Philbin picked by Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have appointed Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as their new head coach.

Philbin becomes the franchise’s 10th head coach though the Dolphins, who are coming off their third straight losing season, had initially courted Jeff Fisher, who ended up opting for the St Louis Rams instead.

Miami fired Tony Sparano with three games remaining in the season, with Todd Bowles taking over the top job on an interim basis.

“We are thrilled to have Joe Philbin join the Miami Dolphins as our head coach,” Dolphins chairman Stephen Ross said in a statement.

“Joe has all the attributes that we were looking for when we started this process. (General manager) Jeff Ireland and I felt Joe was the right choice to bring the Dolphins back to the success we enjoyed in the past.

“I know I join our fans in welcoming him as the newest member of the Dolphin family.”

Philbin arrived in Green Bay in 2003, serving as their offensive coordinator from 2007 onwards. Head coach Mike McCarthy called the plays, though it was Philbin who put together the game plan.

Green Bay reached the play-offs in four of his five seasons in charge of the offense, going on to win the Super Bowl last year.

The Packers set franchise records during this season for total points (560), touchdowns (64) and games won (15), though their hopes of retaining the Vince Lombardi trophy ended last week when they were knocked out of the play-offs by the New York Giants.

“I want to thank Steve Ross and Jeff Ireland for giving me the opportunity to become the head coach of one of the premier franchises in professional sports,” said Philbin.

“I also want to thank the Green Bay Packers for all the support the organisation has given me during my time there.”