Next Miami Dolphins Head Coach Odds Favor Brian Daboll

• The Dolphins are looking for a coach after firing Brian Flores
• Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is the favorite to replace Flores
• A look at the candidates’ odds can be found below with analysis

The Miami Dolphins, to the surprise of many, are looking for a new coach.

The Dolphins fired Brian Flores on Monday after a second consecutive winning season. Brian Daboll has emerged as the early favorite to replace Flores and become the franchise’s 11th coach since its last playoff win in 2000.

This season, the Dolphins won eight of their last nine following a 1-7 start to finish 9-8. That came a year after Miami went 10-6. In all, Flores had a 24-25 record in three seasons, though the Dolphins failed to reach the playoffs.

Owner Stephen Ross said communication problems between Flores and the front office forced him to make a move.

Next Dolphins Coach Odds

SBD Odds as of January 11th.

Odds Favor Daboll

Daboll, the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator, is a name that continually shows up on lists of potential head coaching candidates in recent years. He has received interviews but hasn’t come away with a job yet.

The 46-year-old native of Welland, Ontario has eight seasons worth of NFL offensive coordinator experience with four teams, including the Cleveland Browns (2009-10), Miami Dolphins (2011), Kansas City Chiefs (2012) and Bills (2018-21).

A look inside the dictionary-sized playbook of Brian Daboll 👀#SaturdaysAreForTheBills | #GoBills pic.twitter.com/tZBvpAu5lA

— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) March 28, 2021

Daboll also spent time working on Nick Saban’s coaching staff at Alabama.

The most notable accomplishment of Daboll’s time in Buffalo has been developing quarterback Josh Allen into a Pro Bowler. Some draftniks thought the Bills overreached in 2018 when they drafted Allen with the seventh overall selection from Wyoming.

However, Allen has blossomed under Daboll’s tutelage following a rocky rookie season and led three straight playoff berths and back-to-back AFC East titles.

One of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL is how badly Ross wants the Dolphins to trade for Deshaun Watson if or when the Houston Texans QB resolves his legal issues.

That is a sure sign Tua Tangovailoa’s hold on the QB1 job is tenuous after two up-and-down seasons. However, Daboll could be the right coach to Tagovailoa on track, especially since the duo’s time overlapped at Alabama.

Brian Daboll was Tua Tagovailoa’s OC and QB coach at Alabama in 2017. https://t.co/06VQ4LfnzH pic.twitter.com/0OdST5jc8v

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 11, 2022

The Second Choices

Former Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy are the oddsmakers’ second choices. Both could bolster an offense that was 22^nd in the NFL in scoring this season with 20.1 points a game.

Doug Pederson is basically the opposite of Urban Meyer. Urban kicks his players. Doug serves them ice cream. pic.twitter.com/f2ivQc8Qia

— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) December 29, 2021

Pederson sat out the season after being fired by the Eagles at the end of 2020. He had a 42-37-1 record in five years and led Philadelphia to its first-ever Super Bowl title to conclude the 2017 season.

Pederson also has experience as an NFL offensive coordinator and was a backup quarterback in the league for 12 years.

In Bieniemy’s four seasons as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, they have finished no lower than sixth in the league in either points scored or total yards in any year.

Sup, Coach? 👀@ericbieniemy 🐬 pic.twitter.com/cisnXTw5DX

— Mario’s Crytsal Balls (@MrWineAndDine1) January 10, 2022

The knock on Bieniemy is that he does have play-calling duties as Chiefs head coach Andy Reid handles those responsibilities. Yet Bieniemy has built an outstanding reputation and many NFL analysts are shocked he has yet to land a head coaching job.

What About Harbaugh?

Ross shot down the idea of luring former San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh away from his post as head coach at the University of Michigan. Ross is the biggest donor in the university’s history.

“I’m not going to be the person to take Jim Harbaugh from the University of Michigan. … I hope he stays there; he’s a great coach.” – Miami Dolphins owner and Michigan graduate and donor Stephen Ross #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/S8LwdLAG4E

— TheWolverine.com (@TheWolverineOn3) January 10, 2022

Harbaugh added some luster to his fading star this past season by leading Michigan to its first Big Ten title since 2004. He has compiled an 85-61 record in seven years at his alma mater and was 44-19-1 in four seasons with the 49ers from 2011-14.

Who Will They Hire?

It seems certain the Dolphins will hire a coach from the offensive side to replace the defensive-minded Flores. In addition to his OC experience, Bieniemy also played running back in the NFL for nine seasons.

While Daboll certainly has a fine track record, the time feels right for a team to give Bieniemy the opportunity to run his own show.