National Football League

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin misses practice because of family matter

Published Oct. 30, 2014 4:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin missed practice Thursday because of a family matter while the team prepared for Sunday's game against San Diego.

Philbin's absence was expected to be brief.

"I think he will be back shortly," defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said. "I'm not exactly sure when."

Philbin's staff stepped in collectively to run the workout.

"The way coach Philbin has got this machine running, the machine kind of runs itself," Coyle said. "It's not a hard deal to follow. Coach has done a phenomenal job organizing every practice and every second of every practice, so we just kind of follow his lead and go from there."

The Dolphins are 4-3, and San Diego is 5-3.