Latest news on Ireland, Philbin, and Sherman & their future with the Dolphins
And then there’s Joe Philbin. According to Armando, Philbin has language in his contract that gives him the authority to hire/fire assistant coaches/coordinators. So you shouldn’t be too surprised to see this:
I’m told Steve Ross wants some change to offensive staff. Joe Philbin wants to keep his staff intact.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 2, 2014
Interesting, isn’t it? Philbin is so stubborn that he might risk his own job to save his assistant coaches. Ironic that Philbin’s stubborness cost the Dolphins games this season and could ultimately cost him his job. After seeing the offense struggle late in the season and finish 27th in total offense the last 2 years, there is absolutely no logical reason for Mike Sherman to return to this team. Also, Sherman has been with Ryan Tannehill for 6 seasons, maybe a new voice would help the Dolphins young QB.
The problem is that Joe Philbin is VERY loyal to Sherman. Remember, Sherman gave Philbin a job with the Packers years ago. Sherman was also Philbin’s English teacher, when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. Okay maybe not that long ago, but Sherman was his English teacher nonetheless. So you can understand why Philbin is so hesitant to fire Sherman. They are lifelong friends.
All of this soap opera nonsense is yet another reason why I think Stephen Ross would be wise to blow the whole thing up. Start over. Take out the Nintendo game cartridge, blow on it a few times, put it back in and hit the power button. Bring in a new GM and let him hire a new head coach. Let that coach pick his staff of assistants and coordinators. That’s how it should work so the GM and Head Coach are working together. They need to work together so that the GM is acquiring players that fit the coach’s system. That hasn’t been happening in Miami and that’s a big part of the problem.
Also keep in mind that we are all awaiting the release of the NFL’s report on the Incognito/Martin issue. If Mr. Ross clean’s house, it won’t really matter what’s in the report because all authority figures would be gone. But, if he were to fire Ireland and keep Philbin, and the report said that Philbin had a hand in asking Incognito to ‘toughen up’ Martin, then the Dolphins have another PR issue to deal with.
Just wipe the late clean and start over. It’s what will be best for everyone involved. As fans, our emotions were put the wringer watching this team play on Sundays. It was a roller-coaster of a season, wasn’t it? It’s sad that we are still be put through the wringer, even in the offseason.
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