How Miami Dolphins Loss Could Impact Washington Redskins DC Search

The Washington Redskins are in the process of searching for a new defensive coordinator. In a roundabout way, the team’s search could be impacted by the Miami Dolphins’ loss to in the Wild Card Round.

On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins lost in the opening round of the playoffs. The sixth seeded Dolphins fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a final score of 30-12. Though the Dolphins were not expected to make much noise in the postseason, the performance by the defense comes into question, as they struggled immensely during the day. This falls on the shoulder of Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, which could impact the Washington Redskins search.

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This may seem like a roundabout statement, but it is in fact true. Joseph is a hot head coaching candidate, and his name has been mentioned a lot in connection with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos, who are looking for a new head coach in the wake of Gary Kubiak‘s retirement, have reportedly had interest in Joseph for the job. If Joseph were to be hired, he would likely bring on his own defensive staff. That would put Wade Phillips out of a job.

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Phillips has been a terrific defensive coordinator over the course of his time in the NFL. The 68-year-old helped the Broncos to create the top defense in the league back in the 2015 league year, when they won the Super Bowl. Phillips had been in consideration to be the Redskins defensive coordinator before the team hired Joe Barry to the same position.

This time around, Phillips would almost certainly be the top option, and the interest would be mutual. After all, the Redskins have some solid personnel and are looking to improve in the draft and free agency. Also, Phillips would get an opportunity to work with his son, Wes Phillips, who is currently working as the Redskins tight ends coach. It would make complete sense for the two parties to agree on a deal.

That said, with the poor playoff performance of Joseph’s defense, the Broncos could elect to hire a different coaching option. Namely, former Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has been connected to the team. The son of legendary Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is a great offensive mind who has interviewed with the team. Broncos general manager John Elway had some nice things to say about the recent interview on Twitter:

We spent the morning with Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta. He's a very bright coach who's had a tremendous year and has a great future.
— John Elway (@johnelway) January 7, 2017

In the event that Shanahan is hired, there is at least a chance that he could retain Phillips. Shanahan would be more willing to work with the current defensive staff while he could focus more on bringing on a new offensive staff. The defense of the Broncos is not what needs work. The quarterback position is where most of the shortcoming are. Shanahan would help fix that, but he could also keep some continuity by keeping Phillips on the staff.

Regardless of what happens, there is no doubt that the Dolphins performance was lacking. They allowed 367 yards of offense to the Steelers, and looked ill-prepared to defend Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Whether that is to be blamed on Joseph’s preparation or the Dolphins players remains to be seen.

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No matter what, this game will not be a positive for Joseph’s resume, and that could give the edge to some other candidates. If any of the other candidates keep Phillips, then the Redskins could find themselves settling on a lesser option to serve as their defensive coordinator.

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