Wells Report On Dolphins Due Thursday

The beginning of the end may finally be in sight.  According to multiple reports, the Ted Wells investigation that has rocked the Miami Dolphins since late October is supposed to be released publicly on Thursday.  The ramifications of how it will effect the rest of the NFL is not known and may not be until weeks if not months after the report is released.  A second investigation that has been conducted by the NFLPA is not expected for another month or more.  It will carry little or no affect on anyone.

For the Dolphins it will at least be the beginning of what they hope will be the end of the bullying scandal that is now being played out in the press by verbal rebuttals from the Richie Incognito camp.  What exactly the report will tell is unknown.  Incognito maintains that his relationship with Martin has been one of only friendship.  Martin refuses to say they were.

Miami has been nothing more than a harbor of scandal since Stephen Ross took over the team in 2009.  Since his arrival the team has lacked a focal leadership that went entirely South of the departure of Bill Parcells two weeks prior to the start of the 2011 season.  Ross followed that departure with his own departure from Miami to California dragging his GM in tow and thus creating a firestorm of bad press surrounding his then current coach Tony Sparano.

The list of black marks against the organization continued to grow especially under the magnification of continued losing seasons.

Ross has said that he “thinks” he knows what is in the report but isn’t for certain.  He said he has a plan in place that many believe will spell the end of OL coach Jim Turner who appears at minimum to be the first staff member that will face responsibility.  It’s unlikely that Joe  Philbin will face any more scrutiny than he already has.  Philbin recently took offense to the Tony Dungy interview of Martin where he said that had he been the coach none of this would have happened.  A media report stated that Philbin reached out to Dungy complaining of being ridiculed for not running a tighter ship.

Last week, Don Shula spoke out about the incident saying that it would not have occurred under his coaching either because he demanded his position coaches get to know and thus handle any problems that arose.  Philbin has been a meticulous coach often working on the details of his practices and game plans but it’s become apparent that while the minute details are being covered the bigger picture has not.

How the Dolphins come out of this report is anyone’s guess at this point, but at least fans can put the “bullygate” behind them and a majority of the speculation can finally stop.