Miami Dolphins hiring outside linebackers coach, quarterbacks coach
New Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is putting the finishing touches on his staff and has reportedly found a new assistant to work directly with quarterback Tua Tagoviloa.
The Dolphins have agreed to terms to add former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator and interim coach Darrell Bevell as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, according to NFL Network. ESPN first reported Tuesday night the team was working on adding Bevell.
The team is also hiring Tyrone McKenzie as outside linebackers coach, a league source confirmed. McKenzie, 36, is a former linebacker for the New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings who most recently coached linebackers with the Detroit Lions during the 2020 season under Matt Patricia.
Bevell, 52, was hired by Urban Meyer as offensive coordinator and promoted to interim coach after Meyer was fired in December. Bevell had a 1-3 record while holding the interim status and new coach Doug Pederson opted not to retain him on staff.
A four-year starter at quarterback at Wisconsin, Bevell has over a decades’ worth of NFL experience as an offensive coordinator, including stints with the Vikings, Lions, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. Bevell also served as the Lions’ interim coach for four games after the firing of Matt Patricia. Bevell got his start coaching in the NFL as assistant quarterbacks coach and then quarterbacks coach for the Packers in the early 2000s. Some of the quarterbacks Bevell has worked with over the years include Trevor Lawrence, Matthew Stafford, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre.
Bevell won Super Bowl 48 with the Seahawks and Wilson but made the infamous play-call in Super Bowl 49 against the Patriots, a slant pass on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 26 seconds. Wilson was intercepted by cornerback Malcolm Butler, depriving Seattle of a repeat opportunity, and Bevell was widely criticized for not handing the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch.
Despite the criticism of the play-call, Bevell frequently led some of the best offenses in the league in Seattle; four of his offenses finished in the top 10 of Football Outsiders’ efficiency rankings.
Bevell would seemingly supplant quarterbacks coach Charlie Frye, who just completed his first season with the Dolphins. Frye has a relationship with Tagovailoa dating to high school when Frye coached Tagovailoa at the Elite 11 camp for the nation’s top high school players.
Bevell would be the latest addition to an offensive coaching staff that has been overhauled under McDaniel. McDaniel is hiring Los Angeles Chargers assistant Frank Smith as offensive coordinator. San Francisco 49ers assistants Jon Embree and Wes Welker are set to join McDaniel as tight ends coach/assistant head coach and wide receivers coach, respectively. Eric Studesville is remaining on staff to coach running backs but won’t retain his offensive coordinator title. And McDaniel is reportedly hiring Boston College offensive line coach Matt Applebaum for the same position in Miami.
On the defensive staff, McKenzie, who has also coached inside linebackers with the Tennessee Titans and was assistant special teams coach with the Los Angeles Rams, replaces Rob Leonard, who is joining the Baltimore Ravens in the same role.
McKenzie, whose hiring was first reported by NFL Network, joins a defensive staff mostly kept intact after the firing of Flores. McDaniel opted to keep Josh Boyer as defensive coordinator, along with cornerbacks coach Charles Burks, linebackers coach Anthony Campanile and defensive line coach Austin Clark. The Dolphins parted ways with defensive backs Gerald Alexander and could opt to fill his role.
McDaniel is also keeping special teams coordinator Danny Crossman.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 7:15 PM.
