Former Dolphins safety Renaldo Hill has become the latest member of the coaching staff, joining the team as assistant defensive backs coach.
Hill spent the past three seasons as defensive backs coach at the University of Pittsburgh after beginning his coaching career at the University of Wyoming in 2012.
The Dolphins now have hired six new coaches since the end of last season: offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, run game coordinator/running backs coach Eric Studesville, offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn, defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, and defensive backs coach Tony Oden.
Hill becomes the 10th person to work for the Dolphins as a player and a coach, following Bryan Cox, Jeff Dellenbach, Bob Matheson, Tony Nathan, Bernie Parmalee, Terry Robiskie, James Saxon, Larry Seiple and Dwight Stephenson.
DCC time: The eighth edition of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge is all set for this weekend, with the Kickoff Party getting things started Friday night. As always, there will be five different bike rides Saturday morning along with a 5K walk/run. All routes lead back to Hard Rock Stadium, which will be the site of a celebration concert featuring Big Head Todd and the Monsters and the Goo Goo Dolls. DCC has raised more than $22 million since its inception in 2010 with all proceeds going to fund research at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Photo gallery: alumni and cheer visit troops.
Military support: Dolphins alums Vernon Carey and Shawn Wooden joined Youth Programs Ambassador Twan Russell and Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders on an overseas trip to visit U.S. military personnel. The group joined forced forces with Armed Forces Entertainment on the visit, which included joining troops to watch the Super Bowl last Sunday. Among the countries visited were Portugal, Italy and Cyprus.
Special group: Pro Football Focus presented a series recapping the 2017 season and ranking player and team units, and the Dolphins earned a top 10 ranking when it came to special teams. The Dolphins came in at number 6, trailing only Minnesota, Baltimore, the L.A. Rams, Dallas and Atlanta. Here's what PFF wrote about the Dolphins special teams: Kicker Bobby McCain and the Dolphins kickoff team allowed the league's lowest average starting field position among qualifying kickoff units (21.3), with Special Teams Player of the Year Michael Thomas (10 solo tackles, zero missed tackles) shining in all four phases of special teams.
Garoppolo follow: The big news around the NFL on Thursday was the new contract signed by 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The deal was reported to be worth $137.5 million over five years. Dolphins tight end MarQueis Gray weighed on in Garoppolo's new contract on Twitter with a trip down memory lane: "Waz up bro @JimmyG_10 remember that time in preschool when Christina "the bully" fuller took your race car and i got it back? Yea that's gonna cost u $100 mil for my services"!
Cutler's TV turn: Jay Cutler gave up a job as an NFL analyst with FOX last season to sign with the Dolphins, but it looks like he'll be on TV this year, albeit in a different capacity. According to the New York Post, Cutler's wife Kristin Cavallari will be featured in a new reality show expected to air on E! later this year. The show will focus on Cavallari's career, which includes being an author, shoe designer and most recently a dip into fashion. The show will feature Cavallari's life in Nashville. Cutler's future as an NFL player is up in the air because he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March after signing a one-year contract with the Dolphins last August. Cavallari alluded to Cutler's stay in Miami in an Instagram post in January: "The end of another chapter. Feeling very grateful for the past few months. Thank you @miamidolphins for taking such great care of me and my family. Back home and this time we took Jay with us #ItsBeenRealFL."
