There is a ton of optimism around the current regime in Miami, but fans who have been supporting the team for the last few decades have endured plenty of disappointments. We’re going to look at a few players and situations that broke our hearts.
Training camp is almost upon us and we’re going to be hit with a non-stop Dolphins news cycle for the next six months (thank god). For today, let’s turn back the clocks and do some collective healing as a fan base.
Note: This is just meant to be a fun piece. The individuals we’ll be talking about today reached the absolute pinnacle of their profession-the NFL. They all accomplished amazing things before coming to Miami, and ultimately let us down. Several of them also went on to redeem themselves elsewhere. If there is one thing that I believe wholeheartedly, it’s that we all deserve a second chances-and the same applies to professional athletes, coaches, and executives.
What follows are the first five inductees into the Miami Dolphins Hall of Shame…
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: Dion Jordan (R) of the Oregon Ducks stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as they hold up a jersey on stage after he was picked #3 overall by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
#5 Dion Jordan
We all remember the excitement around Dion Jordan when he was drafted. He was seen as a hybrid linebacker that could rush the passer, but also fall into coverage and run with receivers. At the time, experts predicted that the NFL was going to favor more of this hybrid players-and they were correct.
Jordan’s impressive combine was one of the things driving his hype. People were right to be excited, he was an absolute freak.
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 248 lbs
Wing: 82″
40 yd: 4.6
Shuttle: 4.35
3-cone: 7.02
Vert: 32.5″
He hadn’t been a terribly productive pass rusher in college, but the prevailing idea was that it could be coached out of him. The Miami Dolphins would decide to trade their #12 overall selection along with #42 to swap spots with Oakland and take Jordan at #3 overall.
His time in Miami
Jordan would appear in all 16 games of his rookie season, tallying 2 sacks and 5 QB hits. That rookie year wasn’t terrible but was a bit underwhelming for a third overall pick. The following season is when Jordan’s troubles began. He was suspended for two separate violations of the substance abuse policy, missing a total of six games from his 2014 sophomore campaign. He would then be suspended for the entire 2015 season for a third failed drug test.
With that suspension, Jordan had played his last snap in a Dolphins uniform. 552 snaps and very little production from a player that you traded into the top-5 to acquire.
Where is he now?
Jordan is still attempting to reinvigorate his pro career. He has bounced around a few places the past couple of years from Seattle to San Francisco. He had some success with Seattle back in 2017 (racking up 4 sacks in the final five games of the season), but wasn’t able to follow that up. He’s currently a roster bubble player and unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Jordan will ever live up to his massive potential.
What lesson can be learned?
This answer is twofold for me. First, never be too confident in your evaluation. They didn’t give up too much to get to three, but that second-round pick still has a ton of value. Some players selected after #42 in 2013: Kawann Short (44), Travis Kelce (63), Larry Warford (65), Tyrann Mathieu (69), Terron Armstead (75), Keenan Allen (76). Dion Jordan had promise, but he was far from a sure thing. Moving up to get him added pressure to Jordan and the franchise to get results fast-not a good situation for a player who still needed a ton of development.
Lastly, character vetting is just as important in the draft process as anything else. If you’re moving up to get a player top-5, you had better know they can handle the pressure and if you need to hold his hand initially-do it! Protect your investment.
#4 Richie Incognito and the Bullygate scandal
Not everyone on this list will be here because of performance. That surely wasn’t Incognito’s problem, in fact, he was one of the best guards to come through Miami in the past fifteen years. Incognito lands on this list because of the environment he created and cultivated in Miami’s locker room.
What did he do?
Incognito (along with Mike Pouncey and John Jerry) used homophobic and racial slurs to single out two players and an assistant trainer. One of those players was Jonathan Martin. Martin had his own struggles with mental health and the hostile environment caused him to leave the team in October of 2013. Following Martin’s departure, independent investigator Ted Wells released a 144-page report detailing the inappropriate behavior that went on. Incognito would be suspended and then later released from the team. He also sat out the entire 2014 season.
Where is he now?
Believe it or not, at 38, Incognito is still playing in the NFL. He went on to have numerous pro bowl seasons in Buffalo after his departure from Miami and is currently a Raider. He, unfortunately, has had his own struggles with mental health and there have been a few flare-ups over the years.
What lesson can be learned?
First off, I played sports my entire life, I served in the military, I’ve been around my fair share of hazing or tough environments. That sort of “tough love” isn’t going anywhere, but there has to be a line that doesn’t get crossed. You can be hard on the people coming up without attacking them personally or physically harassing them.
This was also an indictment on Joe Philbin and the entire organization at that time. His not knowing that it was going on is a pretty bad excuse. As a head coach, it’s your job to know what’s going on with your players. Maybe spend some time with the big guys here and there?
Also, you never know what people are going through, so treat others with kindness when possible.
If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, reach out.
#3 Chris Foerster and his pre-meeting rituals
Again, Foerster didn’t land on here necessarily because of his job performance. He landed on here because he made poor decisions.
What did he do?
Foerster was on his second stint with the Miami Dolphins in 2017, having previously served as the offensive coordinator in 2004. Foerster had been working in the NFL since 1993, mostly as an offensive line coach. An organization shouldn’t have to worry about a coach with over 20 years of professional experience representing the organization properly, but here we are.
In 2017, a video surfaced of Foerster ingesting what appeared to be an illegal substance just prior to a team meeting. He had sent the video out to a romantic interest of his and she chose to share that video with the public. Foerster resigned from his position with the Dolphins shortly after.
Where is he now?
Foerster bounced back from his struggles with substance abuse and is currently the offensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Following the controversial video, Foerster checked himself into a rehab clinic and came clean on his struggles with alcohol and drug use.
What lesson can be learned?
When you belong to an organization (like an NFL football team), you have to scrutinize your own actions because you now represent that organization. It’s the same reason that you’ll never see me have an argument with someone in the comments section, it would reflect poorly on FanSided. Foerster is lucky to have bounced back, but those kinds of poor decisions can sink careers.
This is also not a place to attack Foerster for having substance abuse issues. We all hit rough patches in life, if you’re struggling with something similar there are organizations that can help you.
#2 Cam Cameron
After the untimely departure of Nick Saban, the Miami Dolphins entered a coaching search during the 2007 offseason. After interviewing several candidates, they landed on Cam Cameron.
What did he do?
Cameron coached the 2007 Miami Dolphins to a 1-15 record-their worst season in team history. If not for a long Greg Camarillo touchdown in overtime, they could have easily gone 0-16. Years later Jason Taylor spoke out about the job that Cameron had done, and his comments weren’t very flattering.
"“Cam was an idiot, I have no idea how he got the job. I’ve never been around a more incompetent head coach than Cam Cameron. I’m talking youth football, college. It was unbelievable.” -Jason Taylor via Armando Salguero @ The Miami Herald"
What compounded the problem, even more, is that Miami interviewed some solid candidates. One of those candidates was Mike Tomlin. Unfortunately, one Dolphins employee with a say in the hiring process felt he was “Too hip-hop.” I won’t dive into the racial undertones there, but let’s just say that was a bad look for Miami. Tomlin would of course go on to compile a 145-78 record with the Steelers with numerous playoff births and a Super Bowl victory in 2008.
Where is he now?
Cameron would go on to serve as an offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens until 2012 and then in the same capacity with LSU until 2016. He is currently out of coaching.
What lesson can be learned?
The only thing that can rival the importance of having the right quarterback, is having the right coach. Cameron has been a successful coordinator, but he was clearly not up to the task of being a head coach. The fact that Miami hired him (they were the only team to make an offer to him), shows that they had some serious blind spots in their hiring process.
It’s also worth noting that being a good coordinator and a good head coach takes vastly different skill sets. Being able to deal with and motivate players is more important than being some offensive or defensive guru. The same lesson can be applied to the Joe Philbin signing.
#1 Daunte Culpepper (over Drew Brees)
We all knew this was coming, but let’s get through it together. In Nick Saban’s first season with the team (2005) they finished with a 9-7 record with Gus Frerotte as their starting quarterback. The team wrapped up that 2005 season with a six-game winning streak, so there was understandably some excitement around the Dolphins.
With an upgrade at quarterback, the Miami Dolphins could become a playoff football team again. Randy Mueller and Nick Saban had narrowed it down to two options, Daunte Culpepper and Drew Brees. Culpepper had some really impressive seasons under his belt in Minnesota but was coming off an injury-shortened 2005 where he looked like a shell of himself. Brees had performed well the last two years in San Diego, but just had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.
What did he do?
Well, Miami initially was interested in Drew Brees and reportedly offered him a contract first, but when there was a problem with his physical, they moved on.
"“I felt like when I was here in New Orleans, I was embraced. I was given confidence that, ‘You’re our guy, and we know the situation you’re in but we know you’re going to come back and lead this team and this community. The impression I got when I was (in Miami) was, ‘Hey, we like you, but we’re not sure.’ I got the sense I was being evaluated every second I was there.” -Drew Brees via The Advocate"
They instead elected to trade a second-round pick for Daunte Culpepper who was disgruntled with the Minnesota Vikings and looking for a way out. This move was also scrutinized as it seemed the Vikings were likely to just release Culpepper soon which would have saved Miami that draft capital.
In an unfortunate twist of fate, it would turn out that Culpepper’s knee injury would be the one to linger and hinder his ability to perform. He played a total of four regular-season games with the Dolphins and would be sent to IR in December of his first season in Miami, never to suit up in aqua and orange again.
I won’t list all of Brees’ accomplishments, but he went on to win a super bowl and have fifteen successful seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
Where is he now?
Culpepper would bounce from Oakland to Detroit after his single season in Miami. He never was able to reclaim his former glory and has been out of football since 2009. On the other hand, Drew Brees just recently retired from the NFL and spent the remainder of his successful career as a Saint.
What lesson can be learned?
This is the same lesson that Dolphins fans have been dealing with since Dan Marino’s departure, you need to have the right guy quarterbacking your team if you want to have sustained success in the NFL. The occasional ten or eleven win season is always possible, but the Dolphins have never been able to follow that up because they haven’t had a top signal-caller.
You can build a winning team around the non-elite quarterbacks, but everything else has to be in place around them. With injuries and a salary cap, that is a difficult thing to do each season.
We watched Miami make the wrong choice and it altered the next fifteen years for the Saints and Dolphins. You have to be absolutely certain that you have the right guy in place.
Conclusions
It takes numerous poor decisions to flounder as a franchise for this long, and the Dolphins have made plenty of them. The hope is that we can learn from those mistakes and avoid them in the future. It seems this current regime in Miami is headed in a great direction, but time will be the ultimate judge.
A piece like this is extremely out of character for me, which is partly why I did it. It’s light, fluffy, filler content-perfect for the mid-July news cycle. I do want to hear who you would add to this list or who you don’t agree with, so make sure to share in the comments section.