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| Is Joe Philbin done in Miami? Photo Credit: Robert Mayer/USA Today Sports |
As the Miami Dolphins finish up another season with no playoff football in sight, the question now becomes if and how much change is needed for the franchise.
By: Michael Hanley
It is the usual story of a Dolphins season, start out showing promise through the beginning and middle part of the season only to then fall into their usual tailspin when the calendar flips to December. This mediocrity has haunted this franchise for quite sometime now and it is if not all, most of the franchises' own doing.
The team is in that odd part of the NFL universe, they are not so horrible that they have to completely tear everything down and rebuild with a top NFL Draft pick but they are not good enough to compete with the New Englands and the Denvers of the AFC.
It leaves them at a crossroads in terms of which path do they want to go in. Do they stay on their current one and hope that somehow by just adding a few players in the off season that the current group can turn into a playoff contender and get the franchise over the hump or do they go in a completely different direction and start over with anew head coach and a possible new general manager?
As this season comes to a close, it is looking like the second of those choices will have to be implemented in some form or fashion if Ross is serious about wanting to get out of this mediocrity and become a true, consistent contender in the AFC, something they have not been since Dan Marino was quarterbacking the team.
With all the speculation of Jim Harbaugh leaving the 49ers after this season wraps up, you know Stephen Ross will not be able to hold himself back from at least trying to persuade him to come to south Florida and run his franchise and get it back to its winning ways.
He swung and missed on luring him to Miami when Harbaugh had left Stanford and was in play looking for his first NFL head coaching job. Ross might have to give a deal like the one Jeff Fisher got from the Rams when he was not only named the head coach but also was given a pretty big say in personnel that the team brings in. Harbaugh will be looking for that same say in personnel it looks like and the Dolphins might have to bend in that regard if they want to lure Harbaugh or any other big name head coach they might target.
Now that is all speculation as Joe Philbin is still the head coach of the Dolphins, for now. He era as head man of this franchise has produced nothing but average results at best. He had the ugly Richie Incognito mess that made the team an embarrassment in NFL circles.
He has not made enough progress in terms of developing Ryan Tannehill into a reliable and top end quarterback that the franchise is still banking on him becoming. The offense has shown little in terms of becoming explosive or a unit that other opponents have to worry about.
The offense features a short passing game, which does keep Tannehill's completion percentage high, but more often than not ends with the Dolphins kicking a field goal or getting no points at all. It also has a running game that is wildly inconsistent and can disappear for Tannehill and the offense more times than not.
The defense, which was playing at a high level during the beginning and middle part of this season has fallen off the face of the earth. Ever since they blew their big lead in Denver against the Broncos, this unit has been leaking oil profusely giving up yards and points at an alarming rate.
For proof of that here is what Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports wrote about this very subject:
They ended up losing that game 39-26 and have been outscored 83-44 since then. Denver ran for 201 yards, the Jets ran for 277 yards on them and the Ravens piled up 183 rushing yards (Miami held New England to 108 yards on 29 carries Sunday, with the Patriots finding several other ways to score on offense, defense and special teams).
It has lost its edge and consistency that looked as if would be the hallmarks for this defense as the weeks went on. This side of the ball now has questions heading into the off-season as to who will be allowed to stay, who will go and what does this unit need to add to improve its standing in the NFL.
Ross needs to makeover his Dolphins franchise from the front office on down if he wants to truly start fresh and have an opportunity to be a true winner.Their are way too many people still in that front office that have made mistake after mistake when it comes to what players to target in the draft and in free agency. Not everyone is pulling in the same direction and that is causing turmoil not only in the front office but on the field as well.
He needs real football people in the front office who know how to draft and make smart decisions when signing free agents and a coach who knows how to maximize the talent he has on his roster and mold his offense and defense around them to put them in the best position to win.
I realize doing this is easier said than done but at some point the low fan turnout at games and declining ticket sales have to hit Ross hard and prompt him to make the changes needed in order to build up the fan base, the excitement in south Florida and be seen as a destination for top free agents and coaches want to go to and stay for a longtime.
The Dolphins are like a house that ha snot had any fresh air come into it for many years, time to open the windows and start anew for next season and beyond.
Follow me on Twitter: @Magic20099
