Who are some viable offensive coordinator candidates for the Dolphins?

The Miami Dolphins will be welcoming offensive coordinator candidates to the interview room this weekend in what figures to be a critical week for the trajectory of the Dolphins’ offense. Miami’s offense took positive steps in 2020, but there were plenty of areas of improvement between the red zone, short yardage and third down that need to be addressed. Miami hopes that their next hire can work well with young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and smooth over some of those sore spots along the way. But who will the next hire be?

We’ve put the Dolphins’ past trends with senior offensive coaches under the microscope and, between Jim Caldwell and Chan Gailey, there are a few trends and points of emphasis that the Dolphins have pursued in the past. These aren’t the only criteria that matter to the Dolphins, of course, but they are notable and can help us decipher which candidates the Dolphins may pursue if they’re going to work under the same rules that they have in the past.

Those criteria?

• A former head coach 
• Prior experience calling plays
• 15+ years of experience at the NFL level

With that in mind, who are the candidates on the market who can check these boxes?

Doug Pederson*

Head coach of: Philadelphia Eagles

Play calling years: 2016-2020 (Philadelphia)

NFL experience: 12 (27)

The Philadelphia Eagles have fired Doug Pederson this week in a surprising move — Pederson is just a few years removed from coaching the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship with a backup quarterback in Nick Foles. He qualifies for the Dolphins criteria if you’re willing to give him credit for his time in the NFL as quarterback. Pederson has coached with Kansas City and Philadelphia as a member of the Andy Reid coaching tree since 2009.

The big question for Miami is if Pederson is comfortable with taking a step back into a coordinator’s role — he figures to be a potential head coach candidate for other vacancies across the league.