Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith requested for head coach interview

Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith was expected to be a hot name in the 2024 NFL head coach hiring cycle, and Monday night, that idea came to fruition.

Smith was among nine candidates the Carolina Panthers announced Monday as requesting for permission to interview.

Smith is in his second season as Dolphins offensive coordinator. Miami, this season, finished the regular season No. 1 in total offense and No. 2 in scoring offense.

The play-calling duties for the Dolphins, however, lie on coach Mike McDaniel‘s shoulders in a similar setup to what McDaniel had in his lone year as an offensive coordinator, with the 2021 San Francisco 49ers, which had coach Kyle Shanahan call plays.

The other candidates named by Carolina were Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Raheem Morris, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales.

Smith started earning national recognition as a possible head coaching candidate in late November. When it was mentioned to him that his name was floating around for the Panthers’ vacancy, he called it humbling.

“I remember why I got into coaching,” Smith said. “So when all this stuff comes up, it’s pretty cool. But the minute you worry about your goals and where you want to go, you forget, like for me, how lucky I am to be here today. So all that stuff’s cool, but I truly enjoy every day here and that’s the cool part. And it’s one of those where I’m a walk-on from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Every day of my life, I remember it. So those things are pretty cool.”

Smith and the Dolphins are preparing to travel to Kansas City for a Saturday night 8 p.m. kickoff in the wild-card round of the playoffs.