Jan. 22, 2026, 7:45 a.m. ET

The Miami Dolphins picked a defensive-minded head coach to lead their team into the future when they announced Jeff Hafley will take over for Mike McDaniel.

That decision left the Dolphins with another massive hire to make: offensive coordinator.

During the tumultuous three-year tenure of Brian Flores, Miami cycled through four offensive coordinators with Chad O’Shea and Chan Gailey each serving in the role for one season and George Godsey sharing the title with Eric Studesville in 2021.

With a rocky situation at quarterback, not much depth at receiver, and work to be done on the offensive line, Hafley and new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Studesville will hope to find an offensive coordinator capable of elevating and developing young talent on that side of the ball.

On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer listed four potential candidates for the job. Here’s a list of 13 hypothetical candidates, beginning with those four and followed by another nine possible coaches who could fill the role:

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.Brian Daboll (former Giants head coach)

Breer listed Daboll as a possibility, but that may be an unrealistic hope for the Dolphins. The former Bills offensive coordinator and Giants head coach is reportedly hoping to take over as the head coach in Buffalo and has his heart set on the Titans’ offensive coordinator vacancy if he doesn’t get the job.

Adam Stenavich (Packers offensive coordinator)

Stenavich spent the last four years as Green Bay’s offensive coordinator, helping to develop Jordan Love along the way. So why would he take a lateral move to Miami? According to Breer, there’s a possibility Matt LaFleur would allow Stenavich to pursue a coaching position where he’ll finally get play calling duties.

Todd Monken (Ravens offensive coordinator)

Monken is another possibility raised by Breer that seems pretty unlikely. After three years with the Ravens, Monken is getting a close look for the Browns‘ head coaching vacancy. If he doesn’t get that job, conventional thought is that he’ll join John Harbaugh’s staff as offensive coordinator of the Giants.

Bobby Slowik (Dolphins senior passing game coordinator)

An internal promotion wouldn’t be the most popular decision, but the Dolphins could do much worse than Slowik. Just a few years ago, the former Texans offensive coordinator helped C.J. Stroud to one of the most impressive rookie seasons in NFL history.

Kliff Kingsbury (former Commanders offensive coordinator)

The former Cardinals head coach and Commanders offensive coordinator didn’t manage to keep those two jobs, but he helped Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels both win Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Steve Shimko (Cowboys quarterbacks coach)

Before joining the Cowboys coaching staff, Shimko was the offensive coordinator at Boston College in Hafley’s last season as head coach. While the offense was far from great that year, Dak Prescott had arguably his career-best season in 2025 under Shimko.

Josh Grizzard (former Buccaneers offensive coordinator)

Grizzard’s tenure as offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay lasted only one year, but it’s tough to blame him too much for the team’s tailspin in the back half of the season. During the Buccaneers’ hot start to 2025, Baker Mayfield was an early favorite for MVP honors. However, injuries stacked up for Tampa Bay and Mayfield became a turnover machine, eventually costing the team a playoff spot.

Brian Callahan (former Titans head coach)

Before his unimpressive tenure with a Titans team severely lacking in talent, Callahan spent five years as offensive coordinator of the Bengals. That Cincinnati offense transformed into one of the NFL’s most prolific with Joe Burrow at the helm and nearly won Super Bowl LVI.

Zac Robinson (Falcons offensive coordinator)

Robinson rose through the ranks on Sean McVay’s staff with the Rams before taking over the offense in Atlanta. While a shaky quarterback situation with Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. slowed that Falcons offense, it still finished in the top half of the NFL in the last two years. But with Raheem Morris out and Kevin Stefanski taking over, Robinson is on the market and generating interest.

Dan Pitcher (Bengals offensive coordinator)

Pitcher has been with the Bengals for a decade, but head coach Zac Taylor is allowing the coach to seek a job that includes play-calling duties. In Miami, the former college quarterback would get to run the show in a way he hasn’t in Cincinnati.

Mike Kafka (former Giants interim head coach)

The former NFL quarterback spent four years as a quarterbacks coach in Kansas City where he helped Patrick Mahomes emerge as an elite passer. Kafka left to become the Giants’ offensive coordinator for the last four years. When Daboll was fired in November, Kafka took over as the New York’s interim head coach.

David Shaw (Lions passing game coordinator)

After more than a decade as Stanford’s head coach, Shaw spent two years away from coaching. He returned in 2025 and helped Detroit’s offense put up some stellar passing numbers. Jared Goff finished the year with a 105.5 passer rating and the Lions had the third most passing yards and third most touchdown passes.

Matt Nagy (former Chiefs offensive coordinator)

Nagy turned his first stint as Chiefs offensive coordinator into a head coaching job in Chicago. His second stint wasn’t nearly as successful and Kansas City appears set to replace him with Eric Bieniemy. After missing out on the Titans’ head coaching vacancy, Nagy is reportedly in the mix for the Eagles’ offensive coordinator job.