The Miami Dolphins have fired secondary coach Gerald Alexander, one of the team’s top assistants the past two seasons.
Alexander, who led Miami’s secondary for the past two seasons, coaching and leading the development of Miami’s cornerback and safety unit, was told by new coach Mike McDaniel that the team was moving in a different direction, according to a league source.
Alexander, who played and coached in the NFL, interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator opening this week, but that position was filled by former Buccaneers linebacker coach Mike Caldwell on Thursday.
Even though he’s still under contract, Alexander is free to join another NFL staff immediately.
At this point, it’s unclear who will replace Alexander.
In his first season as an assistant with the Dolphins in 2020, Alexander coached the unit that led the NFL in turnovers, which was bolstered by Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard, who led the NFL with 10 interceptions.
In his second season, Alexander mentored rookie safety Jevon Holland and second-year safety Brandon Jones, who each had promising seasons as Dolphins’ starters.
Late in the season, former coach Brian Flores, who hired Alexander from the University of California after his participation in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship Program in 2019, expanded his role, putting him in the coaches booth and giving him many responsibilities usually held by the coordinator.
There have been reports that McDaniel is open to keeping many of the Dolphins’ defensive assistants, particularly defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, whose background is coaching the secondary.
But the first-time head coach, who has an offensive background, has expressed interest in luring former Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio, who is viewed as one of the NFL’s better defensive coaches, to Miami.
Fangio would likely attempt to bring some of his former Broncos staff with him, similar to how Chan Gailey brought a handful of offensive assistants with him to Miami when he coached the Dolphins offense in 2020. However, a handful of NFL teams are reportedly pursuing Fangio, who coached the Chicago Bears defense for four seasons before taking the Broncos job in 2019.
