Miami Dolphins searching for a bridge head coach

The Miami Dolphins are looking for a new head coach after firing Adam Gase. It seems as though they are looking more for a bridge to their next one.

Make little mistake the Miami Dolphins are rebuilding and frankly it is very long overdue. They have dismantled some areas and tried 1,000 different quarterbacks over the last two decades but they haven’t really “rebuilt” the team.

Let us assume, knowing what happens when we “assume” anything, that the Dolphins are indeed going to blow it up and start over. There are some core pieces that should remain in place. Xavien Howard, Laremy Tunsil, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and, and, ummm, oh and, yeah.

Cornerstone pieces are hard to find in the NFL and the Dolphins have spent years trying to build a team around cornerstone pieces like Cameron Wake. It didn’t work because the Dolphins were trying to do two puzzles at once.

I can’t say for certain how deep the rebuild will be this off-season but a true rebuild will linger for more than one season so after the 2019 season the Dolphins will be continuing this rebuild to some degree. Then in year three, 2021 we should start having a little more expectations from what is on the field. The question is will the next head coach last until this rebuild is complete or will he simply bridge the gap from today until tomorrow? (not really tomorrow it’s a metaphor)

Perhaps this is the reason that while I like Kris Richard, I think the job should go to Darren Rizzi. He is part of the team and knows the players and it will make a lot more sense to fire Rizzi in three years because the team isn’t playing well than say Richard or Flores or anyone else.

Rizzi is also the out that Stephen Ross needs is say Jim Harbaugh opts to return to the NFL in 2020. It is a lot easier for Ross to justify firing his in-house promoted coach than say Kris Richard. The Cardinals took a lot of heat for firing Steve Wilks after one season.

I’m not trying to be all doom and gloom and whatnot. This team has talent and a new head coach will have a chance to take this team deep into November with a shot in December of making the post-season. Just like the last two years and the three years under Philbin.

Maybe the coach is that rare breed like Sean McVay and the pieces all fall into place and the offense starts to tear it up with someone like Nick Foles and the defense starts to resemble Chicago’s. It could happen. Really. No sarcasm intended.

The reality however is that this team is not going to be very good for the next two seasons. Even Ross said that while he doesn’t want to go 3-13 if that is what happens to get it right then he is fine with it. For now.

After 2020 that narrative shifts and the Dolphins will be expected to be better than they are right now. That gives any person hired to run the team this year, the 2019, 2020, and 2021 season to get it right and turn it around.

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If it doesn’t we are looking for a new head coach in 2022 or if that coach is luckily 2023. So again, is the coach being hired now the bridge to the next one?

It is hard to imagine that the names on this years shopping list of Brian Flores, Kris Richard, and Darren Rizzi, which by the way seem to be the three names that are still being discussed, will find quick success in the next two seasons. These are all coaches with no head coaching experience, sorry I don’t count New Haven for Rizzi. These are all coaches who are good at their jobs but also have had really good players at their disposal. Did they as coaches make the player or vice versa?

The Dolphins are moving into uncharted waters where there is no Nick Saban blowing it up or a Bill Parcells to take control. They are relying on Chris Grier who for the most part is relatively unknown to the general fan base.

It is Grier’s time to shine but all the pieces need to fit and so does the coach. It’s not impossible but it isn’t easy either. Whatever the plan is it will be interesting to see how far and how long it lasts. One thing though is for certain. This search is not drawing a lot of jumping up and down from the fan base or the media. Instead, it feels like everyone kind of gets the feeling this is a search for a coach who can work through a rebuild but not necessarily beyond that.

Ross and Grier may nail this hire and for the sake of all the Dolphins fans I hope they do but too many times over the last decade we are left with too much hope and not enough reality.

It feels as though this head coach doesn’t need to be a long-term solution. Who knows though maybe we will all be surprised. If that is the case, it will be the first time in a long time.