The Dolphins could be finalizing their head coach decision as soon as Monday thanks to a busy day of interviews
Three interviews are reportedly on deck on Monday for the Dolphins.
The Miami Dolphins‘ head coaching search will kick into high gear tomorrow with the opening of the in-person interview window for coaches still employed by other NFL teams. Some NFL franchises went about their interview process by aggressively interviewing coaches who were unemployed, securing in-person interviews faster and earlier in their respective searches. Those teams that invited enough unattached coaches into their building fulfilled the NFL’s hiring and interview standards for head coach vacancies, which is how we saw the New York Giants land John Harbaugh and the Atlanta Falcons land Kevin Stefanski.
The hurdles a team must clear before committing to a coach include the Rooney Rule — the NFL’s initiative to boost diversity and representation in leadership positions across the league. The most recent update to the rule mandates that NFL teams with a head coach or general manager vacancy must interview two minority candidates in-person before finalizing any hire. Miami is reportedly set to fulfill their obligations to the Rooney Rule on Monday.
Dolphins reportedly set to host three head coach interviews on Monday
The Dolphins could, potentially, come to terms with a head coach candidate by the end of the day on Monday with all of their hiring procedures and Rooney Rule obligations fulfilled. A report from Josina Anderson last week indicated that Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is scheduled to interview on Monday. We also received a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Sunday morning that Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard would be interviewed on Monday, too.
Those two in-person interviews will give the Dolphins a total of 10 total candidates hired for the position, including Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady (interviewed virtually on Sunday) and Stefanski, who came off the board to Atlanta on Saturday night.
Sheppard is a former Dolphins player who was in South Florida under the watch of former Dolphins interim head coach and current Lions head coach Dan Campbell, whereas Graham was Miami’s defensive coordinator under Brian Flores in 2019 before leaving and taking the same role for the New York Giants in 2020.
Upon the completion of both of those reported in-person interviews on Monday, the Dolphins will have fulfilled all of their obligations to the Rooney Rule and could, at any point thereafter, agree to terms with a coach. Which is what makes the other interview update we got surrounding the Miami Dolphins pretty ominous for the direction this decision appears to be headed. Miami isn’t just hosting Graham and Sheppard on Monday.
Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has been a popular man over the past two weeks. He reportedly has received interest in a half-dozen requests for in-person interviews — and the Dolphins are getting the first crack on Monday, giving them three interviews to start the week. Hafley is currently scheduled to interview in-person in Tennessee on Tuesday. So here’s the deal: if Hafley just so happens to be the third of the three interviews that the Dolphins host on Monday, the team would be free to implement the classic “don’t let him out the building” strategy that teams often use to close deals with a coach.
Hafley has been the odds on favorite for the position since early last week thanks in part to his connection to new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. But the interest Hafley has garnered from most teams with vacancies is a clear indicator that the Dolphins aren’t going off the board to buddy up someone in the organization with a preferred fit.
If the Dolphins are serious about closing the deal with Hafley, they’ll have the chance to do so thanks to their Monday interview schedule. So keep your eyes peeled, Dolphins fans. We could be nearing the end of the search; Miami will be eligible to seal the deal in the hours ahead.
Miami Dolphins reported in-person
head coach interviews
- Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham
- Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard
- Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley
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