Miami Dolphins interim head coach possibilities

Aug 16, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Miami Dolphins defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-14. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest problem for Stephen Ross is that his best experienced interim head coaching candidate is the one coach that he needs to fire more than any other. Coyle stepped in last season after Joe Philbin missed time due to his fathers passing and the team played well notching a 37-0 win against the visiting San Diego Chargers but his defense fell flat late in the season and this season they are ranked last.

Coyle would typically be the number one choice but Ross can’t go in that direction. Not even consider it. That leaves little else for him to choose from. Moving Coyle to head coach does take the defense out of his responsibility and would let him focus only on getting the team prepared as a whole but Coyle has also lost his side of the locker room and a change in this direction would surely lose the other side of the locker room as well.

Kevin Coyle can not and will not be the interim head coach and by days end may not have a job at all. Firing Coyle is the one expected decision that should be coming in the next two days despite the fact that Joe Philbin has stated that he has no intentions on firing his DC.

Bill Lazor is the next logical coaching candidate but it comes with the issue of experience and his lack of ingenuity with the teams offense. Lazor came to Miami as a promising coach with a promising future and while last year the Dolphins offense made very big strides, they have fallen extremely fast through the first four weeks of the season. Compounding the offensive woes is the fact that Miami added a new group of wide-receivers and a top tier tight end to the group. Yet so far the best Miami has gotten production wise from anyone not named Jarvis Landry is Rishard Matthews and third string tight end Jake Stoneburner.

Moving Lazor to interim head coach would give the Dolphins an opportunity to evaluate Lazor this season and decide if he a worthy permanent head coaching candidate. Moving Lazor would also take Lazor away from calling plays as well and that has been a problem for the Dolphins this season so far.

If the Dolphins opted to move Lazor to HC, they would need to promote a coach to offensive coordinator and frankly the only and perhaps best option would be tight-ends coach Dan Campbell. Campbell has earned a lot of respect from the players but he lacks the experience to handle the entire offense. Campbell has a promising future ahead of him but now is not the time to move him into a role that could derail that future. Not to mention the fact that if Campbell becomes the OC, it’s likely he won’t have a job with the Dolphins should a new coaching regime take over at seasons end. He could retain his role as TE coach with a new coaching change in 2016.

Lazor is a tough one to call because we don’t know if the fallacies of this years offensive play calling is due entirely to his inability to call plays or if Joe Philbin is dictating the teams approach. Lazor has history with Chip Kelly. Two seasons ago Lazor served as the quarterbacks coach under Kelly and it’s likely that his play calling style might lean more towards a true West Coast Spread than what we see now.

Since arriving in Miami, Lazor has been calling plays that are more like those of former OC Mike Sherman. They are safe and predictable with little or no risk. In fact, Miami has begun giving up on 3rd and long situations and taken to calling sweeps. Is this Lazor’s doing or is this directives from the head coach? We won’t know until Philbin is no longer coaching the team.

Next: Ross could go the special route