Philbin completes his staff

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI -- Joe Philbin was once hired by Mike Sherman in Green Bay. On Friday, Philbin returned the favour.

The new coach of the Miami Dolphins hired Philbin as offensive co-ordinator on Friday, also adding Kevin Coyle as the team's defensive co-ordinator. Combined, the 57-year-old Sherman and the 56-year-old Coyle have 68 years of football coaching experience.

"They are exactly what I am looking for in terms of leadership, character, and teaching ability," Philbin said. "They are both very passionate about the game of football and the players they coach, and that enthusiasm is evident in the meetings rooms and on the field. They are excellent family men and I'm thrilled they are joining the Dolphins' football family. I can't wait to get started to work with them."

In Sherman's case, that's more like a reunion than anything else.

Sherman and Philbin have a relationship that goes back decades -- Sherman was once Philbin's high school English teacher. When Sherman was head coach at Green Bay, he gave Philbin his first NFL coaching job.

Sherman joins Miami after four years as head coach at Texas A&M. He also has been on the staffs at Seattle and Houston, along with college stops at Tulane, Holy Cross and UCLA.

Coyle has been a coach in Cincinnati since 2001, serving the last nine of those years as the Bengals' defensive backs coach. He has been a defensive co-ordinator at the college level at schools including Syracuse, Maryland, Fresno State, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Holy Cross, and has also worked as a collegiate assistant at Cincinnati and Arkansas.