Dan Campbell will get his chance to discuss how he can improve a Miami Dolphins team that finished 6-10 on the season, and 4-7 under his watch. The Dolphins' interim head coach, who owner Stephen Ross repeatedly said last week would get a chance to interview for the job on a full-time basis, will get to sit down with Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum on Friday, according to Fox Spots' Alex Marvez.
Campbell may not be able to do enough to land the job, but he clearly earned the right to be in the discussion. Taking over a team in shambles, Campbell was promoted from his role as the team's tight ends coach to take the helm after Joe Philbin was fired. The Dolphins were 1-3 at the time, with two blowout losses to the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the preceding two games, and nothing seemed to be working. Campebll then decided to fire defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle and, weeks later, followed that by firing offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.
Campbell has spent his entire coaching career with the Dolphins, starting as a coaching intern in 2010 before being hired as the tight ends coach in 2011. He played 11 years in the NFL as a tight end, starting as a third-round draft pick out of Texas A&M by the New York Giants. He also played for the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, and New Orleans Saints, though he was on injured reserve during his last year in the league, his only one with the Saints.
Campbell will have to spend the rest of the week trying to put together a coaching staff that he can present to the Dolphins to go with his vision of how the franchise should move forward. Being a relatively young coach, and having only been with the Dolphins, Campbell is at a disadvantage to some of the other coaches being considered by the Dolphins in terms of having a staff, or contacts that he can easily turn into a staff, other than a lot of the people already with the team. He will have to find a way, quickly, to close that gap if he wants to continue being the head coach of the Dolphins.
Miami already has an interview with Mike Shanahan scheduled for Tuesday, which will be the second time the team has met with the two-time Super Bowl champion coach. The team is also expected to schedule interviews with Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase and Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.