Phin Phanatic
FanSided

A decade of coaching changes couldn’t fix the Miami Dolphins

By Brian Miller

DAVIE, FL - FEBRUARY 04: (L-R) Bruce Beal Vice Chairman, Stephen Ross Chairman & Owner, Brian Flores Head Coach, Chris Grier General Manager, and Tom Garfinkel Vice Chairman and CEO of the Miami Dolphins, pose as the Miami Dolphins announce Brian Flores as their new Head Coach at Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southern University on February 4, 2019 in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
DAVIE, FL - FEBRUARY 04: (L-R) Bruce Beal Vice Chairman, Stephen Ross Chairman & Owner, Brian Flores Head Coach, Chris Grier General Manager, and Tom Garfinkel Vice Chairman and CEO of the Miami Dolphins, pose as the Miami Dolphins announce Brian Flores as their new Head Coach at Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southern University on February 4, 2019 in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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JACKSONVILLE, FL – SEPTEMBER 20: Head coach Joe Philbin of the Miami Dolphins looks on during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on September 20, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL – SEPTEMBER 20: Head coach Joe Philbin of the Miami Dolphins looks on during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on September 20, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Joe Philbin

There really wasn’t much to appreciate about Philbin as a head coach. Ask anyone and they will tell you that he is a wonderful person and that is very true. Having met him several times, he is one of the nicest people I have met but on the field and in the training facility, there was something that was lacking.

Philbin’s first problem was that he took an HC job months after a devastating family tragedy. While football probably helped to move forward, the relocation of his family had to be difficult.

Philbin’s second problem was his dedication to his mentor, Mike Sherman. Sherman wasn’t a good OC and the entire thing was compounded by questions surrounding the drafting of Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill was pretty much forced into starting but there are rumors that the decision came from Ireland and that both Philbin and Sherman didn’t want him to begin with.

The third and final problem for Philbin came when Ireland and Dawn Aponte began an internal power struggle that forced Philbin to take sides with Aponte. Both Sherman and Ireland would lose their jobs and Philbin threated to quit if he was forced to fire Sherman. Sherman talked him out of it. He shouldn’t have.

In the end, it came down to the fact that Philbin was lost on the sideline as a head coach. His teams were not prepared despite the roster having more talent than it had in a decade. The entire organization was a mess and Philbin couldn’t fix it.

Midway through the 2015 season, Philbin was replaced by Dan Campbell. Miami should have, like Bowles, retained him.

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