Who could be the Dolphins’ next defensive coordinator? A list of possible candidates

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is set for his first major hire since bringing in his inaugural staff.

On Thursday, the Dolphins announced they parted ways with defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, who was the top holdover from former coach Brian Flores’ staff, along with three assistants.

McDaniel elected to retain Boyer, as well as multiple assistants, but after one season, he’s now searching for a new person to lead a defense that has a promising young core but struggled in 2022.

Here are five possible candidates for Miami’s defensive coordinator opening.

Vic Fangio, Eagles defensive consultant

When McDaniel arrived in South Florida last February, it was widely speculated and reported that the first-time head coach sought out Fangio as his defensive coordinator. Instead, he retained Boyer and Fangio — who had just been fired as Denver Broncos head coach — spent the 2022 season as a defensive consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles.

A year later, Fangio, 64, still checks all the boxes as a defensive running mate for McDaniel, who calls the offensive plays. He’s a longtime defensive coordinator who’s seen as the godfather of the two-high defensive concepts that have sprouted all over the league as counters to the offensive explosion in recent years. Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, whom the Dolphins traded for in November, had a Pro Bowl season in 2020 and a career-high 12 sacks as a rookie in 2018 under Fangio.

Fangio has reportedly interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator opening.

Sean Desai, Seahawks associate head coach

If the Dolphins don’t pursue or strike out on Fangio, they could opt for one of his top protégés. Desai, 39, is regarded as one of the brightest young minds in the league. He got his start in the NFL as a quality control coach with the Chicago Bears in 2013 and was retained through a pair of coaching changes, eventually elevated to safeties coach in 2019. In 2021, he was named defensive coordinator, becoming the first person of Indian descent to become a coordinator. Despite injuries to key players, Chicago’s defense was rated No. 13 by Football Outsiders’ efficiency metrics.

Desai wasn’t retained by Matt Eberflus after Matt Nagy was fired, and he spent this past season as an associate head coach of defense with the Seattle Seahawks. An Ivy League graduate — he earned his master’s degree from Columbia — Desai has been described as a great communicator and detailed teacher.

Ejiro Evero, Broncos defensive coordinator

Evero, 42, is a hot commodity for the many head coaching openings. He has been requested to interview for all five vacancies, including Denver’s. And if the Broncos’ next head coach does not retain him, Evero is expected to be heavily pursued for defensive coordinator vacancies.

Evero was offered the interim role after Nathaniel Hackett was fired as head coach, but he opted to stick with his defense in his first season in the role. He learned under many notable defensive minds, including Fangio, Dom Campers, Wade Phillips and Raheem Morris, and led a unit that ranked third in yards per play (5.0) and 10th in Football Outsider’s efficiency metrics.

Kris Kocurek, 49ers defensive line coach

Kocurek is in his fourth season as an assistant with San Francisco and overlapped with McDaniel, who was with the 49ers from 2017 to 2021. Kocurek, 44, has been a defensive line coach on the college or pro level since 2006 and is now overseeing one of the best defensive fronts in San Francisco.

Last September, McDaniel said his favorite position is EDGE and defensive line — “they dictate the terms the quarterback is able to play on and they establish the line of scrimmage.” While the Dolphins have spent the past few seasons investing significant capital in the secondary, hiring Kocurek could mark the first step in prioritizing a defensive front that includes players such as Chubb, outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips and defensive lineman Christian Wilkins.

Aaron Whitecotton, Jets defensive line coach

Whitecotton just completed his second season as the Jets’ defensive line coach. He was previously assistant defensive line coach for the 49ers in 2020, working under New York head coach Robert Saleh and overlapping with McDaniel in San Francisco. The Jets had one of the league’s best defensive fronts in 2022, as Quinnen Williams was named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press.

Other possible candidates:

▪ Austin Clark, Dolphins defensive line coach

▪ Anthony Campanile, Dolphins linebackers coach

▪ Mike Rutenberg, Jets linebackers coach

▪ Jerome Henderson, Giants defensive backs coach

▪ Vance Joseph, Cardinals defensive coordinator

▪ Joe Woods, former Browns defensive coordinator

▪ Ed Donatelli, former Vikings defensive coordinator

▪ Steve Wilks, Panthers interim head coach