Dolphins fire defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, dismiss multiple assistants
Josh Boyer has been fired as Dolphins defensive coordinator, the team announced Thursday, in head coach Mike McDaniel’s first major coaching change since his inaugural season leading Miami ended.
The team also announced safeties coach Steve Gregory, outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie and assistant linebackers coach Steve Ferentz were relieved of their duties.
“I am grateful for Josh’s contributions this year and throughout his tenure with the Dolphins,” McDaniel said in a news release. “The defense made strides through the season, so coming to this decision was not easy, but ultimately I feel it is in the best long-term interests of the Miami Dolphins and the continued growth of our players and team.”
Boyer was the top holdover from former coach Brian Flores’ staff, as the franchise sought stability for a defense that spearheaded its seven-game winning streak during the second half of the 2021 season.
But a defense that was supposed to emerge as one of the league’s top units struggled through stretches of the season and faced multiple injuries to key starters.
Miami’s defense regressed in multiple stats, including points allowed per game, takeaways and red zone defense. Football Outsiders’ efficiency metrics rated the Dolphins’ defense as No. 15 in the league; the unit finished 10th in 2021 and 11th in 2020.
The Dolphins ranked 24th in scoring defense (23.5 points per game) and allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game this season (103.0) but gave up the sixth-most passing yards per game (234.8).
Over the past few seasons, the Dolphins had been one of the best blitzing defenses in the NFL. However, Boyer’s reliance on it in backfired at times, as opponents were better prepared. It also failed to have as much success with injuries in the secondary and an inconsistent pass rush.
Key players such as cornerbacks Byron Jones and Nik Needham, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and safety Brandon Jones missed a significant portion, or the entirety, of the season, forcing Boyer to make adjustments throughout the year.
Recently, Boyer said he wouldn’t use the injuries as an excuse when he spoke to McDaniel after the season.
“It’s not like what happens if you don’t have this guy? How did you feel about this on the year? It’s just not part of the mentality,” he said in early January. “It’s really not. And we do self-scout and we study things that we’ve done well and things that we haven’t done well. But I think it’s insanity to worry about things you can’t control. I think the things that you got in front of you – and the reality of it is, our record will be what our record is and our stats will be what our stats are. That’s what it is. As a coach, as a coordinator, all you can control is the things that you have in front of you. I think that’s the way we approach it. I think anything else is wasted energy and wasted time.”
At the team’s end-of-season news conference on Monday, one day after the Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, McDaniel said he was proud of the way the defense and its coaching staff finished the season. However, he said he would take some time to make any decision on coaching staff changes.
Boyer originally joined Flores’ staff in 2019 as defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator before the 2020 season and had a role in unearthing undrafted gems such as Needham and cornerback Kader Kohou, who started 15 games in the regular season.
Gregory joined the Dolphins as a coaching assistant in 2021 and was promoted before the 2022 season. McKenzie had just finished his first season on the staff, while Ferentz was a coaching assistant for two seasons before being elevated to his role.
McDaniel is now tasked with hiring a defensive coordinator to build around a core of players including outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips, safety Jevon Holland and defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, and complement an offense that he built into one of the league’s best under quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
When he was hired, McDaniel reportedly explored bringing in Vic Fangio, a longtime NFL defensive coordinator who has spent this season as a consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles, before ultimately retaining Boyer.
Fangio, who was also head coach of the Denver Broncos from 2019 to 2021, has reportedly interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons for their defensive coordinator opening.
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 3:00 PM.
