Dolphins’ Tagovailoa, Hill finalists for NFL awards. And more coaching changes
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill are both finalists for NFL awards.
Tagovailoa is one of five finalists for the AP Comeback Player of the Year, and Hill is a finalist for the AP Offensive Player of the Year.
After missing five games because of a pair of stints in the concussion protocol in 2022, Tagovailoa played in every game in 2023, a first in his career. Tagovailoa led the NFL with a career-high 4,624 passing yards and set career-best marks for passing touchdowns (29) and completion percentage (69.3 percent). Tagovailoa was voted to his first Pro Bowl.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford are the other finalists for the Comeback Player of the Year award.
Hill led the NFL with a career-high 1,799 receiving yards. His 13 touchdown receptions tied for the NFL lead, and his 119 receptions ranked second. Hill was voted to the Pro Bowl and was a unanimous first-team AP All-Pro selection.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott are the other finalists for the Offensive Player of the Year award.
Winners will be announced at NFL Honors on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 9 p.m. at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas. The show will be broadcast on CBS and NFL Network and streamed on Paramount+ and NFL+.
More coaching changes
As the Dolphins start the process of replacing Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator, there will be additional changes to the team’s coaching staff in 2024.
NFL Network reported that Miami and offensive assistant Kolby Smith parted ways last week. NFL Network also reported that offensive assistants Ricardo Allen and Mike Judge and assistant special teams coach Brendan Farrell won’t return for the 2024 season.
Smith joined the Dolphins in 2020 and was promoted to offensive assistant in 2022. He served as a quality control coach in 2020 and 2021.
Allen joined the Dolphins in 2022, and Judge joined the team in 2019. He was a quality control coach in 2019 and 2020, assistant tight ends coach in 2021 and assisted the personnel department in 2022.
Farrell has served as assistant special teams coach under special teams coordinator Danny Crossman since 2019.
247Sports also reported that assistant defensive line coach Kenny Baker is expected to join the University of Texas as its new defensive line coach. Baker joined Miami’s staff in 2023. On Tuesday, the Senior Bowl announced that he would be representing Miami and coaching defensive linemen in Mobile.
This story may be updated.
