The Miami Dolphins cut ties with head coach Joe Philbin Monday less than a year after extending his contract through next season. Philbin’s Dolphins have been an underwhelming bunch to say the least, winning just one of four games. A tremendous Jarvis Landry punt return is the only thing that kept that win total from being zero. The fact that he made it this long defies logic. The Jonathan Martin fiasco, Hard Knocks, two late season implosions, and an overall lack of offensive identity from an “offensive guru” made what happened early Monday morning a virtual inevitability.
The team’s performance thus far in 2015 allowed the decision to fire Philbin to be an easier pill to swallow. In a division where the level of competition is rising, the Dolphins have been left in the wake. He pinned the future of his offense on Ryan Tannehill this offseason with a six year, $97 million ($21 million guaranteed) contract. The Texas A&M product has turned out to be a glorified game manager, and that has forced Philbin to further simplify an already simplistic playbook. Not to mention, Tannehill has started to get on the nerves of his defensive teammates with jabs at the scout team defense during the practices across the pond ahead of their eventual drubbing at the hands of the Jets.
On the topic of the defense, Philbin had yet to get the best out of a unit in which a huge financial overlay was made over the summer. Big money man Ndamukong Suh has looked tame as the likes of Blake Bortles, Tyrod Taylor, and Ryan Fitzpatrick all had field days against the Dolphins’ D. The team has recorded just one sack through four games, and that came on a broken play against the Redskins. 54 players in the NFL have more than that by themselves. Adjustments were made at a minimum and it was if Philbin never had a backup to his original game plan. One would think a team giving up a shade over 160 yards a game on the ground would find a way to at least try to curtail that deficiency. That charge will now fall on new head coach Dan Campbell.
Campbell, 39, was named interim head coach upon Philbin’s departure and will become the youngest coach in the league presently. The former Giants, Cowboys, Lions, and Saints tight end will have an extra week to acclimate himself to his new gig with the Dolphins having a Week 5 bye. The ascendancy from tight ends coach to head coach is not one seen very often in coaching transitions. Owner Stephen Ross seems to have no reservations about Campbell’s ability to not only lead this team in the future, but turn around this 1-3 squad. Ross stated ”The grit that Dan possesses will do wonders in that locker room.” Campbell himself said he wants that grittiness and aggressiveness from his lines on both sides of the ball. He sure has his work cut out for him.
Though it was a necessary move to make, Joe Philbin’s firing is yet another blemish on the history of a once proud franchise. He is the fourth straight coach to post a losing record (24-28) as the Dolphins’ head man, of course discounting the 2-1 record current Jets head coach put forth in an interim capacity in 2011. It was after that season that Bowles was passed over as an internal promotion in favor of Philbin. The Dolphins did not make the playoffs during Philbin’s tenure, throwing away two chances at the second Wild Card. He has been a dead man walking since at least the listless Jacksonville game and the trip to London was when management finally completed his coaching execution.
With the freshly minted Tannehill causing a stir and the defense underperforming, Dan Campbell is going to be in as big of trouble on the field as Philbin was. We should probably see something at least resembling emotion or a pulse on the sideline now. Whether Dolphins fans will see more wins remains to be seen.