Miami Dolphins announce coaching staff additions
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February 8, 2019
Miami Dolphins announce coaching staff additions
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins today announced 16 members of their coaching staff for the 2019 season: Jim Caldwell (assistant head coach/quarterbacks), Danny Crossman (special teams coordinator), Patrick Graham (defensive coordinator), Chad O’Shea (offensive coordinator), Josh Boyer (defensive pass game coordinator/cornerbacks), Karl Dorrell (wide receivers), Pat Flaherty (offensive line), George Godsey (tight ends), Marion Hobby (defensive line), Rob Leonard (linebackers), Tony Oden (safeties), Jerry Schuplinski (assistant quarterbacks), Eric Studesville (running backs), Josh Grizzard (quality control), Matt Lombardi (quality control) and Tiquan Underwood (quality control).
Along with head coach Brian Flores, the 17 coaches combine for 179 years of NFL coaching experience. The group has 19 Super Bowl rings with five different organizations – Baltimore, Denver, Indianapolis, New England and the N.Y. Giants. During those 179 seasons, the coaching staff has made 94 playoff appearances, won 79 division titles and 31 conference championships. They’ve also been part of three national championships at the collegiate level.
Caldwell comes to Miami with 17 years of NFL coaching experience, including seven seasons as a head coach for two different NFL teams. He also spent eight years as a college football head coach. In his seven seasons as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts (2009-11) and Detroit Lions (2014-17), he compiled a 62-50 (.554) regular-season record, four playoff berths, two 11-win seasons and one conference championship. Caldwell also won two Super Bowls as an assistant coach with Indianapolis (Super Bowl XLI) and Baltimore (Super Bowl XLVII). Teams he has been part of the coaching staff have qualified for the playoffs 13 times in 17 seasons.
“Jim is an incredible human being, a man of faith and a great football coach. His experience as a head coach will be invaluable for me. Jim is a great teacher, highly organized and somebody that I have a lot of respect for,” Flores said.
Crossman has been a special teams coach for all 26 years of his coaching career, including 16 seasons in the NFL. For the past 13 years, Crossman has been a special teams coordinator with Carolina (2005-09), Detroit (2010-12) and Buffalo (2013-18). In 2018, Crossman’s punt team forced opponents to start inside their own 20 on 31 occasions, which was ninth in the NFL, despite using three different punters.
“Danny and I worked under Scott O’Brien and there is a lot of familiarity from technique, fundamentals and a vernacular standpoint. Danny is full of energy and extremely good with the fundamentals. I am excited to have him,” Flores said.
Graham arrives in Miami with 10 years of NFL coaching experience and has coached in the playoffs in eight of those seasons. He has been part of teams that have won seven division titles, two conference championships and one Super Bowl (XLIX). Most recently, he was the defensive run game coordinator/inside linebackers coach for Green Bay during the 2018 season.
“Pat is a Yale guy. He’s extremely bright. He is great with the fundamentals and has very strong leadership ability. I can’t say enough good things about him. We worked together in New England and I know the type of passion he has and the way he works. We have a lot of the same core values and beliefs from a defensive standpoint,” Flores said.
O’Shea brings 16 years of NFL coaching experience to the Dolphins, having spent time with Kansas City (2003-05), Minnesota (2006-08) and New England (2009-18). In those 16 seasons, his teams have won 12 division titles, five conference championships and three Super Bowls (XLIX, LI and LIII). He spent the past 10 years (2009-18) in New England as the team’s wide receivers coach.
“Chad is extremely smart, innovative and hard working. He brings a lot of energy to practice and meetings. Chad has a great rapport with players. He has earned the trust of a lot of guys he has worked with from Randy Moss to Wes Welker to Julian Edelman. Chad has gotten the most out of his players from the 10 years I have been around him,” Flores said.
Boyer joins the Dolphins after spending 13 years (2006-18) with New England, most recently as cornerbacks coach (2012-18). During his tenure, the Patriots won 12 division titles, six AFC championships and three Super Bowls (XLIX, LI and LIII). The team went 162-46 (.779) in the regular season during Boyer’s tenure, the best record in the NFL during that span. In his 10 seasons (2009-18) as a position coach for the Patriots, he helped develop five different Pro Bowl selections and five different All-Pro honorees.
Dorrell is entering his second stint with the Dolphins after he previously served as the team’s wide receivers coach from 2008-10 and was Miami’s quarterbacks coach in 2011. He spent the past four seasons (2015-18) with the N.Y. Jets as their wide receivers coach. During that span, the Jets had five different players record at least 50 receptions in an individual season.
Flaherty has 19 years of NFL coaching experience, including 15 years as an offensive line coach. He’s been an offensive line coach for two Super Bowl-winning teams, as the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII following the 2007 season and Super Bowl XLVI following the 2011 season. Flaherty was also the offensive line coach for Jacksonville’s 2017 run to the AFC Championship game. He has been a position coach on five division-winning teams and had four different players who have been selected to nine Pro Bowls.
Godsey has experience coaching on both sides of the football. In his eight years (2011-18) as an NFL assistant coach, Godsey has been part of seven winning seasons, five divisions titles and one AFC Championship. His teams have compiled a .617 winning percentage. He served as Houston’s offensive play-caller for three seasons as offensive coordinator (2015-16) and quarterbacks coach (2014).
Hobby has been coaching defensive linemen for Power 5 and NFL teams for more than 20 years. He also has experience as a defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at the collegiate level. He spent the past two seasons (2017-18) as Jacksonville’s defensive line coach, helping the Jaguars defense become a top five unit in both seasons. Hobby won a College Football Playoff National Championship as Clemson’s defensive line coach following the 2016 season.
Leonard spent the past six seasons (2013-18) on the N.Y. Giants staff, beginning his tenure as a defensive assistant (2013-16) before being promoted to assistant defensive line coach in 2017 and again to outside linebackers coach in 2018. A former walk-on at North Carolina State, Leonard worked his way up to a starting linebacker role in 2008, where he led the Wolfpack with 95 tackles that season.
Oden returns after spending the 2018 season as Miami’s defensive backs coach, where he helped cornerback Xavien Howard tie for the NFL lead with seven interceptions and earn his first career Pro Bowl selection. Oden has 15 years of NFL coaching experience, all with defensive backs. In four of his past six seasons, Oden’s teams have ranked in the NFL’s top five in interceptions (2013-14, 2017, 2018). He’s played an instrumental part in six players earning eight Pro Bowl selections.
Schuplinski has been part of three Super Bowl winning teams (XLIX, LI and LIII) during his six seasons (2013-18) as an NFL coach with New England. His teams have won four AFC titles and advanced to the conference championship in all six years. He spent the past three seasons (2016-18) as New England’s assistant quarterbacks coach, working closely with Tom Brady. In 2017, Brady won the league’s Most Valuable Player award after leading the NFL in passing with 4,577 yards.
Studesville returns as the team’s running backs coach after he helped the Dolphins improve from 24th to ninth in the NFL with 4.68 yards per carry in 2018, his first season with the team. Studesville has 22 years of NFL coaching experience, including 18 at the running backs position. He has been on the coaching staffs of two conference championship teams (2013 and 2015) and won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos.
Grizzard returns to Miami for his third season with the Dolphins, having served as an offensive quality control coach in each of the past two seasons (2017-18). In 2018, he helped the Dolphins offense improve from 24th to ninth in the NFL with a 4.68 yards per carry average.
Lombardi spent the past two seasons (2017-18) at Baylor, where he served as an offensive quality control coach. In 2018, the Bears improved by six wins and won the Texas Bowl. He also spent three years at Louisville as a special teams quality control coach (2014) and graduate assistant working with tight ends (2015-16), where he helped tight end Cole Hikutini lead the team with 50 receptions and earn second-team All-ACC honors as a senior in 2016.
Underwood began his coaching career in 2018 at Lafayette College as a wide receivers coach, where he helped Nick Pearson bounce back from injury to earn second-team all-conference honors. Underwood played five seasons in the NFL with Jacksonville (2009-10), New England (2011) and Tampa Bay (2012-13) before playing three seasons (2015-17) in the Canadian Football League.
