As the Miami Dolphins continue to make waves in a busy week of signings and administrative activity, the team has announced the final additions to their 2020 coaching staff. Steve Ferentz and Kolby Smith will join the pod, rounding out the Dolphins’ roster of coaches in coaching assistant and offensive quality control roles, respectively.
The Dolphins have rounded out their coaching staff by hiring Steve Ferentz (the son of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz) as a coaching assistant and former Chiefs RB Kolby Smith as their offensive QC coach.
While both new coaching additions have strong football backgrounds, both will be making their debuts on NFL Staffs. They join other recently announced first-time Dolphins coaching staff members Gerald Alexander, Anthony Campanile, Lemuel Jeanpierre. Alexander joins the staff as the 11th person in franchise history to both coach and play for the Dolphins. Campanile will also be an NFL coach for the first time, and Jeanpierre enters his seventh year in the NFL, having spent three years on the field and three as a coach.
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Who is Steve Ferentz?
Sounds familiar, huh? That’s because his dad is Kirk Ferentz. Football runs in the family–but the Ferentz family certainly hasn’t had an easy week. The senior Ferentz has been put on damage control duty, after two coaches on his Iowa football team–including son Brian, the team’s offensive coordinator–were accused of fostering an environment of mistreatment and discomfort for black players. Chris Doyle has been on administrative leave since last week, while an external review takes place.
Steve, on the other hand, has an impressive resume and no blurry spots to speak of on his track record. He spent five years on the Hawkeyes’ offense before serving in a graduate assistant role with Central Michigan’s football team.
Head coach Brian Flores has a history with the Ferentz family. Brian served as an assistant on the New England Patriots’ staff when Flores was coaching the defense, and son James played for the Patriots in 2018, when the team overcame the Rams in the Super Bowl.
Kolby Smith: From Player to Coach
The first-string running back at Louisville, Kolby Smith helped his team to a 12-1 record in 2006, his final season. But Smith is best known for his three-season tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs, who drafted him in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
As a running back, Smith’s career produced only three touchdowns. He worked in offseason briefly with the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010 after the Chiefs waived him, but never saw the regular season with either team.
In 2012, Smith began his coaching career at Arkansas, before moving to Western Kentucky the following year. From 2014 to 2018, he returned to his alma mater where he made his debut in the position of running backs coach. At Louisville, he assisted the Cardinals to four bowl games, establishing school records in rushing yards first in 2016, and then again the following year. In 2019, he took the same position at Rutgers.
Smith’s new position as an offensive quality control coach with the Dolphins will mark his fifth year in the NFL, but his parlay to the pros as a coach.
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Dolphins Round Out 2020 Coaching Staff