The Sports Xchange

The Miami Dolphins promoted Darren Rizzi to assistant head coach/special teams coordinator on Monday.

The Dolphins continue to make coaching staff changes in the wake of head coach Joe Philbin’s dismissal last week and the promotion of tight ends coach Dan Campbell to interim head coach.

Rizzi is in his seventh season as both an NFL assistant and as a member of the Dolphins’ coaching staff, and fifth as special teams coordinator. He joined the Dolphins as assistant special teams coach in 2009.

Thus far in 2015 under Rizzi’s direction, Jarvis Landry currently leads the NFL by averaging 20.6 yards per punt return and ranks fourth in the AFC with an average of 23.3 yards per kickoff return. Landry was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week following Miami’s season opening 17-10 win at Washington when the second-year player scored the winning touchdown on a 69-yard punt return. Rookie punter Matt Darr currently is fifth in the NFL by averaging 48.8 yards per punt.

Rizzi joined the Dolphins with four years of experience as a college head coach, including the 2008 season at the University of Rhode Island. Prior to taking over the Rhode Island program, Rizzi was an assistant at Rutgers for the previous six seasons (2002-07), where he headed up the Scarlet Knights’ special teams unit.