The Who, Why, How of the Dolphins Coaching Staff

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores revealed how he put together his 2021 coaching staff

Brian Flores gave a rundown Thursday of how his Miami Dolphins coaching staff will line up in 2021, at the same time explaining some of the decisions that were involved.

Flores confirmed earlier reports that George Godsey and Eric Studesville would serve as co-offensive coordinators after serving as tight ends coach and running backs coach, respectively, last season.

Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman will add the role of assistant head coach, and outside linebackers coach Austin Clark will take over as defensive line coach to replace Marion Hobby, who left to take the same position with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rob Leonard will take over as outside linebackers coach; Mike Judge is going to go from quality control to assistant tight ends; Shawn Flaherty was a quality control coach  who now will be assistant offensive line coach; and Charles Burks will become cornerbacks coach.

In explaining the move to promote Godsey and Studesville to co-offensive coordinators, Flores said continuity played a big role.

"They've both done an outstanding job at their respective positions," Flores said. "Have a lot of respect for both guys. Very knowledgeable. Very good teachers and they both have different perspectives. We've had a lot of great dialogue over these last couple of months with those two, as well as our entire offensive staff.

"Continuity was a big thing for me in making that decision. I wanted that for Tua and really a lot of the offensive linemen we have offensively. I feel like we have that as well as the acumen and experience with George and Eric taking that role."

Flores said no final decision has been made on the big question that comes with having two offensive coordinators: Who will be calling plays on game day?

"Definitely collaborative," Flores said. "It's something we've talked about and those are kind of ongoing discussions. So we have not cemented the way we're going to do it. But I think and I've always thought from a play-calling standpoint, a lot of that is done during the week. I know George and Eric. George has called plays in the past. With COVID, we had to have a backup so Eric was preparing to call the game if something happened to Chan (Gailey) the entire year. So I think both guys are equipped to do it. We have not cemented, hey, we're going to do it like this. But we'll figure out a way that's collaborative, that puts our team in the best position to have success offensively."

Studesville was retained by Flores when he became head coach in February 2019, while Godsey and Crossman were hired by Flores.

Crossman is the only coordinator still in his post from that 2019 season.

"Danny, as you guys know, has been instrumental in the development of this team, our coaching staff, and I am grateful to have someone of his skill to bounce ideas off of," Flores said. "He's just been an invaluable asset."