Qualities To Hope For (And Avoid) In The Miami Dolphins' Next Head Coach

Locked On Dolphins - Daily Podcast On The Miami Dolphins

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4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Miami Dolphins inch closer to naming their next head coach—will player development or past experience tip the scales? Kyle Crabbs spotlights emerging candidates like John Harbaugh, Kevin Stefanski, Robert Saleh, and rising coordinators Jesse Minter and Kelvin Sheppard, dissecting what the Dolphins truly need in a leader. Instead of focusing on offense versus defense, the analysis zeroes in on culture, player development, and winning mentality as the keys to Miami’s long-term success. Key discussions include the pitfalls of chasing “scheme wizards,” why coaches like Matt Burke and Jon Gruden don’t fit the Dolphins’ vision, and the importance of building foundational toughness reminiscent of the Houston Texans’ defense. With in-depth questions around Stefanski’s staff and historical draft missteps under Gruden, Kyle Crabbs challenges listeners: What qualities matter most for Miami’s next era—and who truly fits the bill to take the Dolphins to the next level?

Transcript

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0:00.0	What are some qualities I'm hoping we do and don't get with the Miami Dolphins next head coach?
0:05.4	We're going to get into that here today on Locked on Dolphins.
0:14.3	You are Locked on Dolphins, your daily Miami Dolphins podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, Miami. Welcome to another episode of Locked on Dolphins. It is your team every day here on the Lockdown Network. I'm your host, Kyle Crabs, a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, host of Lockedon Dolphins, co-host of Lockedon NFL scouting, author of Touchdown, Miami on Substack NFL staff writer for A to Z sports. I want to give a special welcome and shout out to our everydayers because it is your team every day. We don't just say it. We live it here on the Locked On network special. Thank you to each and every one of you who've helped to make the Lockedown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in the world.
0:55.4	We are going to get into qualities of a head coach here today on Lacked on Dolphins.
1:01.0	We've had some movement on the interview front.
1:03.6	Actually had a pretty decent amount of movement on the interview front for the Dolphins,
1:07.9	whether that's a head coach that's in for an interview today.
1:11.2	That's Kevin Stefanski, the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
1:15.5	That could also be qualified as Jeff Hathley having an interview tomorrow.
1:22.1	There were some names added in the last 24 hours since the last time we did a show.
1:27.0	So that would be Jesse Minter, defensive coordinator from the Chargers,
1:31.9	and also defensive coordinator Kelvin Shepard of the Detroit Lions,
1:36.4	the former Dolphins player, Calvin Shepard, who was here when Dan Campbell was here.
1:41.9	So the dolphins are now up to a grand total of eight names.
1:45.5	John Harbaugh, Kevin Stefanski, Robert Sala, Jeff Hathley, Clint Kubiak, Chris Shula,
1:51.4	Kelvin Shepard, and Jesse Minter are all in some way, shape, or form verified as either
1:57.6	interviews being done, interviews being done today, Jeff Halfley's interviews
2:01.1	being done tomorrow, or interviews that have been requested and a submission given to request
2:07.4	eight names for the Dolphins head coaching position. Do I think we're done? Probably not. If I had the
2:15.4	bet, is the Dolphins next head coach on this list? Probably. I'd say probably.
2:21.8	Which begs the question, I can look at each one of these guys individually.
2:26.0	Mentor, Shepherd, Shula, Kubiak, Halfley, Salas, Defansky, Harbaugh.
	...

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