Miami Dolphins need an improved Joe Philbin

It wouldn’t be too far from the truth to say that when the Miami Dolphins finished their 2014 season, many fans wanted the end of Joe Philbin. Stephen Ross however did not, not yet. While Ross is saying that he fully expects a playoff team this season, and has spent the money to get one, Joe Philbin is still the head coach with questions circling his head.

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In one betting line, seriously who bets on the odds of a head coach being fired? The Dolphins Joe Philbin was the 4th likeliest coach to lose his job by the end of the season. I don’t think so.  Not because I believe that Joe Philbin won’t get fired, I just think he will at least make it through the season.

Since his arrival three seasons ago, Philbin has been all about the minute details but has fallen far short on his game planning and coaches. Yet for every ill advised timeout, and every ill conceived fourth quarter drive, he still has the respect of his players.

Lets not forget that Philbin is resilient in that area. This is a guy who in his rookie season as a head coach stood on Hard Knocks and seemed lost in front of Jeff Ireland. He survived. He also survived the Chad Johnson experiment, the subsequent release, the Dannelle Ellerbe fit on ESPN over the release, and yet again, he survived. It was only a season later that Philbin was tested once again.

Jonathan Martin walks out on the team and bully-gate is born bringing to everyone’s attention just how little connected Philbin was with his locker room. Yet again, he survives. Philbin is not just surviving, he is thriving. Thriving in regards to his players respect. Respect was never an issue for Philbin, it was the way he coached on game days that was. Who can forget last year when Jared Odrick threw words at his coach?

2015 is shaping up to be much different. Different on the field. Ryan Tannehill has improved greatly, Ndamukong Suh mans the defensive front, and a bunch of changes at wide-receiver. Another change took place as well and that could have more of an impact on Philbin’s future than simply posting a losing season. Mike Tannenbaum.

Tannenbaum’s arrival in Miami is a clear message to the coaches and to the other management members that Stephen Ross is demanding more than what he is getting on the field. Now he has an advisor that he trusts completely. Joe Philbin may not have the luxury of Stephen Ross making up his own mind.

This pre-season we saw much better game management from Philbin and that is a big positive sign. In addition we saw some risk taking that we haven’t seen even in pre-season before. That’s not to say the Dolphins will go out and play reckless but it does show that Philbin is willing to evolve a little more. This year Philbin has tried to reach out to his players far more than he has in the past. He has lifted the collared shirty and tie rule on team busses and planes and has relaxed the atmosphere around the training center.

All of it is a sign that Philbin, once heralded for his rapport with his players has somehow lost that since booming a head coach. None of which will matter if the team doesn’t win on Sunday’s.

Philbin’s biggest issue in three years was his game management and while, as I stated, there has been improvement through four weeks of pre-season it will be interesting to see if that carries over to the regular season. Philbin’s attention to detail is very good but he doesn’t use it consistently right. Throughout last season Philbin stifled the offense by pulling back an aggressive approach that could have won the game or made the game closer. Perhaps that was his lack of familiarity with Bill Lazor.

As much as we have seen Ryan Tannehill grow with Lazor’s system, so too shall we see Philbin grow. This is his 2nd year with the offensive coordinator and he is starting to see the proof on the field as well with Tannehill’s growth especially.

2015 is going to be a make or break season for Joe Philbin but the pieces are in place for the Dolphins to follow his lead and excel rather than come up short. This truly could be the year we see Philbin wiggle out of his cocoon and become a legitimate NFL head coach instead of a former coordinator who is lost as the head man.