DAVIE, Fla. -- The Miami Dolphins have parted ways with offensive coordinator Chad O'Shea after one season, the team announced Monday night.
O'Shea, who spent the previous 10 years as the New England Patriots' receivers coach, was colleagues with Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in New England and one of the coach's first hires. The Dolphins also parted ways with safeties coach Tony Oden and offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo.
The O'Shea move is particularly surprising given his chemistry with veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the offense's significant improvement in the second half of the season. After Fitzpatrick reentered the starting lineup, the Dolphins ranked in the top-10 in passing offense and top-15 in scoring offense.
But the overall numbers still painted a picture of a bad offense. Miami finished 27th in total offense, 32nd in rushing offense and 25th in scoring offense. Flores must believe he can get improvement elsewhere.
"I want to thank Chad, Dave and Tony for their hard work and commitment this season. This was not an easy decision but one I felt was best for the future of the Miami Dolphins," Flores said.
The Dolphins haven't addressed the lingering status of assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell, who took an indefinite leave of absence citing health issues in mid-July. He served as a consultant during the season, and the Fritz Pollard Alliance placed him on their head coach candidates list after he was deemed fully healthy to return to coaching. Flores has twice sidestepped questions regarding Caldwell's status with the Dolphins.
If the Dolphins make an internal promotion for the offensive coordinator job, Caldwell and assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski appear to be the most likely candidates. Running backs coach Eric Studesville would be another experienced, capable candidate.
Schuplinski, another former Patriots assistant, took over the quarterbacks room when Caldwell left, and he also has a lot of respect in the building among players and coaches.
Flores fired his first offensive line coach, Pat Flaherty, during the first week of training camp, then elevated DeGuglielmo to the role. The Dolphins' offensive line still struggled immensely throughout the season, tying for most sacks allowed in NFL with 58.
Oden was one of two position coach holdovers from the Adam Gase staff. He was the Dolphins' defensive backs coach in 2018 before being transferred to safeties coach once Josh Boyer took over as defensive backs coach.
The Dolphins will now be in the market to fill at least three important coaching positions as one of the most important offseasons in team history begins.