Shermans Dismissal No Easy Job For Phins Philbin
By Brian Miller
Mike Sherman is no more. At least not in Miami. After a week of pondering and waiting the anvil fell. Was it the word of Joe Philbin or the word of Stephen Ross? Was it the first of a series of fires or simply the only? Regardless of whose decision it was it was the right one. Regardless of who made the call, it wasn’t easy for Joe Philbin.
We can all sit back and clap our hands, stomp our feet, and whoop it up over the dismissal of Sherman but he had Philbin have been more than just coaching buddies.
When Joe Philbin was in high-school, it was Mike Sherman who coached him. Mike Sherman got him into coaching in college and of course he brought him to Green Bay giving him his first NFL coaching job. When Philbin was granted his first NFL job, it was Sherman who he called to bring to Miami with him. For Philbin it’s trust, familiarity, and even family.
At one point this week I actually expected Sherman to resign. It would have made sense. The backlash from the season has been brutal on Stephen Ross and there was no question that change of some kind would come. Resignation by Sherman would have once again saved Philbin from himself. It needed to be a fire. Regardless of whether an ultimatum was handed down from the owner, Philbin had to know that his job and possibly career was on the line. He needed to make the decision and no one could make it for him.
Contractually, Philbin has full control over the coaching staff and he will again as he begins to look for Sherman’s replacement. Frankly it must come from outside as there is no up and coming candidates on the Dolphins roster to take over. Not yet.
The firing of Sherman means that Joe Philbin will be staying as the Dolphins head coach for another season. I’m personally neither for or against the move. The lack of intensity generated by both sides of the ball was simply unforgivable and that comes from the head coach. Something needs to change and Philbin has one more year to turn it around, despite the fact that nothing has been cemented in concrete just yet although today’s news is the cement trucks whistle backing up to Miami.
Philbin is now on his own and he can learn to coach his way on his own without relying on the one man who has been with all of his football life. In football terms, Sherman was a father now it’s time that the son leaves the nest for good.
There are those who believe that Bob McAdoo of Green Bay will be the replacement. McAdoo is the Packer’s QB coach and is a logical fit but so is anyone associated with Green Bay these days. OC Rob Chudzinski just lost his job in Cleveland as the head coach and could be a better candidate for the Dolphins to replace Sherman. He could also be the replacement coach for Philbin should next year become another nightmare…so long as it’s not on Chud.
Miami Dolphins fans are waiting for more news to drop but that may not happen any time soon. The real decisions were Joe Philbin and Jeff Ireland and so far at least one is pretty much safe. What happens in the next few days? Only Steve knows.