Dolphins Still Silent On Wells Report

Friday came and went.  Richie Incognito removed his Twitter account.  Stephen Ross issued a perfunctory statement to the media.  Almost everyone read the report.  We have now had a full three days to digest the 144 page document and the Miami Dolphins have still, done nothing.

Firing Jim Turner would have been a statement move.  His adolescent behavior as a coach of the unit should have been an easy decision.  It should have been a fast one.  Despite the fact that there was a few redeeming comments about him the reality was it was his unit and he participated in some of the harassment.  Joking or not even in the military his behavior would have been met swiftly with discipline.  So why are the Dolphins waiting?

The is a rumor that Miami is waiting to see what the NFL is going to do.  That’s brilliant!  The team who has been punched repeatedly for the last few years and just this off-season went through a highly criticized GM search is now going to wait to see what the NFL wants them to do?  What penalty they are going to hand down?  How can there be any question that Turner needs to be fired?  Let’s be real here as well, it’s not like the unit was tops in the league.  They gave up 58 sacks last season.

That alone should get him fired.  But this is Joe Philbin’s team so let’s wait.

Kevin O’Neill should have the pulse of the locker room.  He is after all the head trainer.  Despite that fact the teams assistant trainer is verbally assaulted almost daily.  Not because he was the trainer but because he is Asian.  O’Neill was rather stiff with the investigation and really didn’t want to cooperate according the Wells’ report.  He also was seen laughing at some of the Asian insults.  In real America, he would be looking for a new job.

The fact that he knew, laughed, and did nothing is grounds to be fired.  But this is Joe Philbin’s team.

Joe Philbin is going to lose his job but there are a lot of people who thinks he should.  I was a fan of Philbin’s.  I thought he just needed to fix some things and get more comfortable as a head coach.  I lost some of that respect when I learned of his gang up on Jeff Ireland who I can tell you 100% supported Philbin despite the fact they didn’t get along.  I lost most of what was left when I read this report and realized that he has hired staff who are unfit to do their job.  Lost respect when he himself knew of the Incognito issues but still allowed to be on the team let alone a player council member.  Then after the report was fully taken in I realized that despite the fact he knew of Martin’s suicide thoughts that he didn’t speak more often and privately with his starting tackle.  Or at the very least assign someone to watch him.

Joe Philbin did nothing.  Oh he made a phone call to Ireland, called Martin’s dad, and spoke with Martin at the time of his leaving the team way way back in May.  In other words, he did nothing.  Which is exactly what the Dolphins owner Stephen Ross seems to be doing now.

The Dolphins have the facts.  They have the report, they have the players they can talk with, they have everyone that was involved at their disposal and yet they await word from the NFL.  Let’s hope they received a more lengthy report than the gen-pop did…otherwise I don’t honestly get why nothing is being said or done.  Shortly before the Super Bowl it was Stephen Ross who told everyone that he had an “idea” of what was in the report and that they were ready to make a move.  “Stay tuned”, he said.

For what is my reply.

It’s obvious that John Jerry will not be back, he is an impending free agent as is Richie Incognito who won’t be back either.  Mike Pouncey awaits word from the league on whether or not he will be suspended, fined, or both.  There is little the Dolphins can do at this point with Incognito and Jerry.  Releasing them will hurt their chances of a future compensatory pick.  Best to let them just leave via FA.  Pouncey on the other hand?

If the Dolphins believe that Pouncey should be punished they should show the initiative to do it in house before the NFL hands down theirs.  In most cases the NFL will not tack on additional penalties unless they believe that the discipline was too little.  If Miami is quietly hoping that Pouncey isn’t penalized then they are far from a pro-active organization.

The Dolphins have waited to fire Mike Sherman, waited to fire Jeff Ireland, waited to find a candidate willing to take the GM job, is it any surprise now that they are waiting yet again?  Decisive is a word I would  not attribute to this team and frankly after their long search for GM I’m not so sure that due diligence is either.  Frankly I’m not sure of anything anymore and I honestly don’t know is running this franchise sometimes.

But I’m waiting.