Dolphins Hire Green Bay OC Joe Philbin As New Head Coach

Both coordinators bring along a wealth of experience -- 69 years of coaching, as the Miami Herald points out. Sherman was the Packers head coach from 2000-05 and most recently the Texas A&M football coach. Coyle comes from Cincinnati where he coached the Bengals defensive backs.

The men have known each other for years. Sherman first hired Philbin in 2003 with the Packers and Coyle has known Philbin for years.

“We are thrilled to have Joe Philbin join the Miami Dolphins as our head coach,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement released by the team. “Joe has all the attributes that we were looking for when we started this process. Jeff Ireland and I felt Joe was the right choice to bring the Dolphins back to the success we enjoyed in the past. I know I join our fans in welcoming him as the newest member of the Dolphin family.”

“I’m very excited for Joe and Diane (Philbin),” Packers head coach Mike McCarthy told the Milwuakee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinal. “I got to see them briefly. Everyone is excited. He’s worked hard for this opportunity.”

Pretty much every NFL reporter has tweeted some variation of Flynn-to-Miami, so we’ll just go with John Clayton.

It’s nothing official, of course, and free agency hasn’t even started, but one has to imagine the fit makes Miami an intriguing option for Flynn. There’s a familiarity there and the time to get acclimated would probably be almost negligible for Flynn, who would be in a position for success right away.

According to the Miami Herald, Philbin is expected to fly to Miami on Saturday, meet with owner Stephen Ross and the rest of the Dolphins executives and then sign a contract.

Terms of that deal are still not available but the Herald says it is “no less than four years.”

Bowles has been with the Dolphins since 2008 as the secondary coach and is also currently the interim coach. He’s one of three finalists.

It’s unclear exactly who leads the race at this point but a decision is expected to be made soon.

According to Salguero, Philbin will interview again on Wednesday, McCoy will interview again Thursday and Bowles’ next interview remains TBD, though it may have happened Tuesday. Team owner Stephen Ross is currently in New York and all meetings are expected to take place there.

For updates and analysis on the Dolphins and their coaching search, head to Dolphins blog The Phinsider.

For updates and analysis on the Dolphins and their coaching search, head to Dolphins blog The Phinsider.

For updates and analysis on the Dolphins and their coaching search, head to Dolphins blogThe Phinsider.

Philbin has been with the Packers since 2003 and took over offensive coordinator duties in 2007. The Packers have one of, if not the best offense in the NFL so it’s not a big surprise that Philbin is getting a look.

The Dolphins are said to be extremely high on Jeff Fisher but in case that falls through, Philbin could be the first of a few candidates for a back-up plan. Philbin has been the architect of the offense that won last year’s Super Bowl and led the Packers to a 15-1 season.

Whether that means any other suitor is out of the picture is unclear. A team like the Indianapolis Colts could be attractive if they let go of Jim Caldwell and take Andrew Luck with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. For now, though, Miami and St. Louis are apparently the top destinations.

For more on the coaching vacancies at St. Louis and Miami, head over to the SB Nation blogs Turf Show Times and The Phinsider. Also be sure to head over to our official hub for all 2012 Offseason NFL Moves.

Following his interview in Miami earlier this week, the Miami Herald reported that the Dolphins will not be outbid by any other team for Fisher’s services.

But...it’s a two-way street. Fisher has plenty of options and he’ll have to want the Dolphins as much as they want him. One of the things Fisher was looking for was the presence of a good young quarterback. A place like St. Louis has that, while Miami doesn’t.

The Dolphins fired Tony Sparano late in the 2011 season, after which the team, which started 0-7, went on a run to finish the season 6-10.

For updates and analysis on the Dolphins and their coaching search, head to Dolphins blog The Phinsider.

The Miami Herald recently made the case that the Dolphins have to hire Fisher. With Jon Gruden staying at ESPN, he’s the hottest coaching name on the market.

The Dolphins job may not be the best one available but it’s still a good one. After starting 0-7, the dolphins finished the season winning six of their last nine games. Clearly, they have some talent. What they’re missing, for the most part, is a quarterback.

This shouldn’t be a surprise. The Dolphins need to make a splash with their next hire to rejuvenate the franchise and with Jon Gruden reportedly staying at ESPN Fisher is clearly the most accomplished coach available.

Armando Salguero details the reasons the Dolphins needs to hire Fisher.

Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland released a statement through the team that kicks off the search to replace Tony Sparano.

The Dolphins haven’t been to the playoffs since 2008 and haven’t won a playoff game since 2000. They’ve also had one winning season in the last six. So you can imagine they’ll want to get this one right.