Dolphins offensive coordinator interviews: First names start to leak

The Miami Dolphins have a vacancy at their offensive coordinator position after Chan Gailey resigned following the season. There have been reports that the team would start interviews for the position, but no names had been linked to the team. That changed this morning with reports from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe.

Both reporters tweeted out the list, which includes to internal interviews, with running backs coach Eric Studesville and tight ends coach George Godsey in consideration. Head coach Brian Flores really like Studesville, while the team officially lists Godsey as the tight ends coach, but had him working with the quarterbacks for much of the season. Both men would make sense to be promoted into the position, with speculation high that Godsey, based on his work with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, could be the man who ultimately lands the role.

Studesville started his coaching career in 1991 as a graduate assistant at Arizona. He then became the video coordinator and a graduate assistant working with the secondary at North Carolina from 1992 through 1993. He worked as the defensive coordinator at Wingate in 1994 and at Kent State from 1995 through 1996. In 1997 he joined the Chicago Bears as their running backs coach, holding that role through 2000 before taking the same position with the New York Giants from 2001 through 2003. In 2004, he worked as the running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills, holding the position through 2009, then moving to the Denver Broncos in the same role from 2010 through 2016, a stint that also included a period as the teams interim head coach in 2010. In 2017, he added the assistant head coach title with the Broncos, then joined the Dolphins in 2018 as the running backs coach and run game coordinator.

Godsey was a graduate assistant at UCF in 2004, then their quarterbacks coach from 2005 through 2008, then their running backs coach 2009 through 2010. He worked as an offensive assistant in 2011 for the New England Patriots, then became their tight ends coach from 2012 through 2013. He moves over to the Houston Texans in 2014 as their quarterbacks coach, then as their offensive coordinator from 2015 through 2016. He was a defensive assistant and special projects coach with the Detroit Lions in 2017 then their quarterbacks coach in 2018. He joined the Dolphins in 2019 as their tight ends coach.

Also interviewing are Los Angeles Chargers quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, San Francisco 49ers running game coordinator Mike McDaniel, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Matt Canada, and Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.

Hamilton has been a coach since 1997, starting as the Howard University quarterback coach and then offensive coordinator. He moved to the NFL ranks in 2003, starting as the New York Jets’ offensive quality control coach for a year before becoming their quarterbacks coach for 2004 and their wide receivers coach in 2005. He moved to the San Francisco 49ers in 2006 as their quarterbacks coach, then held the same position for the Chicago Bears from 2007 through 2009. In 2010 he served as the wide receivers coach at Stanford before becoming the Cardinal offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for 2011 through 2012. He returned to the NFL ranks in 2013 as the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator, holding thr position through 2015. He joined the Cleveland Browns staff in 2016 as their assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. He went to the University of Michigan in 2017, working their through 2018 as their assistant head coach and passing game coordinator. In 200, he started the year as the head coach and general manager of the DC Defenders in the XFL before joining the Chargers.

McDaniel’s resume is shorter, starting as an intern with the Denver Broncos in 2005. He then became an offensive assistant for the Houston Texans from 2006 through 2008. After a two-year stint in the UFL with the Sacramento Mountain Lions as their running backs coach, he joined the Washington Football Team, where he was an offensive assistant from 2011 through 2012, then the club’s wide receivers coach in 2013. He took the same position with the Cleveland Browns in 2014, then was an offensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 through 2016. He has been the 49ers run game coordinator since 2017.

Canada began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Indiana from 1994 through 1996. He then moved to Butler for 1997 as their offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. He was the running backs coach at Norther Illinoi from 1998 through 2000, then their quarterbacks coach from 2001 through 2002 before adding the offensive coordinator title for the 2003 season. He returned to Indiana in 2004 as their quarterbacks coach before adding passing game coordinator in 2005, then offensive coordinator in 2007 through 2010. He 2011, he spent another year at Northern Illinois, again as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2012, he spent a season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin, before holding the same titles at NC State from 2013 through 2015. In 2016, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Pittsburgh, before a year in the same jobs at LSU, then a year with the same positions at Maryland, acting as their interim head coach during the year. He moved to the NFL in 2020 with the Steelers.

Elliott played at Clemson as a wide receiver from 2000 through 2003 before starting his coaching career at South Carolina State as their receivers coach in 2006 through 2007. He moved to Furman from 2008 through 2010 in the same role before joining Clemson as the running backs coach from 2011 through 2014. He then added the co-offensive coordinator title, holding that through 2019 before becoming the full offensive coordinator for the 2020 season.