The Dolphins have trimmed the list to 3 according to several news reports, but it won’t really matter without a franchise QB. Jeff Fisher turned down the Dolphins because there was no Sam Bradford and no draft pick high enough to acquire Andrew Luck or RG3. The NFL coaching carousel keeps turning and the survivors can thank the players behind center for their good fortune.
Consider, after the 2008 season, 9 coaches lost their jobs.
In Cleveland, Romeo Crennel lost his job and Eric Mangini was hired, without a QB Mangini was gone and Crennel is now in KC.
In Denver, Mike Shanahan lost his job and Josh McDaniels was hired, McDaniels was fired and Shanahan ended up in Washington.
In Detroit, Rod Marinelli was fired and Jim Schwartz was hired, Schwartz drafted Stafford and he survives.
In Indianapolis, Tony Dungy retired, Jim Caldwell was given the job by default but was fired when Payton Manning missed the entire 2011 season.
In KC, Herm Edwards was fired and replaced by Todd Haley. Matt Cassell couldn’t stay healthy and Haley was fired.
In New York, Eric Mangini was fired and the Jets hired Rex Ryan. Ryan drafted Sanchez and manages to survive.
In Saint Louis, Jim Haslett was fired and Steve Spagnuolo was hired only to be fired when Sam Bradford couldn’t stay healthy.
In Seattle, Mike Holmgren resigned and Jim Mora was hired only to be fired when Matt Hasslebeck couldn’t stay healthy.
In Tampa Bay, Jon Gruden was fired and Raheem Morris was hired only to be fired when Josh Freeman couldn't duplicate his early success.
There are 15-fired coaches on that list from 2009 and all have one wart in common, they lacked a franchise QB. Of the 15 mentioned only 4 are head coaches today. Crennel and Shanahan are now with different teams, which means of those 15 coaches only Jim Schwartz and Rex Ryan have survived 3 years! Schwartz drafted Matt Stafford and Ryan drafted Sanchez.
Payton, Tomlin, Coughlin, Belichick, are no more genius than those 15 coaches are, but they have the QB. Even San Francisco and Baltimore with the great Harbaugh brothers have 1st round QBs in the fold. It is ridiculous to remain on the foolish carousel when the coach is not the main ingredient.
It means firing Tony Sparano was a waste of time because Sparano could have been any one of those 15. It means that every time a team fires its coaching staff without the QB in place it sets itself back another 3 years. Each coordinator change, scheme change or system change leads to player turnover that ultimately leads to continued losing.
All a man like Jeff Fisher has to do is study the list above and it’s clear why he’s in Saint Louis. All Stephen Ross has to do is study the list and make it perfectly clear to Jeff Ireland what needs to happen if Miami is going to be contending any time soon. Find a franchise QB!
Many times, we hear the mantra, “we should not mortgage our future for the uncertain.” What future? What realistic future does any coach or GM have if they do not have a QB? All the coaching in the world will not turn Matt Moore into Tom Brady, no offensive tackle in the league ever throws the football, and no defense can shutout every opponent every week.
The onus is on Ross as well, because he has invested a billion dollars in a business that will live or die based on getting fans in the seats. The fans come when a team competes. The team competes when it has a QB. There is no future without that player and hence not getting the player is what will mortgage the future. Every year that passes without hope further depresses the fan base and finally the team dissolves, or moves on to another city.
Throw away the thought of a coach making a huge impact, throw away the thought of mortgaging the future; only one priority should be paramount, find a QB.
The Dolphins don’t need another coach Mr. Ross. They don’t need a GM or a Czar.
The Miami Dolphins will return when a QB returns.
