Miami Dolphins Darren Rizzi makes a case to be a head coach

The Miami Dolphins are not likely to move on from Adam Gase this off-season should the team fail down the stretch but Darren Rizzi want to be a head coach.

Earlier this week Darren Rizzi met with the media and was asked about becoming a head coach. He said he would like to be a head coach again having previously been one at the college level with New Haven (15-14) and Rhode Island (18-23) but Rizzi has spent his last ten years with the Miami Dolphins.

To put this in context, Rizzi has coached under Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin, and Adam Gase. He has also coached under two interim head coaches, Todd Bowles and Dan Campbell. Through those ten years he has served as the Dolphins special teams coach and assistant head coach. Should he be the next in line for the Dolphins HC should it open?

Rizzi talked about John Harbaugh specifically as a former special teams coach who was elevated to the NFL’s highest coaching position and referenced the success that he has had with the Ravens. He also said that there are many special teams coaches in the NFL who are worthy of the HC job. Himself included.

A couple of months ago, our former contributing staff member Perry Jarrell talked about the possibility of Rizzi being the next coach citing his fire and passion for coaching. The question is would Ross, should he move on from Adam Gase turn in-house to give a ten year staff member a shot to turn the team around?

That’s a hard question to answer and while Rizzi is more than qualified he may not be the name that rolls off Ross’ tongue when he starts thinking of his next head coach. That is if Ross is even remotely considering a move from Adam Gase.

Names like John and Jim Harbaugh continue to surface and there is a clear appreciation for the Harbaugh’s from Ross and we know of the failed attempt to bring Jim Harbaugh to Miami but should Darren Rizzi be atop that list? Maybe.

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Rizzi’s special teams units have been one of the best in the NFL over the last six to eight years and they are very consistent. Rizzi has shown a knack for bringing in talent at both punter and place kicker. This has some wondering if he could see that same talent in other areas of the team.

As Rizzi said to the media, the special teams coach has his hand in the entire team and that is something that could bode well for him perhaps as early as this off-season when teams begin to start searching for the next head coach to run their franchise.

Hiring Rizzi would make some sense. There would be continuity from Gase to the next head coach. He already knows the players and there is no doubt that the players have a lot of respect for him already. The downside is that Rizzi is not that “big” name that Ross may be looking for. Since we are talking in hypotheticals here, would Ross pass on a Harbaugh if they were available for Rizzi? Probably not.

Rizzi is probably as close to ready as any other coach in the NFL who has not sat at the head of the table but in those 10 years of coaching the Dolphins, Miami has one playoff appearance and a lot of really bad seasons. Then again, the bright spot has always been the special teams.

Chances are very slim at this point that Stephen Ross moves on from Adam Gase this season anyway but Rizzi has put it out publicly that he would like the chance and that means if another team views him as their guy, he could be gone this off-season.

As Perry said back in early November, it is something to watch.