NFL Rumors: Dolphins' Next Head Coach Must Have Offensive Background

If the Dolphins are going to become playoff contenders, they are going to have to improve on offense.

Without a solid offense that can consistently score against the AFC's best teams, the Dolphins will be looking for a new coach every few seasons. Fortunately, they seem to be on the same wavelength.

According to Barry Jackson and Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald, the Dolphins have narrowed their coaching search to three men: Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, who was the interim coach for the Dolphins at the end of the season and previously the secondary coach, and Todd Bowles.

The name that immediately needs to be eliminated is Bowles, who's been previously been linked to the Oakland Raiders. That is a good fit, as the Raiders had one of the worst defenses in the league in 2011. But where the Raiders need improvement on defense, the Dolphins need it on defense. Look at their 2011 numbers.

	Number	NFL Rank
Points Per Game	20.6	20
Rushing Yards Per Game	124.2	11
Passing Yards Per Game	193.2	23

Even those were aided by a strong finishing stretch of games, coming well after the competitive portion of the season was done. To compete with the Patriots in the AFC East, you need to be able to consistently put up points. 

Look at the last game between the two teams. The Dolphins jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but couldn't score again until a meaningless late touchdown. The only way to fix that problem is to bring in an offensive coach. 

The sexier of the two offensive names is Philbin. He's been the Packers offensive coordinator since 2007, which was Brett Favre's last year. He knows quarterbacks and how to develop them. Look at what the quarterbacks under Philbin have done in those five seasons. 

	Quarterback	Completion Percentage	Yards	TD	INT	Passer Rating
2007	Brett Favre	66.5	4,115	28	15	95.7
2008	Aaron Rodgers	63.6	4,038	28	13	93.8
2009	Aaron Rodgers	64.7	4,434	30	7	103.2
2010	Aaron Rodgers	65.7	3,992	28	11	101.2
2011	Aaron Rodgers	68.3	4,643	45	6	122.5

Yes, those are immensely talented quarterbacks. Favre is a future Hall of Famer, and Rodgers is well on his way. But if you don't think Philbin had a lot to do with that success (particularly Rodgers), you're crazy and not paying attention.

The Dolphins have yet to find Dan Marino's replacement. Giving a guy whose quarterbacks have put up those kind of numbers a chance would be well advised.

The other option is McCoy. On paper, the Broncos offense doesn't stack up. But looking a little deeper, his resume holds up. 

Kyle Orton had never thrown for 3,000 yards when he came to Denver in 2009, which was also McCoy's first year as offensive coordinator. Yet in that season, Orton threw for 3,802 yards. The following year, he threw for 3,653, missing three games. 

When Orton was benched in favor of Tim Tebow in 2011, the Broncos had the top rushing offense in the league. That shows that McCoy has an ability to build an offense based on the talents of his players, not trying to find the right players to fit his system. Never underestimate how valuable that is. 

McCoy is also familiar with Matt Moore, who is the likely Dolphins quarterback going into next season. The two worked together from 2007-2009, when McCoy was on Carolina's staff. 

Of the two, Philbin is the better option. He's been the only offensive coordinator Aaron Rodgers has known since becoming a starter, which means a lot. 

McCoy is not a bad second option. But either way, they need to be sure that the next coach is someone with an offensive mindset that knows quarterbacks. If they don't, we'll be right back here in a few years.

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