Is it playoffs or bust for Dolphins’ Philbin and Ireland?
Now that we know the coaches may be on notice, what about the Dolphins beloved General Manager, Jeff Ireland. After the Dolphins started 3-0 word mysteriously leaked out that Jeff Ireland was given a contract extension. Coincidence? After all of the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito drama, Stephen Ross praised coach Philbin but said very little about Jeff Ireland. Was that a subliminal message? We don’t know. What we do know is that the Dolphins faced their most pivotal offseason in recent memory in early 2013….and at this point, all of the big moves have improved the team by 1 win. One.
That is an example of how a GM can directly impact the team on the field….by making bad decisions. You can also look at something like the awesome Michael Thomas story with wonder. It was great that the Dolphins picked him up and that he made a game winning play against the Patriots. But if you think about it, Thomas was a guy….from another team….who didn’t know the defensive playcalls….who is a safety and not a cornerback…..yet he played AHEAD of BOTH rookie corners that the Dolphins drafted this year (in the 2nd and 3rd rounds). That is disgraceful!
The point is not to pick on every move that Jeff Ireland has made (again, we’ll have plenty of time for that if Sunday goes the way previous season’s have gone). The point is that Jeff Ireland should be very worried. Stephen Ross should have told him and Philbin before the season that their jobs were both on the line and that it was “playoffs or bust” for both of them. Since the AFC East title in 2008, the Dolphins have gone 7-9, 7-9, 6-10, 7-9, and 8-7. The last 3 years are post-Parcells. This is simply not the type of franchise Stephen Ross should want.
I said before the season that a successful season would be for the Dolphins to make the playoffs. I stand by that. I thought with the Dolphins schedule, they could go 9-7. Making the playoffs is somewhat arbitrary, but that distinction means that you are one of the top 6 teams in your conference. That’s the bar. And if Philbin and Ireland can’t beat the Jets on Sunday and give themselves a chance to make it, they should be looking for new jobs. (continued on page 3, CLICK HERE)