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Jaguars hired a former Dolphins coach
Following the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 13-4 season that ended in postseason heartbreak, the team is getting ready to retool and build upon what was a promising season. The 13 wins marked the most by the Jaguars in the regular season since the 1999 season. Now, the next step is to find playoff success.
Head coach Liam Coen was proud of the way his team performed, but he seemed determined to improve on the team’s result at the end of the season. He said, “I was extremely proud of a lot of things that we were able to accomplish. Very proud of their response to adversity. Now the real work is here, where we have to go and reload it. We’re not going to just stand here and say, ‘Man, we’re just going to redo it all with all the same I got us 13 wins.’”
Jacksonville Jaguars Hire Former Dolphins Coach
For the Jaguars, the work has already started. A few days after the season ended, the team parted ways with veteran secondary coach Ron Milus after one year. This came despite the fact that the Jaguars defense ended in the top-10 in points per game allowed. His potential replacement has already surfaced as CBS Sports reporter Matt Zenits reported that the Jaguars are expected to hire Dolphins cornerback coach Matt Araujo. Araujo’s official role with the Jaguars has yet to be revealed, but it would make sense for him to serve as a direct replacement to Milus.
Prior to joining Jacksonville, Araujo had previously interviewed with the New York Jets for their defensive coordinator job. Araujo was well-liked by the Dolphins organization, as he worked for the team for three different defensive coordinators.
With the Dolphins, Araujo was tasked with one of the hardest jobs in football in the 2025 season. Entering the season, Miami’s secondary was viewed as their weakest spot on the roster. They also suffered season-ending injuries to two of their starting cornerbacks. Despite this, the secondary, coached by Araujo, ended up being one of the strengths of the 2025 Dolphins. 31-year-old cornerback Rasul Douglas had a bounce-back season with Miami as he finished as a top-20 cornerback according to Pro Football Focus. Douglas was asked about Araujo potentially being a head coach one day, he responded saying, “I think he’ll be a good one one day.”
Jaguars Defensive Coordinator
One of the people Araujo has familiarity with is current Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. They worked together with the Dolphins in 2023, as both men worked under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. After his impressive job in Jacksonville this season, Campanile was interviewed by the Dolphins for their head coaching job; however, the team hired Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
Unfortunately for the Jaguars, they may still lose Campanile to another job. The current Jaguars defensive coordinator has a second interview scheduled with the Arizona Cardinals. He is also a candidate for the Baltimore Ravens head coaching job. He has only interviewed with the Ravens once.
Jose Esquer Jose Esquer is a Mexican-American sportswriter and communications student based in San Diego, CA. His work spans football, basketball, baseball, and soccer. He has written for platforms like RotoWire and DolphinsTalk. You can find him on Twitter/X @JEsquer8, usually talking Dolphins, world football, or both. More about Jose Esquer
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