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Josh Boyer

2023 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

February 28th, 2023 at 2:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the head coaching carousel spun for several weeks, many teams made coordinator changes as well. Teams seeking new head coaches are conducting OC and DC searches, and a handful of other teams that did not make HC changes are also searching for top assistants.

This is a big year for offensive coordinator hires, with nearly half the league making changes. Here are the teams searching for new OCs and DCs. As new searches emerge, they will be added to the list.

Updated 3-1-23 (3:31pm CT)

Offensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals 

Baltimore Ravens (Out: Greg Roman)

Carolina Panthers (Out: Ben McAdoo)

  • Thomas Brown, tight ends coach, (Rams): Hired
  • Jim Bob Cooter, passing-game coordinator (Jaguars): Interviewed

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Kellen Moore)

  • Brian Angelichio, tight ends coach (Vikings): Interviewed 2/2
  • Thomas Brown, tight ends coach (Rams): Interviewed
  • Jeff Nixon, running backs coach (Panthers): Interviewed
  • Brian Schottenheimer, offensive consultant (Cowboys): Hired

Denver Broncos (Out: Justin Outten)

Houston Texans (Out: Pep Hamilton)

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Parks Frazier)

  • Jim Bob Cooter, passing-game coordinator (Jaguars): Hired
  • Tee Martin, wide receivers coach (Ravens): Interview requested

Kansas City Chiefs (Out: Eric Bieniemy)

  • Matt Nagy, quarterbacks coach (Chiefs): Hired

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Joe Lombardi)

Los Angeles Rams (Out: Liam Coen)

New York Jets (Out: Mike LaFleur)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Shane Steichen)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Byron Leftwich)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Todd Downing)

Washington Commanders (Out: Scott Turner)

Defensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals (Out: Vance Joseph)

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Dean Pees)

Buffalo Bills (Out: Leslie Frazier)

Carolina Panthers (Out: Al Holcomb)

  • Ejiro Evero, former defensive coordinator (Broncos): Hired
  • Vic Fangio, former head coach (Broncos): Interviewed
  • Marquand Manuel, safeties coach (Jets): Interviewed
  • Kris Richard, co-defensive coordinator (Saints): Interviewed

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans 

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Renaldo Hill)

  • Derrick Ansley, defensive backs coach (Chargers): Promoted
  • Doug Belk, defensive coordinator (Houston): Interviewed
  • DeMarcus Covington, defensive line coach (Patriots): Interviewed

Miami Dolphins (Out: Josh Boyer)

Minnesota Vikings (Out: Ed Donatell)

New Orleans Saints (Out: Ryan Nielsen, Kris Richard)

  • Joe Woods, former defensive coordinator (Browns): Hired

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Jonathan Gannon)

San Francisco 49ers (Out: DeMeco Ryans)

  • Vic Fangio, former head coach (Broncos): On radar
  • Chris Harris, defensive backs coach (Commanders): Interviewed 1/31
  • Kris Kocurek, defensive line coach (49ers): On radar
  • Steve Wilks, former interim head coach (Panthers): Hired

Vic Fangio To Accept Dolphins’ DC Offer

February 2nd, 2023 at 10:09am CST by Sam Robinson

Making a point to indicate he was still on the market, Vic Fangio will indeed take the Dolphins up on their recent offer. The former Broncos HC has decided to join Mike McDaniel in Miami, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Fangio interviewed with the Falcons and Panthers and was linked to being a possible DeMeco Ryans replacement in San Francisco, where he had a strong DC run in the early 2010s. But the Dolphins plan to make him the league’s highest-paid DC. Fangio will join the team after Super Bowl LVII, Schefter notes.

As far as money goes, the Dolphins lured him to Florida by offering him a three-year contract that averages north of $4.5MM annually, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Although head coach salaries are skyrocketing, this is in the ballpark of some HC contracts. Fangio went 19-30 with the Broncos from 2019-21, but a host of teams recognized his defensive acumen, creating a bidding war the Dolphins won.

The past few weeks have revealed the NFL’s view of Fangio, whose defensive influence has been felt around the league in recent years. Although he flamed out after three seasons as Denver’s HC, the 64-year-old coach had a host of options. The 49ers circled back to Fangio — their DC from 2011-14 — but the recently reported Dolphins pledge will win out. Fangio will replace Josh Boyer in Miami and will reunite with Bradley Chubb, whom he coached in Denver for three seasons. The delay between the reported Dolphins hire and Thursday’s report stemmed from Fangio feeling a bit rushed, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson tweets. He suddenly became one of the league’s most coveted commodities.

The Panthers sought Fangio before and after Frank Reich‘s hire, and the Falcons interviewed him more than two weeks ago. Atlanta ended up hiring New Orleans co-DC Ryan Nielsen, while Carolina remains on the hunt for its defensive leader. Miami, meanwhile, will represent Fangio’s sixth DC gig. Fangio will bring nearly 40 years’ experience of coaching at the professional level, having broken in with the original USFL back in 1984. He has been a DC for the Panthers, Colts, Texans, 49ers and Bears, with the Broncos HC post obviously including defensive leadership as well.

McDaniel viewed Fangio as a strong option last year, Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com tweets, but Dolphins brass wanted him to retain Boyer after a strong 2021 season defensively. Brian Flores played a significant role in the team’s defensive success in 2021, however. While McDaniel is not believed to have viewed Boyer as a lame duck, the young HC has managed to secure a partnership with one of this era’s best defensive coaches.

Fangio held DC jobs for two expansion teams — the Panthers and Texans — from 1995-2005 and the former venturing to the NFC championship game in its second year of existence centered around a veteran-laden defense that allowed just 13.6 points per game. After not experiencing the same level of success in Indianapolis or Houston, Fangio rebuilt his stock in San Francisco. The 49ers morphed into a dominant defense in Fangio’s first season, and they held top-three defensive rankings in each of his first three years with the team. Fangio earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2018 in Chicago, when the Bears ranked first defensively, vaulting him into position to land the Denver job.

The Dolphins should be expected to utilize a 3-4 scheme under Fangio, who will take over a unit housing Chubb, Jaelan Phillips and Emmanuel Ogbah. Denver deployed two top-10 defenses under Fangio, despite Chubb and Von Miller being unable to stay on the field together for nearly his entire tenure. Fangio was tied to Sean Payton in December, but a return to Denver so soon after being fired seemed unrealistic.

Dolphins Fire DC Josh Boyer

January 19th, 2023 at 1:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

A Brian Flores hire, Josh Boyer stayed on for Mike McDaniel‘s first Dolphins season. The team will not keep its defensive coordinator around for 2023.

The Dolphins have fired Boyer, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (on Twitter). The Dolphins have announced the move. The ex-Patriots assistant was in place for four seasons in Miami, the past three as the team’s DC.

The Dolphins have also fired outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie, safeties coach Steve Gregory and assistant linebackers coach Steve Ferentz, per Pelissero and ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Gregory and Ferentz were holdovers from Flores’ staff, while McKenzie was a McDaniel hire from 2022.

Miami’s defense dropped from 16th to 24th in points allowed from 2021-22 and fell from 10th to 15th in DVOA. Boyer not being a McDaniel hire certainly made his seat warm coming into the season. Flores hired Boyer, a 13-year Patriots assistant, as his cornerbacks coach in 2019. After Patrick Graham left to become the Giants’ DC in 2020, Boyer stepped in. McDaniel, who did add his own OC last year, will now be responsible for the Fins’ other main coordinator hire.

Although the Dolphins ranked sixth in scoring defense during Boyer’s first DC season (2020), the team poured in major investments on the unit in the years since. The Dolphins drafted Jaelan Phillips in the 2021 first round and re-signed Emmanuel Ogbah in 2022. The team sent first- and fourth-round picks to the Broncos for Bradley Chubb at the deadline but lost Ogbah for the season soon after. Chubb recorded just 2.5 sacks in eight games as a Dolphin.

Boyer did not have the benefit of Ogbah for the season’s second half and was without Byron Jones for all of the 2022 season. The veteran cornerback underwent surgery in March 2022, and while that procedure was to have him back well before training camp, the injury lingered throughout the year. That said, NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe tweets some Dolphins were not fans of Boyer’s scheme.

Injuries at quarterback also impacted Miami’s defense this season, but the team will sever much of its remaining Patriots ties. Gregory, an ex-Pats defensive back, has been with the team since 2021. Steve Ferentz, the son of ex-Bill Belichick coworker-turned-Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz, joined Miami’s staff in 2020.

Come 2023, the Dolphins will have employed eight combined OCs and DCs. Flores proved to be trigger-happy with his offensive play-calling post, and with McDaniel running the show on offense, the franchise will have a new play-caller on the other side soon.

Dolphins DC Josh Boyer On Hot Seat?

January 3rd, 2023 at 9:45pm CST by Ben Levine

The Dolphins have dropped five straight and find themselves out of the postseason picture, a major disappointment for an organization that was looking to take a step forward this season. Heads will surely roll if Miami fails to qualify for the playoffs, and a source told Armando Salguero of Outkick.com that defensive coordinator Josh Boyer could be a casualty.

Boyer’s job status could somewhat be connected to that of Mike McDaniel, with Salguero noting that if the head coach survives the offseason, then there’s no guarantee Boyer sticks in his position. Boyer was a holdover from Brian Flores’ staff, so it wouldn’t be surprising if McDaniel looks to shake things up with his own defensive coordinator. Even then, if McDaniel is canned following the season, there’s little chance Boyer would manage to stick around with a third head coach.

Boyer joined the NFL coaching ranks with the Patriots, where he worked his way up from defensive assistant to cornerbacks coach. He joined Flores in Miami in 2019 and earned the title of defensive pass game coordinator, and he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2020. After ranking top-1o in points allowed during his first season at the helm, the Dolphins dropped to 16th in 2021 and 27th this season. The defense has been especially bad during the team’s current streak; after allowing around 23 points per game during their 8-3 start, opponents have averaged more than 30 points per game during the active five-game losing streak.

The defensive coordinator’s fate will be one of many decisions for Dolphins executives to make in anticipation of the offseason. Salguero explored the job security of McDaniel in particular, with the writer wondering if the coach has done enough to prevent the organization from pursuing someone like Sean Payton. The Dolphins will also have to make a decision on Tua Tagovailoa, with Salguero noting that owner Stephen Ross would be interested in Aaron Rodgers if the veteran QB was willing to play in Miami.

Dolphins Retain Josh Boyer As DC

February 11th, 2022 at 8:55am CST by Adam La Rose

While the coaching staff in Miami has seen some notable changes this offseason, the man at the head of the defense will be remaining with the team. As Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper writes, Josh Boyer will be retained as the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator.

New head coach Mike McDaniel has been busy assembling his staff on the offensive side of the ball. Yesterday saw the addition of Jon Embree as assistant head coach, along with Wes Welker to coach the teams’ wide receivers. The search for a new offensive coordinator also began, as the team interviewed veteran coach Curtis Johnson for the position.

On the defensive staff, though, continuity was expected given not only McDaniel’s status as a first-time HC, but the unit’s success in the latter half of the season in particular. It was reported at the beginning of the week that Boyer was one of several members of the defensive staff McDaniel would be trying to keep in place, so this news isn’t a surprise.

Boyer, 45, began his NFL coaching career with the Patriots in 2006, where he worked with the team’s secondary. When Brian Flores left Foxborough to take the HC job with the Dolphins in 2019, Boyer followed. After one season working with Miami’s cornerbacks, he replaced Patrick Graham at the DC role.

The Dolphins tied for fifth in the NFL in sacks this past season, with 48, giving up scoring (21.9) and yardage (337.5) totals that are more than respectable, given the team’s offensive struggles. With a familiar face at the helm in 2022, they’ll look to build on that foundation.

Coaching Rumors: Saints, Texans, McDaniel, Giants, Broncos

February 6th, 2022 at 8:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints began their cycle of head coaching interviews this week, conducting meetings with the following candidates: former Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson (1/30; hired by Jaguars), former Dolphins’ head coach Brian Flores (2/1), Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (2/2), their current special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi (2/3), their current defensive coordinator Dennis Allen (2/4), and Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (2/6).

New Orleans also requested permission to interview Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. There were some early reports that permission had been granted, but that hasn’t been confirmed and nothing has been scheduled, as of yet. ESPN’s Saints’ reporter Mike Triplett also mentioned that current offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was offered an opportunity to interview for the position, but Carmichael declined. Despite being a part of Sean Payton‘s staff since Payton’s tenure in New Orleans began back in 2006, it appears Carmichael has no interest in running the show in the Big Easy. Whether he has retirement or another destination in mind or he is just comfortable in his role, Carmichael will not be the Saints’ next head coach.

Here are a few more notes from the ongoing coaching searches and staff changes throughout the NFL, starting with the other head coaching vacancy:

  • Houston recently narrowed their list of head coaching candidates down to three: Brian Flores, former quarterback Josh McCown, and Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Well, according to USA Today’s Josina Anderson, the Texans are now down to two candidates, with Gannon being informed Saturday that he will not be receiving the head coaching position, leaving Flores and McCown as the two remaining names.
  • New Dolphins’ head coach Mike McDaniel reportedly has interest in holding on to some of the defensive assistants currently under contract in Miami, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. This includes current defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, who followed Flores to Miami from New England. The lack of staff turnover would be a positive for a defensive unit that played well during the team’s seven-game win-streak in the back half of the season.
  • The Giants were able to add a piece to Brian Daboll‘s new staff while missing out on another today. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tweeted out that Andy Bischoff will become the Giants’ new tight ends coach. Bischoff followed David Culley from Baltimore to Houston and will make the lateral move over from the Texans with their head coaching position still in the air. Unfortunately, the Giants did not get their running backs coach, as Bruce Feldman of The Athletic tweeted out that Deland McCullough has turned down Daboll’s offer, choosing instead to remain the running backs coach at Notre Dame, believing it gives him the best opportunity to eventually become a head coach.
  • New Broncos’ head coach Nathaniel Hackett is also looking to fill out his staff. The Broncos are planning to interview Jon Embree who most recently held the position of tight ends coach/assistant head coach in San Francisco. Embree parted ways with the Niners after being asked to take a 60 percent pay cut after San Francisco’s NFC Championship loss. The man who has coached George Kittle since he was drafted in 2017 would be a nice addition to Hackett’s system.

Giants To Hire Patrick Graham As DC, Dolphins Promote Josh Boyer

January 12th, 2020 at 5:25pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Giants officially have a new defensive coordinator. New York is hiring Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, Miami is promoting Josh Boyer to replace Graham, Pelissero tweets.

Graham was already the defensive play-caller in Miami, but the team allowed him to interview anyway. NFL Insider Adam Caplan says Graham will also be given the title of assistant head coach in New York, which may be part of the explanation (Twitter link).

Graham coached with new Giants head coach Joe Judge in New England, so there’s a lot of familiarity there. Graham got his start as a graduate assistant at Wagner College back in 2002 and spent most of the next decade in the college ranks before making the jump to become an assistant with the Patriots in 2009.

He also served as defensive line coach with the Giants in 2016 and 2017 under Ben McAdoo, so this is a homecoming for him. As for the Dolphins, they’ll now have two new coordinators in 2020. They elected to fire offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea after the season, replacing him with Chan Gailey. The Dolphins’ defense obviously wasn’t too good this past year, but Graham was working with startlingly little talent, so it’s hard to hold that against him.

Boyer is another former Patriots assistant who rose through the ranks under Bill Belichick. He served as cornerbacks coach for New England for seven straight years before Flores hired him to be his passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach last season.

Coaching Notes: Patriots, Slauson, Boyer, Colts, AAF

February 9th, 2019 at 7:36pm CST by Micah Powell

Following a long run with the Patriots as cornerbacks and defensive backs coach, Josh Boyer will join new head coach Brian Flores in Miami, the Boston Globe’s Jim McBride writes.

Boyer joined New England in 2006 as a defensive assistant after serving as defensive coordinator at the South Dakota School of Mines. After spending three seasons as an assistant, he assumed defensive backs coach duties, and served in a similar position from 2009 to 2018. With the Patriots, Boyer won three Super Bowls.

He will become defensive backs coach in Miami while also serving as the defensive pass game coordinator.

Boyer becomes the latest member of the Patriots coaching staff to exit the team following the AFC powerhouse’s 13-3 win over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII. He joins Chad O’Shea (receivers coach) and Jerry Schuplinski (assistant quarterbacks coach) to follow former Patriots defensive coordinator Flores to Miami. Defensive line coach Brendan Daly also departed the staff, taking a similar role with the Chiefs.

Here’s more from the league’s coaching scene:

  • Raiders defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley is joining the University of Tennessee staff in a similar role, NBC Sports’ Scott Bair writes. Ansley will reunite with head coach Jeremy Pruitt, who he served with while with the University of Alabama. Last year was Ansley’s first in the NFL, and the Raiders reportedly were happy with the job he did with the team’s young defensive backs.
  • Recently retired offensive lineman Matt Slauson turned down a coaching job with the Colts, SiriusXM’s Alex Marvez tweets. Marvez notes Slauson said he wants to spend more time with his family following his nine-year run in the NFL but left open the possibility of entering the coaching ranks at a later date. In 2018, the right guard made five starts with Indianapolis.
  • Former Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle has resurfaced as the head coach of the Atlanta Legends of the AAF, ESPN’s Michael Rothstein writes. He originally joined the team expecting to be the defensive coordinator but assumed head coaching duties after former NFL head coach Brad Childress abruptly resigned. Miami’s defensive coordinator for four seasons, Coyle last appeared in the NFL as the Bengals’ defensive backs coach from 2016-17.