Miami Dolphins At 50: Coaches
By Dan Heaning
Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
No. 5 – Nick Saban
Everyone knows the story of Nick Saban by now.
A great college coach at Michigan State and LSU, Saban took over the head coaching duties in Miami after Wannstedt resigned and left Bates to pick up the pieces.
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After starting the season 3-7, Saban guided the Dolphins to a 9-7 record which stands as one of only two over .500 records since 2003. The six game winning streak to cap off the season gave fans hope that Saban was turning the team around and all would be well soon.
Instead, the 2006 team stumbled out of the gate with a 1-6 record. With the team faltering, rumors began to swirl that Saban would take the University of Alabama’s head coaching job. Saban denied the rumors and flat-out said, “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.”
The rest is history. Saban took the Alabama job, built an evil empire, and has won three national titles in his nine campaigns with the school.
However since that day, Saban has earned Benedict Arnold status in Miami.
Between GM Randy Mueller and Saban they couldn’t buy a good move. They chose Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees. wasted a first round pick on DB Jason Allen, and brought in QB Marcus Vick for some reason.
But, hey, he was still a better coach than half of the other guys. Over .500 records have been rare for this franchise for some time. That puts him over quite a few other coaches on this list to the chagrin of Miami fans everywhere.