The Dolphins beat the Patriots 20-10 to close out the regular season and now they’d reportedly like to speak to a pair of New England assistants about their head coaching job.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Dolphins are requesting interviews with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. They would be able to speak with both coaches this week with the Patriots on a bye before opening their playoff run in the Divisional Round, but couldn’t schedule a second interview until New England is eliminated or in the week after the conference title games.
McDaniels spent parts of two seasons as the head coach in Denver before being fired with a 3-9 record in 2010. He had worked for New England before going to Denver and returned to the Patriots in 2012. Any team that hires him will be hoping that he learned a few things about how to make a second head coaching opportunity go better from Bill Belichick.
Patricia has never been a head coach and has been on the Patriots staff since 2004. He worked in various positions before making the move to coordinator for the 2012 season.
McDaniels and Patricia may not the only AFC East assistants on their radar. Schefter adds that they also want to talk to Bills running backs coach Anthony Lynn, who made the move to Buffalo with Rex Ryan after six years with the Jets. Lynn, who worked for Dolphins exec Mike Tannenbaum with the Jets, interviewed for the opening that eventually went to Todd Bowles last year.
