The Miami Dolphins have immersed themselves into the John Harbaugh sweepstakes and contacted a Shula as they have their first five known candidates for the their head coaching vacancy.
The Dolphins, according to league sources as of Saturday afternoon, are looking to interview: Harbaugh, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, former Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator and former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh.
They finally reached out to Harbaugh, 63, to let him know they are interested in him, as first reported by ESPN Saturday morning. Miami reportedly did so Friday night upon finalizing an agreement to bring new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan on board.
The Dolphins hadn’t previously contacted Harbaugh as they were prioritizing the GM search, moving quickly through the search and interview process to land Sullivan, who came from the Green Bay Packers where he was vice president of player personnel.
Sullivan is now spearheading the coaching search with Dolphins owner Steve Ross, according to a league source. Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current television analyst Troy Aikman is remaining with the team in an advisory role through the coaching search, after aiding in the GM search and selection.
While Miami had its GM vacancy dating back two months prior to season’s end, the team only opened its head coach job on Thursday.
Former coach Mike McDaniel appeared primed to return in the days following the Dolphins’ end of the 2025 season, but as the team was interviewing GM candidates and McDaniel said he was involved in the search to an extent, he was relieved of his duties Thursday.
Harbaugh shook free from his longstanding tenure with the Ravens on Tuesday.
He is known to have ties to Ross, who previously and infamously pursued his brother, Jim Harbaugh, while he was still employing Tony Sparano as Dolphins coach in 2011.
In 18 seasons leading Baltimore, John Harbaugh had a 180-113 regular-season record, while 13-11 in the playoffs with a Super Bowl title.
Harbaugh, viewed as the NFL’s top available coach this hiring cycle, has been widely reported as taking the past week off to collect himself after the season and his lengthy tenure with the Ravens. He is bound to begin setting up interviews with teams in the coming week.
Harbaugh was the first known coaching candidate to surface for the Dolphins job, and Kubiak and Stefanski followed hours later Saturday before Saleh and Shula became known.
Shula is the grandson of the Dolphins’ late, legendary coach Don Shula, the NFL’s winningest head coach with 347 total wins.
Chris Shula, 39, who was born in Miami and attended high school at Fort Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas, has led the Rams’ talented defense the past two seasons. He has been in Los Angeles under coach Sean McVay in different defensive assistant roles since 2017, helping with linebackers, defensive backs, the pass rush and pass defense at different times.
Kubiak, 38, who has his interview taking place Saturday, is the son of former Houston Texans and Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak. His Seahawks offense this season, with Sam Darnold at quarterback, was the No. 3 scoring offense and No. 8 in total offense.
He was with the New Orleans Saints in the same role in 2024, was passing game coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, did the same and coached quarterbacks with the Broncos in 2022 and was Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator in 2021.
Stefanski, 43, is a two-time Coach of the Year (2020, 2023) leading the Browns. Each time he led Cleveland, a historically losing franchise, to the postseason, he earned the award. Stefanski had a 46-58 record with the Browns, going to Cleveland after a successful stint as Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator.
Saleh, 46, had a disappointing 20-36 record leading the Jets from 2021 to 2024, but is back in the head coaching conversation after a strong season back leading the 49ers defense under coach Kyle Shanahan, like he did from 2017 through 2020 before he got into the head coach ranks.
This story will be updated.