An AFC East rival has their eyes on one of the Dolphins’ gifted position coaches while Miami hangs in limbo

A division rival has their eyes set on swiping a coach from Miami’s remaining coaching staff.

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer

Jan 16, 2026 6:31 PM EST

The worst part about monumental change is the limbo as the process plays out. That’s currently where many members of the Miami Dolphins find themselves — waiting to see what fate awaits them once the Dolphins settle on a new head coach to lead the team and formally chart a new course for the organization. This includes scouts, management, support staff, players, and coaches alike. Many of the key players from last year’s roster are under contract and will return if the new leadership group will have them.

For other members of the organization, such as coaches, the water can be a bit murky. And, as it turns out, one of Miami’s promising young position coaches may not have to wait as long as the rest of the organization to determine his own fate. Cornerbacks coach Mathieu Araujo has interviewed for a defensive coordinator vacancy in the AFC East.

New York Jets kick the tires on gifted young position coach for defensive coordinator vacancy

The New York Jets completed a series of interviews for their defensive coordinator vacancy on Friday and among the list of candidates warranting consideration is Araujo, a gifted young coach who was once described to me as a “young star” of a coach by someone inside the building. Araujo is on the fast track in coaching — it’s taken him just ten years to go from his first job coaching (RB/WR coach at Maine Maritime Academy) to getting defensive coordinator interviews.

Few coaches on the Dolphins’ staff has a harder assignment this season than Araujo, whose group saw the best player, Kader Kohou, go down with an ACL the first week of training camp. The eventual starters, Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas, were not on the team at the start of camp and both were veterans collected on minimum contracts.

Some pundits were ready to call the cornerback room the worst position group in all of football entering the season. It certainly didn’t play out that way, thanks in part to Araujo’s effort. Even if the Jets end up not hiring Araujo for the job, he is not guaranteed a return spot in Miami thanks to the wholesale, sweeping changes the organization is taking. But his status as a coordinator candidate should prompt any prospective head coach if they’re sure they don’t have a spot on the staff for a talented young coach like this one.

Here’s to the Jets going a different direction.

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Kyle Crabbs