Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
New assistants share thread of NFL experience
Dolphins hope Flores’ staff adds experience for first-time coach
MIAMI GARDENS — The new Miami Dolphins coaching staff features firsttime head coach Brian Flores, first-time offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea and first-time defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
That’s a lot of firsts, especially for a NFL franchise attempting to rebuild its roster with hopes of sustained success under the direction of general manager Chris Grier, who is in charge of the Dolphins’ football operations for the first time in his career, too.
The new Dolphins coaches hope to keep learning, aided by an experienced group of assistants intended to provide leadership and continuity along the way.
“I think we’re here for one reason: to win and to do it in a team fashion,” said new tight ends coach George Godsey, who was also an assistant to former Patriots assistants like Bill O’Brien in Houston and Matt Patricia in Detroit during their first stints at head coach. I want to make sure we find out the quickest way to do that.”
When the Dolphins officially hired Flores after the Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 4, they moved swiftly to hire assistant coaches, who had their first meeting with local media at team headquarters on Friday.
The Dolphins hired O’Shea, cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer and assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski, who all worked with Flores on the Patriots staff last season.
Graham and Godsey, who were both also assistants in New England, were hired to Flores’ staff, too.
All five coaches worked with Flores in New England under the tutelage of coach Bill Belichick.
They hope to create some winning ways of their own with Flores in Miami.
“I have a great deal of respect for him as a leader and a coach, and more importantly, I have a great deal of respect for him as a person and his ability to lead the Miami Dolphins,” said O’Shea, who bonded with Flores by sharing an office in New England and running stadium bleachers before games.
Added Graham: “Even in those days when you spend all that time together, I’ve always thought about Coach Flores, that he is an impressive human being. From the first time you meet him, you realize there’s something different about him.”
Outside of Flores’ prior connections to his Patriots co-workers, other coaches with other backgrounds joined the staff, too.
Former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, who was groomed by Tony Dungy, joined the staff to be a helpful guide for Flores as his associate head coach and quarterbacks coach.
Wide receiver coach Karl Dorrell, a former Dolphins receiver and quarterbacks coach under Tony Sparano, joined the staff again after a stint with the New York Jets.
Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman joined the staff after the past six seasons with the Buffalo Bills to replace popular Dolphins assistant Darren Rizzi, now with the New Orleans Saints.
Graham, new offensive line coach Pat Flaherty and new linebackers coach Rob Leonard joined the Dolphins staff after first working at different points with the New York Giants.
Running backs coach Eric Studesville and new safeties coach Tony Oden, who coached cornerbacks last season, are two holdovers from former coach Adam Gase’s staff.
New defensive line coach Marion Hobby may not have had a prior coaching connection with Flores, outside of being a Jaguars assistant with Flaherty last season, but he has a unique relationship with Grier.
Hobby was a Patriots defensive lineman from 1990-92, during the time Grier’s father, Bobby, was an coaching running backs, before eventually joining New England’s front office as a scout.
When rumors began to swirl about Flores being the top candidate for the Dolphins job during the NFL playoffs, Hobby worked the phones to get on the team’s radar, but Grier’s hands were tied during the holding period.
Now that Hobby is officially part of Flores’ staff, he believes the Dolphins are in a favorable position with Flores and particularly Grier at the helm.
“I knew Chris from then – he was a lot younger – but I knew him from then,” Hobby said.
“I think if you know anything about him, he’s a coach’s son born and raised in this business. I think his eye for talent, as you can see since he’s been here, has grown.”