Latest on Miami Dolphins search for assistant coaches, which is taking unorthodox approach

The Miami Dolphins search for assistant coaches to fill vacant jobs within Brian Flores’ staff promises to get more interesting over the next week and could lead to unexpected hirings.

Flores already surprised the public when he fired offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea, safeties coach Tony Oden and let offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo walk without a new contract. The coach had expected to fire O’Shea and Oden for some time before the season ended, according to a source, but his intention remained under wraps.

Flores then replaced O’Shea, who he brought with him from the New England Patriots less than a year ago, with veteran coach Chan Gailey, who has been out of football since 2016.

That’s not the biggest head-scratcher.

Flores has been searching for a DB coach and that search has included Curt Kuntz, who is currently the head coach at Struthers High School in Ohio, per club sources. Flores is believed to have considered other options but Kuntz has been his primary target.

One source even insists Kuntz has already been offered the job.

It’s unclear if Kuntz would slide right into the vacancy left by Oden or Flores would somehow adjust the staff, as Josh Boyer already is responsible for overseeing cornerbacks and coordinating the pass defense.

If or when Kuntz is hired it would be his first NFL job. He’s been the head coach at Struthers since 2012.

And what is the connection, one might ask?

Well, Struthers High is where Steve Belichick, the father of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, played. Belichick has been tied to Struthers for nearly 60 years. And obviously, Flores was tied to Belichick for his entire NFL career before joining the Dolphins.

Boyer and Kuntz also share a link to Kent State where Boyer was a graduate assistant and Kuntz graduated from.

Flores also needs to name an offensive line coach.

It’s unclear exactly what direction he’s going with that but there are fine candidates available if he wants them.

The best offensive line coach candidate available is Bill Callahan.

Callahan served as interim coach of the Washington Redskins this past season and has been the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2002-03 and led them to Super Bowl XXXVII.

But coaching offensive line is Callahan’s specialty. He’s been the offensive line coach or OL plus assistant head coach of the New York Jets (2008-11) and Redskins (2015-19). And he’s been the offensive coordinator and OL coach in Dallas (2012-14).

His reputation is unquestioned.

The problem? Callahan, like many excellent NFL coaches, has a strong personality.

And Flores, like many excellent NFL coaches, has a strong personality.

So would Flores welcome another strong personality onto his staff, particularly since there is no obvious previous tie between them?

The Chicago Bears, meanwhile, recently fired offensive line coach Harry Hiestand. The reason for that firing seemingly had something to do with Hiestand’s run game not meshing with head coach Matt Nagy’s passing scheme. So after a solid 2018, the Chicago offensive line struggled last season.

But Hiestand knows talent and how to make it stand out. While he was Notre Dame’s offensive line coach between 2012-17, he coached left tackle Ronnie Stanley, left guard Quenton Nelson and right guard Zach Martin.

All three linemen entered the NFL ready to start immediately and all three did exactly that, playing to a very high level. All were named to the NFL All Pro team last week.