An update on the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator search, with in-house options
More candidates have emerged to be the Dolphins’ next defensive coordinator, including a pair of in-house options.
Miami interviewed linebackers coach Anthony Campanile and outside linebackers coach Ryan Slowik, NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reported Monday.
Campanile, 41, just finished his fourth season coaching Miami’s linebackers. He interviewed for the team’s defensive coordinator opening last season. Campanile recently interviewed for the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator job. Campanile has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL but spent one season as a co-defensive coordinator at Boston College.
Slowik, 43, just completed his first season coaching the team’s outside linebackers. He joined coach Mike McDaniel’s staff as a senior defensive assistant in 2022.
Under Slowik’s watch, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Andrew Van Ginkel had standout seasons that were cut short due to injury. Phillips recorded 6.5 sacks and had a sack in five straight games before tearing his Achilles in Week 12. Chubb recorded 11 sacks, the most since his 2018 rookie year, but tore his Achilles in Week 17. Van Ginkel recorded a career-high six sacks but injured his foot in Week 18 and did not play in the team’s wild-card round game.
Slowik comes from a well-regarded football family. His father, Bob, was a longtime defensive coach in the NFL and now coaches in the Canadian Football League. His brother, Bobby, completed his first season as the Houston Texans’ offensive coordinator and is a fast-rising head coaching candidate.
Slowik played safety at Wisconsin-Oshkosh from 2001 to 2003 and then joined his father in the coaching ranks in 2005, working as a defensive assistant with the Denver Broncos. Bob was serving as the defensive backs coach for the Mike Shanahan-led Broncos. McDaniel was also on staff, working as a coaching intern, his first professional experience.
After four seasons in Denver, Slowik moved on to assistant positions with the Cardinals, Jets and Browns before heading to the college ranks to work as an assistant for Tennessee and then Webb School of Knoxville.
Slowik has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL.
In addition to Campanile and Slowik, the Dolphins are interviewing former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier this week, ESPN reported. Frazier spent the 2023 season away from the game after leading Buffalo’s defense for six years. During his tenure as the Bills’ defensive coordinator, Buffalo gave up the third-fewest points in the NFL and tied for the fewest yards allowed per play (5.1).
Frazier, 64, has been a longtime coach in the NFL, with over two decades of experience. He served as a defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings before serving as interim head coach of the Vikings in 2010 and then getting the full-time job. Frazier’s three full seasons in Minnesota included an 18-29-1 record, two fourth-place finishes in the NFC North and one playoff appearance in the 2012 season, in which the Vikings lost to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round.
Miami interviewed Frazier for its head coaching vacancy in 2022 before ultimately hiring McDaniel.
A former NFL defensive back, Frazier was part of the 1985 Bears team that won Super Bowl 20. His playing career was cut short by a knee injury he sustained in the game.
Slowik, Campanile and Frazier are the latest candidates to surface for the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator opening after Miami and Vic Fangio mutually parted ways last week. The Dolphins also interviewed former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley and requested to interview Buffalo Bills linebackers coach Bobby Babich.
Miami has also expressed interest in Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, according to The Athletic. However, a request to interview him was reportedly denied as he remains under contract in Carolina and new head coach Dave Canales wants Evero to stay in his role.
Evero, 43, has conducted interviews for head coaching opportunities this cycle. In 2023, Carolina ranked 29th in points allowed but sixth in yards per play (4.9). Evero also served as the Broncos defensive coordinator in 2022 and led a unit that ranked third in yards per play (5.0)
Elsewhere, ESPN reported over the weekend that the Tennessee Titans requested to interview Dolphins associate head coach/running backs coach Eric Studesville for their offensive coordinator position. Studesville, 56, is the longest-tenured coach on Miami’s staff; he joined in 2018 and spent one season as co-offensive coordinator in 2021.
