The 2009 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 40th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 44th overall and the second under head coach Tony Sparano. The Dolphins entered the 2009 season as the reigning AFC East champions after posting an 11–5 record in 2008. Dropping by four more games, the Dolphins failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007, marking the 25th consecutive year that the region hosting the Super Bowl did not see its host team play in, thus it set off a playoff drought that lasted until 2016 (not counting years where Super Bowls have been played on neutral sites).
Offseason personnel moves
Coaching staff
The Dolphins fired offensive line coach Mike Maser on January 14, 2009, just one year after he was hired to head coach Tony Sparano's staff. During Maser's lone season with the Dolphins, the team had the 12th-best offense in the league with 345.6 yards per game. A day after firing Maser, the team hired Dave DeGuglielmo, who had been the assistant offensive line coach for the New York Giants, as their new offensive line coach.
After kicking coach Steve Hoffman left the team to join the Kansas City Chiefs, the Dolphins hired University of Rhode Island head coach Darren Rizzi as the assistant special teams coach on February 21.
Players
Re-signings
January 5 – Re-signed wide receiver Anthony Armstrong, cornerback Scorpio Babers, cornerback Will Billingsley, fullback Chris Brown, defensive tackle Joe Cohen, running back Lex Hilliard and wide receiver Todd Lowber. February 20 – Re-signed offensive tackle Vernon Carey. February 25 – Re-signed linebacker Channing Crowder. February 27 – Re-signed safety Yeremiah Bell. May 16 – Signed fullback Lousaka Polite to a multi-year extension. May 26 – Signed cornerback Will Allen to a multi-year extension. June 22 – Signed safety Tyrone Culver to a multi-year extension.
Signings
January 6 – Claimed linebacker Tearrius George off waivers from the New Orleans Saints. January 19 – Signed safety Ethan Kilmer (Bengals) and linebacker Cameron Wake (BC Lions). February 25 – Signed safety Gibril Wilson (Raiders). February 27 – Signed guard Joe Berger (Cowboys). March 3 – Signed center Jake Grove (Raiders). March 12 – Signed cornerback Eric Green (Cardinals). April 25 – Signed punter Jy Bond (Australia). May 13 – Signed linebacker Jason Taylor (Redskins).
Departures
February 10 – Waived guard Matt McChesney and linebacker Kelvin Smith. March 2 – Terminated the contract of defensive end Vonnie Holliday. April 27 – Released quarterback John Beck. June 1 – Released wide receiver Todd Lowber. June 15 – Released cornerback Scorpio Babers and punter Jy Bond.
Trades
March 19 – Acquired defensive tackle Tony McDaniel from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for seventh-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. March 23 – Traded center Samson Satele to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a sixth-round pick and a swap of fourth-round picks in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Free agents
UFA: Unrestricted free agent, RFA: Restricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive-rights free agent
2009 NFL Draft
Originally slated to have the 26th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Dolphins' pick moved up one spot to 25th after the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles made it to the NFC Championship. Both the Cardinals (9–7) and Eagles (9–6–1) were projected to pick before the Dolphins (11–5), but with one guaranteed to make the Super Bowl (and thus pick 31st or 32nd depending on the outcome) the Dolphins moved up one position in the draft.
Notes
The Dolphins acquired Washington's 2009 second-round pick when they traded defensive end Jason Taylor in July 2008. The Dolphins traded their 2009 sixth-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys when they acquired defensive tackle Jason Ferguson in February 2008. The Dolphins acquired Cleveland's 2009 seventh-round pick when they traded cornerback Travis Daniels in August 2008. The Dolphins acquired Carolina's 2009 seventh-round pick when they traded quarterback Josh McCown in August 2008. The Dolphins traded its second-round selection (56th overall) to Indianapolis for their second- and fifth-round selection (61st and 165th overall, respectively). The Dolphins traded their second 2009 seventh-round selection (237th pick) to Kansas City for a 2010 seventh-round selection.