The Miami Dolphins are interviewing the grandson of a legendary coach for the position of defensive…..

After just one season, the Miami Dolphins mutually parted ways with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio late last month. Fangio, who joined the NFL coaching ranks in 1986 with the New Orleans Saints, took over the defensive play-calling duties for the Dolphins last season but struggled, resulting in his departure from the organization. With Miami still looking to fill the void on their coaching staff, they will interview Los Angeles Rams pass rush coordinator/linebackers coach Chris Shula on Thursday. Shula is the grandson of longtime Miami Dolphins head coach and Super Bowl champion Don Shula. 

The Dolphins have also been linked to Chris Kiffin, Leslie Frazier, Brandon Staley, and internal candidates, among others, for their vacant DC position. Before Fangio, Josh Boyer held down the position.

Chris Shula played his college ball for the Miami RedHawks from 2004 until 2008, alongside current Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. Shula transitioned to coaching in 2010, becoming the assistant linebackers coach at Ball State.

The Florida native is the grandson of the late Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, the nephew of former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Mike Shula, and the son of former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Dave Shula. The youngest Shula in the coaching tree, Chris, spent one season with Ball State before spending three years with the Indiana Hoosiers as a graduate assistant.

After one season as the defensive coordinator at John Carroll, Shula eventually made his NFL coaching debut, landing with the San Diego Chargers as a defensive quality control coach in 2015. He spent two seasons under head coach Mike McCoy before joining his fellow college teammate, Sean McVay, with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, where he has been ever since. Shula started as an assistant linebackers coach before becoming the head linebackers coach in 2021. He took on pass game coordinator duties in 2022 before shifting to pass rush coordinator in 2023. The Rams won a Super Bowl with Shula on staff.

If Chris Shula gets the defensive coordinator job next fall, he must quickly improve the defense on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. The Miami Dolphins scored 29.2 points per game this season but coughed up 23.0 points on defense, the 22nd-worst average in the NFL. They ranked outside the top ten in yards and points allowed. Opposing passers threw 27 touchdowns against 13 picks.