Dolphins new hope quickly vanished with Patriots McDaniels return

Dolphins fans (and probably the Miami Dolphins alike) were hoping for a breakup of two of the three most respected coaching heads of the New England Patriots after the 2017 season.

Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels were on their way out as head coaches for their new teams. Patricia was headed to Detroit as the new coach of the Lions and McDaniels was to unite with a high-quality Colts quarterback in Andrew Luck in Indianapolis– until late Tuesday.

McDaniels, after agreeing to terms with the Colts, backed out of his venture to receive the head coaching job when Patriots owner Robert Kraft sweetened his contract enticing him to stay with the Patriots, according to Adam Schefter.

The Patriots are happy, the Colts are angry, and the Dolphins are left playing against the ageless-wonder Tom Brady and one of the top offensive minds in football for the foreseeable future as McDaniels is now to undergo mentoring by head coach Bill Belichick on “roster constuction and salary-cap management”. McDaniels will also be in the running as a potential successor to Belichick whenever the head coach’s tenure in New England ends.

This was a marriage the Miami Dolphins and their fans were eagerly awaiting to end in divorce.

Brady and McDaniels have achieved high amounts of offensive success working together over the years during both the coordinator’s tenures in New England, and done their part in embarrassing the Dolphins on the football field at least once per season.

Had the breakup occurred and McDaniels accepted his head coaching duty, would he be able to achieve the same success he would with Luck as he did with Brady? Possibly. With the type of quarterback Luck is and the creativity of McDaniels offensive mind, almost certainly.

But at least McDaniels would be out and in another place. No longer in the AFC East. No longer with the Patriots. No longer facing the Miami Dolphins on Sundays.

This outcome would’ve led to wishful thinking and a sigh of relief for the Dolphins fan base, while causing an episode of uncertaintly for the New England Patriots organization — an organization that always is prepared, always has an answer, always finds a way to get it done, but now needs to replace their duo of coaching minds on either side of the football all in one offseason.

This was an episode of uncertainty the Patriots have not undergone with their coaching staff since Patricia and McDaniels took over as coordinators in 2012.

Aside from Belichick, the two heads of the trio would’ve been severed leaving only the Evil Emperor to find a way to put the Death Star back together — A reconstruction.

And Belichick probably would complete the reconstruction.

And he probably had apprentices in the waiting who completed their training and were ready to take over.

Because he always has an answer.

He always is prepared.

And HE always finds a way to get it done.

But the Dolphins and their fans were willing to take that chance. They already know what it’s like to face McDaniels and Patricia. They’ve seen it. They are over it.

It offered a glimmer of hope– A New Hope.

A hope of facing a coordinator who isn’t as talented as McDaniels. A hope of competing against a playcaller who could make errors in a game and those errors could lead to the Dolphins taking advantage. A hope of finding a coordinator whose working relationship and philosophy may not sit well with Brady, causing dysfunction within and leading to the early stages of downfall for the mighty New England franchise. (Wishful thinking, I know)

But now the glass is only half full for the Dolphins as 1 foot is still placed in the Patriots pair of boots that need to be filled. The man who works hand-in-hand with Tom Brady is remaining to continue to give Miami, New York, and Buffalo a booting until… well… let’s just say it looks like a long time. Especially, if he does take the throne of the Evil Emperor and finds himself another Darth Vader-type quarterback for the future.

It’s quite pathetic that this is where the mindset of the Dolphins fan base lies– crossing our fingers, hoping specific moves don’t work out for rival organizations, putting voodoo and bad juju upon others, hoping the other teams in the AFC East make even more mistakes than the Miami Dolphins do themselves.

But this is where we are as Dolphins fans.

This is where we are, because our own team seems powerless to stop the Patriots from winning the AFC East every year.