An apparatus and method for performing joint equalization and timing recovery in coherent optical systems. The method includes equalizing signals to generate compensated polarization signals, wherein timing error in a distorted optical signal is calculated based on one of the compensated polarization signals. The method further includes performing resampling polarization signals to correct timing offset in an optical signal based on the calculated timing error. The calculated timing error may also be used to adaptively control one or more operating parameters of an external device.