Dolphins coaching changes starting to focus on offense; Defense still in question

The shuffle of the Miami Dolphins' coaching staff that began with the firing of Joe Philbin and the appointing of tight ends coach Dan Campbell as the interim head coach is continuing today as Campbell adjusts his staff. While much of the fan and media focus as of late has been on the defense, it is the offense that appears to be receiving the first changes.

According to a series of tweets from NFL Network's Albert Breer, the Dolphins will make several changes. The first, and probably the biggest, is the hiring of Al Saunders as an "offensive consultant" to work with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. The two worked together previously, when Saunders was the assistant head coach for the Washington Redskins from 2006 to 2007, and Lazor was the club's quarterbacks coach. The two men are reportedly close and Saunders should be able to help Lazor refine an offense that has been stagnant so far this season.

Breer also reports that the Dolphins will move assistant quarterbacks coach Ben Johnson to Campbell's former tight ends coach position, as well as re-assign wide receivers coach Ken O'Keefe, though to what position was not reported.

Finally, Breer adds that the Dolphins have reached out to three former head coaches, Mike Smith, Jim Schwartz, and Greg Schiano, to assist with the defense, but nothing has happened yet. Various reports yesterday indicated the Dolphins had contacted Schwartz, without indicating a position about which he was being contacted, and that Schwartz turned down the role. Looking at the way Campbell is setting up the offense, it could be the Dolphins are looking for a "defensive consultant" as well.

Campbell and current defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle have met, but no word on whether the Dolphins will keep Coyle employed or replace him as the coordinator. Breer describes the situation as "fluid" and said Tuesday night that the team could still decide to fire Coyle.

The teams holds its first practice since the firing of Philbin on Wednesday.