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen on Saturday, while the Browns did the same with Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Allen, 46, flopped as the Raiders’ head coach earlier this decade, but has transformed New Orleans’ defense from a laughingstock to a respectable unit over the past four seasons. Flores, meanwhile, interviewed for only one head coaching job in 2018 (Cardinals), but has lined up four sit-downs in the 2019 cycle (Broncos, Packers, and Dolphins in addition to Browns).
1 comment Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Denver Broncos Miami Dolphins New York Jets

Dolphins To Explore Trading Ryan Tannehill

By | at January 4, 2019 6:12 pm

It was reported in December the Dolphins were ready to move on from starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Instead of just cutting the sixth-year signal-caller, the team is expected to see what he could, if anything, fetch in a trade, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. 

By cutting or trading the QB, the Dolphins would open up $13.2MM in cap space. Alternatively, they could clear out $18.7MM in savings by making him a post-June 1 cut, but that would come with the downside of another dead money hit in 2020.

While the team would like to recoup anything at all for Tannehill, attempting to find a suitor for him in a trade is tricky according to Jackson. Talking to a veteran NFL general manager, Jackson says a team is likely to ask for Tannehill to renegotiate his contract before offering a mid-round pick. That is something the quarterback and his agent, Pat Dye, are likely to balk at, forcing the Dolphins to cut the quarterback and allowing him to pick his own team at the highest bidder.

“The contract numbers are really high on him,” said the league executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The question is would he renegotiate to facilitate a trade. But why would he renegotiate? A team will ask to renegotiate and I think Pat Dye would say no if it involves a pay cut. And then they would be forced to cut him.”

More than likely, the Dolphins will cut the veteran passer, but teams desperate for an option under center have surprised before.

17 comments Miami Dolphins
Show all
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors