Just days after their 34-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card round, the Miami Dolphins announced that they've fired defensive coordinator Josh Boyer.
"I am grateful for Josh’s contributions this year and throughout his tenure with the Dolphins," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said in a statement Thursday. "The defense made strides through the season, so coming to this decision was not easy, but ultimately I feel it is in the best long-term interests of the Miami Dolphins and the continued growth of our players and team."
Boyer, 45, joined the Dolphins in 2019 after several seasons as a coach with the New England Patriots.
McDaniel, who was hired by the Dolphins last February, retained Boyer from former Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ coaching staff to keep continuity after a strong end to the 2021 season on defense.
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Boyer's group dealt with a lot of injuries on that side of the ball, particularly in the secondary.
From 2021 to 2022, Miami went from 16th to 24th in scoring defense, from third to tied for 14th in sacks and from 10th to tied for 30th in takeaways.
The Dolphins finished the 2022 season ranked 18th in total defense, 27th in passing defense and tied for 24th on third downs.
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Safeties coach Steve Gregory, outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie and assistant linebackers coach Steve Ferentz were also fired.
The Dolphins briefly challenged Buffalo for the top spot in the AFC East after starting the season 8-3, but injuries and poor performances at crucial moments cost them. They became the only team in NFL history to make the playoffs with losing streaks of three and five games in the same season.
