Al Saunders Hired as Dolphins Consultant: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

Just days after firing head coach Joe Philbin, the Miami Dolphins added a big name to their coaching staff by hiring Al Saunders as a consultant Wednesday.  

As reported by NFL Network's Albert Breer, Miami brought in the 68-year-old Saunders due in large part to his relationship with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Per Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com, Saunders and Lazor previously worked together as part of the Washington Redskins staff under Joe Gibbs.

Saunders has 32 years of coaching experience at the NFL level, including a three-year stint as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1986-1988. He has primarily been an offensive assistant, though, with the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs, the St. Louis Rams, the Redskins, the Baltimore Ravens and the Oakland Raiders.

He was part of the Raiders staff from 2011-2014 as an offensive coordinator and a senior offensive assistant, but rather than remain with the organization in a front-office capacity, he decided to retire in April, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com.

That retirement was short-lived, as Saunders will now attempt to fix what ails the Dolphins on the offensive side of the ball. Philbin was fired Monday, per ESPN.com's James Walker, and he was replaced on an interim basis by Dan Campbell.

In addition to those changes, Miami did some further reshuffling with regard to its offensive staff Wednesday, according to Breer:

The Dolphins are currently 1-3, and their offense has been abysmal, ranking 25th in yardage and 30th in scoring.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has taken a significant step back in his development, the run game hasn't gotten going with running back Lamar Miller, and the offensive line has been porous at times.

The onus is on the players to step up and on Campbell to motivate them, but having someone with the experience of Saunders on the staff is something that certainly cannot hurt as the Dolphins continue to search for answers.

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