Report: Fins Linebackers Coach Heading To Vikings
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Dolphins filled the job of offensive coordinator Wednesday with the hiring of Bill Lazor. Twenty-four hours later, the Dolphins have a new position that will need to be filled on the staff.
According to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, Dolphins linebacker coach George Edwards is leaving the team to take over the defensive coordinator position with the Minnesota Vikings. Edwards had coached linebackers in Miami from 2005-2009 and over the past year.
Edwards will be reunited with the new Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, who was hired earlier this week. Zimmer, who built stout defenses in Cincinnati, worked with Zimmer while both worked for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Dolphins' defense struggled to live up to high expectations last season and saw production at most positions decline. Plus, salary cap issues will have the Dolphins defense looking decidedly different next season.
Both defensive tackles, Randy Starks and Paul Soliai, have contracts that expired at the end of the season. Both have been franchise tagged in the past, so that's not an option to keep either one of them because of the costs associated with tagging a player for a second time.
The Dolphins will likely lose one of them and bring Jared Odrick inside to play defensive tackle. Still, the other tackle will likely want a salary of upwards of $10 million per season, which might be too rich for the Dolphins' taste.