In a move that many likely won’t be surprised by, the Miami Dolphins have reportedly fired defensive coordinator Josh Boyer.
League sources confirm Josh Boyer has been fired as Dolphins defensive coordinator.
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) January 19, 2023
On Monday, it was reported that the Dolphins were expected to make changes to the defensive staff, and those changes have come. In addition to Boyer, safeties coach Steve Gregory, outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie and assistant linebackers coach Steve Ferentz have also been fired.
#Dolphins announce they’ve fired defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, safeties coach Steve Gregory, outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie and assistant linebackers coach Steve Ferentz.
— Safid Deen 💯💯💯💯 (@Safid_Deen) January 19, 2023
It seems like head coach Mike McDaniel wants to bring in some of his own guys ahead of the 2023 season. Boyer, Gregory and Ferentz were holdovers from the Brian Flores era, while McKenzie was hired by the franchise in 2022 after spending the 2021 season with the Indianapolis Colts as a coaching fellow.
Many Dolphins fans had been clamoring for the team to get rid of Boyer, as the team’s pass defense wasn’t all that stellar this season. It let up 234.8 yards per contest through the air and got torched by Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in their wild-card game.
Plenty of people were upset with how often the Dolphins were in Cover 0 defense during the game, especially since their defensive backfield had been hampered by injuries all season long. However, Dolphins defensive backs were able to come up with some big plays in the game.
Byron Jones and Nik Needham, two key defensive backs, missed most of the season with injuries. Needham only played a few games in the regular season while Jones didn’t play a snap in the regular season or playoffs.
Identifying an option to replace Josh Boyer
Vic Fangio, who was previously linked to the Dolphins last offseason, might emerge as an option for the job. He already interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons for their vacant defensive coordinator position and is apparently a leading candidate for the same position with the Carolina Panthers.
If they have any type of interest in Fangio, the Dolphins will have to move pretty quickly. He has some familiarity with Bradley Chubb, as he coached him on the Denver Broncos.
With players like Christian Wilkins, Jevon Holland, Jaelan Phillips and others emerging as leaders on the defensive side of the ball, one can only imagine that Fangio has some level of interest in joining Miami.
