List of Miami Dolphins head coaches

Last updated

Don Shula on USO tour. He holds NFL record for wins. Don-Shula USO-Tour-USS-Reagan-Address July-13-2009.jpg
Don Shula on USO tour. He holds NFL record for wins.
Tony Sparano set NFL record for best 1 season turnaround. Tony Sparano.jpg
Tony Sparano set NFL record for best 1 season turnaround.

The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football franchise based in Miami Gardens, Florida. They are members of the East Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins began play in 1966 as an expansion team in the American Football League (AFL), and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger. The team has played their home games at Hard Rock Stadium, originally known as Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Landshark Stadium, and Sun Life Stadium, since 1987. [1] The Dolphins are currently owned by Stephen M. Ross. [2]

Contents

There have been thirteen head coaches for the Dolphins franchise. The team's first head coach was George Wilson, who coached for four complete seasons. [3] Don Shula, who coached the Dolphins for 26 consecutive seasons, is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (392), the most regular-season game wins (257), the most playoff games coached (31), and the most playoff-game wins (17). Shula is also the only Dolphins head coach to win a Super Bowl with the team, winning two. He was named the United Press International (UPI) NFL Coach of the Year twice during his tenure with the Dolphins. [4] Mike McDaniel is the current head coach of the Dolphins since his hiring on February 6, 2022. [5]

Key

#Number of coaches [N 1]
YrsYears coached
FirstFirst season coached
LastLast season coached
GCGames Coached
WWins
LLoses
TTies
Win%Win – Loss percentage
†Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach
*Spent entire NFL head coaching career with the Dolphins

Coaches

Note: Statistics are accurate through the end of the 2023 NFL season.
#ImageNameTerm [N 2] Regular seasonPlayoffsAccomplishmentsRef.
YrsFirstLastGCWLTWin%GCWL
1 George Wilson 1961.jpg George Wilson 4 1966 1969 5615392.286— [3]
2 Don Shula at Giants Stadium.jpg Don Shula †26 1970 1995 3922571332.658311714Inducted Pro Football Hall of Fame (1997)
2 Super Bowl championships (VII, VIII)
5 AFC championships (1971, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1984)
11 AFC East Division Champion (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1994)
19 Playoff Berths
2 UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1970, 1972)		 [4] [6]
3 Jimmy Johnson (American football coach) 2009.jpg Jimmy Johnson †4 1996 1999 6436280.563523Inducted Pro Football Hall of Fame (2020)
3 Playoff Berths 		[7]
4 Dave Wannstedt.jpg Dave Wannstedt 5 2000 2004 [N 3] 7342310.5753121 AFC East Division Champion (2000)
2 Playoff Berths 		[8]
5 Jim Bates *1 2004 [N 3] 7340.429— [9]
6 Nick Saban 2009 retreat.jpg Nick Saban *2 2005 2006 3215170.469— [10]
7 Cam Cameron 2012.jpg Cam Cameron *1 2007 161150.063— [11]
8 Tony Sparano (cropped).jpg Tony Sparano 4 2008 2011 [N 4] 6129320.4751011 AFC East Division Champion (2008)
1 Playoff Berth 		[12]
9 Todd Bowles 1 2011 [N 4] 3210.667— [13]
10 Joe Philbin 4 2012 2015 [N 5] 5224280.462— [14]
11 Dan Campbell (cropped).jpg Dan Campbell 1 2015 [N 5] 12570.417— [15]
12 Adam Gase.png Adam Gase 3 2016 2018 4823250.4791011 Playoff Berth [16]
13 Brian Flores *3 2019 2021 4924250.490— [17]
14 Mike McDaniel Aug 2015.jpg Mike McDaniel *2 2022–present3420140.5882022 Playoff Berths [18]

Notes

  1. ↑ A running total of the number of coaches of the Dolphins. Thus, any coach who has two or more terms as head coach is only counted once.
  2. ↑ Each year is linked to an article about that particular NFL season.
  3. 1 2 Dave Wannstedt resigned during bye week with a 1–8 record. Defensive coorditor, Jim Bates, served as interim head coach for the remaining 7 games.
  4. 1 2 In Week 14, Dolphins dropped to 4–9, head coach Tony Sparano was fired and replaced by assistant coach Todd Bowles on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.
  5. 1 2 After the team started 1−3, Philbin was fired by the Dolphins. Dan Campbell, the team's tight ends coach, served as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season and recorded a 5−7 record.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)</span> American football broadcaster, coach and executive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Shula</span> American football player and coach (1930–2020)

Donald Francis Shula was an American professional football player and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven seasons as a defensive back in the NFL. For most of his career, Shula was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He is the winningest head coach in NFL history with 347 career victories and 328 regular season victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Wilson (American football coach)</span> American football player and coach (1914–1978)

George William Wilson, Sr. was a professional football end and later a coach for the National Football League (NFL)'s Detroit Lions and the American Football League (AFL)'s Miami Dolphins. Wilson attended and played football at Northwestern University. He went undrafted in 1937, before being signed by the Chicago Bears. Wilson played for ten seasons with the Bears, compiling overall record of 111 pass receptions, 1,342 receiving yards, and fifteen touchdowns. He was a member of the Bears during their five appearances in the National Football League Championship Game from 1940–1943 and 1946. Additionally, he was selected for the NFL All-Star Game from 1940–1942. He also played one season of professional basketball for the Chicago Bruins in 1939–40. Wilson won seven championships combined as a player and coach.

The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football franchise which competes in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team's headquarters, stadium and training facilities are all co-located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins' team was founded by attorney-politician Joe Robbie and actor-comedian Danny Thomas. The Dolphins began play in the American Football League (AFL) in 1966. South Florida had not had a professional football team since the days of the Miami Seahawks, who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) East Division in 1946 before becoming the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Sparano</span> American football coach (1961–2018)

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The 2012 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 47th overall in the American Football Conference Eastern Division. The season concluded with the Dolphins finishing second in the AFC Eastern Division with a 7–9 record, and no postseason play for the fourth consecutive season.

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ "History". Dolphin Stadium. Archived from the original on 2006-10-24. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  2. ↑ "Contacts - Administration". Miami Dolphins . NFL Enterprises LLC. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  3. 1 2 "George Wilson Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Hickok, Ralph (2008-04-17). "NFL Coach of the Year Award". Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  5. ↑ @MiamiDolphins (February 6, 2022). "We have agreed to terms with Mike McDaniel. Welcome to Miami, Coach!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ↑ "Don Shula Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Jimmy Johnson Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Dave Wannstedt Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Jim Bates Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Nick Saban Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Cam Cameron Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Tony Sparano Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Todd Bowles Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Joe Philbin Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Dan Campbell Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Adam Gase Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Brian Flores Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Mike McDaniel Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
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