The Miami Dolphins agreed to terms with two more assistant coaches to join Jeff Hafley’s staff Friday night, and one of them is coming back to Miami after a short stint with the Dolphins four years ago.
The team is bringing back former offensive line coach Matt Applebaum as assistant offensive line coach and bringing in Chuka Ndulue as assistant defensive line coach, according to a league source.
Applebaum, 42, was with the Dolphins’ staff in 2022, former coach Mike McDaniel’s first season at the helm, but he was relieved of the duty after the lone year with the team.
The connection with Hafley is that the two were together at Boston College. Applebaum was Hafley’s offensive line coach with the Eagles in 2020 and 2021, and after his short initial Dolphins tenure, he was brought back in 2023. Applebaum remained BC’s offensive line coach after Hafley left to become Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator the past two seasons.
Before Boston College, Applebaum coached offensive linemen at Towson, Davidson, Southeastern Louisiana and Bucknell. He was also Davidson’s offensive coordinator in 2017.
It’s Applebaum’s third stop in South Florida, as he was also a Miami Hurricanes graduate assistant in 2011 and 2012. He also had smaller roles in the NFL in Washington and Jacksonville.
Applebaum will be under new offensive line coach Zach Yenser and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Miami is expected to run similar concepts it did under McDaniel, which means plenty of outside-zone run blocking for linemen.
Ndulue comes to the Dolphins after he held the same assistant defensive line coach title with the Los Angeles Chargers last season, helping former Dolphins defensive tackles in Teair Tart and Da’Shawn Hand on the defensive front.
Ndulue had college coaching stops at Colorado State, New Mexico, Southern Illinois and Oklahoma, his alma mater as a player. He also spent time with the Broncos and Chargers as a player but did not appear in any regular-season games.
The Dolphins secured Ndulue as assistant defensive line coach but still haven’t had Hafley’s defensive line coach or defensive coordinator surface. On the defensive side, Miami has also agreed to terms with defensive backs coach Ryan Downard, cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae and linebackers coach Al Washington.