Zimmer Out In Miami, Bowles, McCoy, and Philbin Remain

Author:  Bruce Lamb

Well so much for Ireland tapping into his Dallas days once again to find the next head coach for the Miami Dolphins, well, at least we know Zimmer won't be the coach, though Todd Bowles could be the guy.  The coaching search for the Miami Dolphins has been narrowed down to 3 according to media reports around the league.

Todd Bowles, Mike McCoy, and Joe Philbin have been asked for a second interview.  These interviews are supposed to happen fast, and a new head coach could be named as soon as tomorrow. 

Today was an active day on the Dolphin coaching front.  Before the news that Zimmer was out as a candidate to replace Tony Sparano, news was released that defensive coordiator Mike Nolan was teaming back up with Mike Smith in Atlanta, taking the same position with the Falcons.  Once the news broke, it made sense that Zimmer was the leading candidate because of his defensive background.  Then came the news that Zimmer, and Bears ST coordinator Dave Toub were no longer candidates for Miami. 

Todd Bowles, who was the defensive backs coach before becomming interim head coach after Sparano was fired, remains a top candidate.  He knows the team, and more importantly he knows Ireland.  The two of them worked in Dallas together, and that could go a long way in his quest to become a head coach.  He is considered a great head coaching candidate, players love to play for him, and former players say he knows the game really well.  Bowles was also in contention for other jobs, but some contend that was just to satisfy the Rooney Rule.  When you talk about philosophy between a head coach and general manager, Bowles and Ireland were cut from the same tree.  A huge question if Bowles were to be hired would be the coordinator positions. 

Mike McCoy fits the young Don Shula mold that Ross was looking for, well, at least the young part.  He is the current offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, and is getting a lot of props around the league for how he transformed the Denver offense to fit Tebow.  He also led Kyle Orton to one of his best years, and was the QB coach when Delhome led the Panthers to the Super Bowl.  McCoy has tons of energy, and is considered a good leader by many.  He's scheduled to interview for the second time on Wednesday in New York.

Joe Philbin is the final candidate in the running.  It has been said that he would love to accept the job if it were offered.  He is the current offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, and helped in the development of Aaron Rodgers.  The major knock on him is the fact that he doesn't call the plays for Green Bay.  A major plus for hiring Philbin, would be the chance that he brings Matt Flynn with him to Miami to run their version of the west coach offense. 

Those are the 3 that Ireland and Ross want to interview again.  Hopefully in the next day or two one of them will be named the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins.  After 3 weeks, I'm a little tired of the coaching search, I'm ready to move on to potential defensive and offensive coordinators, free agency, the draft, you name it, I would rather be talking about that right about now!

Phins Up!

BEL