{"id":672862,"date":"2026-01-13T01:57:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T01:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/672862\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T01:57:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T01:57:15","slug":"miami-dolphins-request-interview-with-kelvin-sheppard-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/672862\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Dolphins request interview with Kelvin Sheppard"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Miami Dolphins continue to leave no stone unturned in their search for the franchise\u2019s next head coach.<\/p>\n

After hiring Jon-Eric Sullivan to be the team\u2019s new general manager, the Dolphins have hit the ground running in their pursuit of the team\u2019s next playcaller.<\/p>\n

Six names have been linked to Miami. Those names include John Harbaugh<\/a>, Kevin Stefanski, Robert Saleh, Klint Kubiak, Chris Shula<\/a>, and, most recently, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fans can add a new name to the list, but this candidate is no stranger.<\/p>\n

According to NFL Network\u2019s Ian Rapoport, the Miami Dolphins have requested an interview with Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. Sheppard, 38, has been with the Lions since 2021, becoming the team\u2019s coordinator before the start of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

As Rapoport said, this is Sheppard\u2019s first head coaching interview of this cycle. But unlike some of the other candidates, who may have been unknown to fans up until a few weeks ago, Sheppard is a name that many of us remember.<\/p>\n

The former LSU linebacker played 8 seasons in the NFL after being drafted 68th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. Two of those seasons (2014-2015) were with the Dolphins. In fact, it was the best year of his career from a statistical standpoint, recording 105 total tackles (75 solo), 13 tackles for loss, and two pass breakups in 2015.<\/p>\n

Now, he\u2019s on the sideline, calling plays for one of the better defenses in the league (before injuries piled up) and NOW, interviewing for one of 32 head coaching jobs.<\/p>\n

\"NFL:<\/a><\/p>\n

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Before being named defensive coordinator for the Lions, Sheppard was Detroit\u2019s outside linebackers coach in 2021, later becoming the team\u2019s linebackers coach from 2022 to 2024. He would be named defensive coordinator on January 30th, 2025.<\/p>\n

FWIW, the Lions\u2019 defense regressed in 2025, allowing 24.3 points per game.<\/a> The year prior, Detroit\u2019s defense allowed only 20.1 points per game under New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Lions ranked 18th in total defense in 2025 according to Fox Sports<\/a>. They were 20th in pass defense, allowing 217.4 yards per game through the air, and 14th on the ground, allowing 114.5 yards per game. But again, the team was plagued by injuries.<\/p>\n

All of that, to ask one important question:<\/p>\n

Will Kelvin Sheppard be Miami\u2019s next head coach?<\/p>\n

In all honesty, probably not. But it is a feel-good story, and as we\u2019ve seen before, anything can happen!
What are your thoughts on the Miami Dolphins bringing in Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard? Do you have a current favorite to be the team\u2019s next head coach? Do you think the Green Bay Packers will fire Matt LaFleur and really shake things up? Let us know in the comments section below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Miami Dolphins continue to leave no stone unturned in their search for the franchise\u2019s next head coach.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[217,7,216,251,46997,2733,2087,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-672862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-dolphins","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-dolphins","12":"tag-miami-dolphins-coaching-staff","13":"tag-miami-dolphins-news","14":"tag-miamidolphins","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115885313302479859","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}