Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase starting to put together his staff

The Miami Dolphins have announced the hiring of head coach Adam Gase, who last year served as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and held the same position with the Denver Broncos for the two years before that. The team has scheduled a 3pm ET press conference to formally introduce Gase to the Miami media, but it appears Gase is quickly trying to put his coaching staff together even before he meets with the media.

Multiple media reports have indicated Gase will hire Cincinnati Bengals defensive backs coach Vance Joseph as his defensive coordinator, a move that cannot become official until the Bengals are out of the Playoffs. The move, just based on parallels, could make some Dolphins fans nervous as former defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, who was hired by Joe Philbin at the start of his tenure at the helm of the team, was also the defensive backs coach for the Bengals before his move to South Florida. Joseph, who has never been a defensive coordinator, however is seen as another up-and-coming candidate for a coaching position, and was pursued last year by teams who wanted to make him their defensive coordinator, only to have the Bengals block the move.

Joseph played quarterback and running back at the University of Colorado from 1990 to 1995, then was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets, who transitioned him to cornerback. He played in 17 games over two seasons, with two career interceptions, spending his rookie year with the Jets and his second season with the Indianapolis Colts. In 1999, Joseph returned to Colorado, where he served as a graduate assistant with the football team until 2001, beginning his coaching career. He then spend as season as the defensive backs coach at Wyoming before again returning to Colorado where he served as the defensive backs coach from 2002 through 2003. He then held the same position for the 2004 season with Bowling GReen before moving to the NFL in 2005 as an assistant defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He was promoted to defensive backs coach the next season, starting with the team through 2010 before moving to take the same position with the Houston Texans in 2011, a job he held through 2013. In 2014, the Cincinnati Bengals hired him as their defensive backs coach, where he remains until he is officially added to Miami's coaching staff under Gase.

(UPDATE: Joseph to the Dolphins may not be as finalized as previously reported. According to Armando Salguero, there have been no discussions about Joseph become the Miami DC.)

Now, it appears he is heading to Miami with Gase, and he may already have a staff waiting for him when he gets to the team's facilities. According to Fox Sports' Alex Marvez, the Dolphins will also hire Bengals linebacker coach Matt Burke, Chicago Bears outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt, and Dallas Cowboys defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson as assistants.  Hurtt is a familiar name in South Florida, where he started his coaching career with the University of Miami as a volunteer strength and conditioning coach from 2001 to 2002 and as a graduate assistant from 2003 to 2004. After a season with Florida International, where he worked as the defensive line coach, Hurtt returned to Miami from 2006 to 2009 as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.

Hurtt, who left Miami for Louisville for the 2010 season, was punished by the NCAA for receiving and providing impermissible benefits to recruits while working with Miami.

Much still has to be answered about the coaching staff Gase will put together with the Dolphins, with the biggest question surrounding the fate of interim head coach Dan Campbell. Speculation on Friday indicated Gase may keep Campbell on the staff in some role. Whatever the case, more will become known over the next few days and weeks.