Miami Dolphins In Depth

Dolphins concerned about capacity at Sun Life Stadium

The Dolphins visited The Herald offices Friday as part of a tri-county tour of the newspapers serving the region the team claims as its own.

During the meeting with Herald reporters club president Mike Dee, general manager Jeff Ireland and coach Joe Philbin discussed as openly as they felt comfortable issues of interest. The football aspect of the meeting is covered in this story that discusses, among other things, Miami's plan to use both the 3-4 and 4-3 scheme on defense in 2012, according to Philbin.

On non-football matters, Dee took the questions and discussed a coming Super Bowl bid by South Florida, stadium improvements, and other matters. And in discussing the need for stadium improvements, he mentioned the possibility that capacity at Sun Life Stadium needs to be adjusted.

The reason for that is, well, the Dolphins think the place is too big.

"We have the furthest distance from the sidelines with our lower bowl in the NFL," Dee said. "We have the fewest number of seats in that lower seating level between the 20 yard lines, between the goal lines, in the NFL. Not just the facilities that compete for Super Bowls. We've got to fix that ...

"At the same time, we may look to amend capacity in areas where we may have too much. Right now, we have the largest upper deck in the NFL -- 35,000 seats. The next facility in line is 27,000. The Redskins took 10,000 seats out of their upper deck this past year. We're looking at all those things to retrofit the stadium to today's standards."

That creates something of a problem for the Dolphins. And here it is:

The best way, the right way, to fix the capacity issues Dee mentions is through construction and refurbishing Sun Life Stadium. There's nothing like taking seats out of the upper deck that is too big. There's nothing like adding seats in the lower bowl that is not big enough. That is the optimal approach.

But that costs money. And neither the legislature, nor local politicians are volunteering to pay for that. The public would likely vote down a ballot measure for such expenditure. And owner Stephen Ross is in no hurry to spend the multiple millions of dollars it would cost to do the project.

So the reconstruction idea doesn't seem workable.

What's next?

Well, I don't know how the Dolphins would add seats in the lower level without actually adding seats physically, but they can definitely adjust the numbers of seats in the upper deck without actually touching the place. They can simply ask the NFL to consider certain seats basically invisible. The Dolphins can just lower capacity by giving the NFL a new capacity number and then not selling, say 10,000 seats in the upper deck, for at least one season.

Other teams -- Jacksonville for example -- have done it. Unable to fill an extreme number of seats, the Jaguars just threw a tarp over whole sections of seating. The Hurricanes do it at Sun Life for their home games. The Miami Heat did it for a couple of years before LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade on the roster and seating demand skyrocketted.

The Dolphins can simply pick out a section of seats and cover the area. Or they can just black out certain seats or sections from being sold and those would simply be empty on game day.

All of this, by the way, affects you -- the ticket buying customer.

You see, as the Dolphins figure a way to attack this problem, the capacity of the stadium hangs in the balance. If the club is successful in lowering that capacity, either through construction, putting a tarp over sections of seats, or simply blacking out seats electronically, then achieving a sellout becomes easier.

Games are on TV!

You get to watch!

If the Dolphins don't find a way to lower capacity, and the tickets go unsold, the club would have to make a decision whether to rescue local TV-watching fans -- as it did multiple times in 2011 -- by purchasing its own tickets.

I have news for you: The club really doesn't love purchasing its own tickets. No business wants to buy its own product. It is not profitable. And that might lead to a decision not to purchase the unsold tickets. And that means ... no games on TV!

Your Sunday is ruined :(

So the looming decision on how the Dolphins address their stadium capacity issue, particularly in the upper deck, is a big deal to folks who watch the games on TV -- which happens to be a majority of fans. If capacity isn't decreased or ticket sales boom, the club may decide purchasing its own tickets is not a practice it wants to continue.

Blackouts ensue. Not good.

(Oh, one way to solve this without changing capacity? Sign Peyton Manning. Not advocating. Just stating logic.)

Rizzi's case for special teams job

Like most assistant coaches on NFL staffs undergoing change, Dolphins special teams coach Darren Rizzi is trying to stay employed. Unlike many of his counterparts, he can present a solid, tangible case for keeping his job based on his unit's 2011 performance.

According to the annual study of the NFL's 32 special teams, done by Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News, the Dolphins staged the biggest one-season improvement on special teams from 2010 to 2011, vaulting from 24 a year ago all the way to second under Rizzi.

The Dolphins finished just behind the San Francisco 49'ers in the study that judges 22 elements of the kicking game -- with each element receiving votes from 1 to 32, with the lowest scoring unit accounting for the best score.

The Dolphins finished in the Top 10 in 14 categories and, like the 49ers, their kickers were a strength. Dan Carpenter was 13-of-16 in field goals from 40 yards and beyond and punter Brandon Fields had a net punting average of 41.1 yards.

Four division champions finished in the top 10 in special teams and one of them is headed for the Super Bowl. The AFC champion New England Patriots finished fifth this season in special teams, the New Orleans Saints eighth and the Denver Broncos 10. The NFC champion New York Giants finished 22nd in the kicking game.

Congratulations to Rizzi, Carpenter, Fields and the rest of the Miami special teams unit.

Dolphins closing in on Kevin Coyle as DC, Duffner too

And the defensive coordinator for the Dolphins will beeeeeee ...

Cincinnati assistant Kevin Coyle is the leader in the clubhouse, according to reports by Cincinnati Enquirer's Joe Ready and The Herald's Barry Jackson, both of whom are reporting pretty much the same thing: That Coyle is telling people in the Bengals organization he doesn't have the Dolphins DC job locked up, but that it is looking for good.

Coyle represents himself in negotiations so he would know whether things are looking good or not after interviewing for the job today and ostensibly talking to the organization about a contract.

Ready also reports when/if the Coyle deal is sealed, he is likely to bring with him Mark Duffner as the linebacker coach/assistant head coach. Duffner, a veteran of 38 years as a coach, spent the past seven seasons as the Jacksonville linebacker coach. He worked for the Packers and also worked in Cincinnati in 2001-02 as the defensive coordinator.

Kevin Coyle, 56, has spent 11 seasons in Cincinnati, the past nine as the defensive backs coach. From 2003-2010, the Bengals had 150 interceptions, which is fifth most in the NFL during that span.

Dolphins working to land Mike Sherman as OC

Several national news organizations are reporting Greg Schiano is about to be hired as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs.

I am reporting the Dolphins are hoping to then hire former Green Bay and Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman as the team's offensive coordinator. The connection is that Sherman interviewed twice for the Tampa job and obviously is not the hire at this point, leaving him as a viable candidate in Miami.

It is not a done deal at this hour. Sherman will spend time with head coach Joe Philbin at the team's Davie training facility today.

But obviously the prospects of this working are good.

Philbin and Sherman are more than collegues. They're friends. Fact is Sherman was Philbin's English teacher back in Philbin's prep school days in 1979. And obviously, Philbin worked for Sherman when Sherman was in Green Bay.

Would this be a good hire?

Sherman is a solid guy. Imaginative? He's solid. He will run a version of the west coast offense.

If nothing else, the Dolphins will be able to download from Sherman all the information they want on Aggies' quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who started for Sherman.

But the question must be asked how long this hire will last. The fact is Sherman wants to be a head coach again. This is a stepping stone job for him and he'll be looking to get that head coach job ASAP -- probably next year.

So Sherman may be the right guy. But he is definitely also the right now guy.

Assuming no glitches, the hiring of Sherman seals the fate of Brian Daboll as Miami's offensive coodinator.

Question on Manning is whether he'll play at all

The Peyton Manning snowball is reaching avalanche proportions now.

The Colts have cleaned house and it seems as if Manning will be the next to be ushered out the door. The Dolphins and Jets have leaked word they would be interested in Manning. The 49'ers might be interested. The Cardinals might be interested. Manning, in an extensive interview with the Indianapolis Star, seems unhappy with the current state of affairs in Indy.

And a decision on Manning from the Colts, arrived at mutually with Manning, is due prior to March 8 -- the date Manning is due a $28 million bonus that the Colts must decide to pay to retain him or not pay and let him walk.

So Dolphins fans are fired up. They're excited at the prospect of their quarterback-hungry team acquiring one of the all-time best quarerbacks of the modern era.

Stop.

Breathe.

Think.

Before we waste any more news print ... um, well, cyberspace ... on the idea of whether Peyton Manning will come to the Dolphins, let us consider a more fundamental and sobering question:

Will Peyton Manning ever play football again?

The truth is the chances he may never play again are just as high as the ones suggesting he'll ever be in a Dolphins uniform. The truth is Manning has had three neck surgeries in the past 19 months, the latest in September of 2011, and none of those procedures have yet to make him right.

He lost feeling in portions of his throwing arm because one or more of the nerves that feeds into the arm either died or became impinged or simply stopped firing. As a result, the triceps on his throwing arm often felt numb. And it suffered atrophy.

That glorious arm that has thrown for 54,828 yards in 14 seasons? It's broken right now.

Yes, Manning might wake up today and suddenly the surgery meant to regenerate the nerve might suddenly get it firing again. And all will be well with him again. But it might not. And it might not tomorrow or ever for all we know.

Don't believe me. Former Colts president Bill Polian, among those swept out after Indy's 2-14 season along with most of the coaching staff, told ESPN radio this week there is no set course for getting Manning healthy.

"We just don't know. And nobody can tell you," Polian said. "I'll quote Dr. Watkins or at least paraphrase Dr. Watkins, who operated on Peyton back in September: He said there is no potion, there is no known medicine, there is no modality, there is no series of exercises, there is no test and there is no surgery that can predict accurately when a nerve will regenerate. And that is the issue here.

"And from what I understand, as of at least a month ago, progress was on-going and the graph was up but no one can know when and if Peyton's nerve that controls the triceps muscle will regenerate completely and will regenerate enough for him to play. The hope of every doctor -- and we talked to many -- is that it will. The expectation is that it will. When it will, no one can predict.

"It's extremely frustrating for Peyton, I know. And he's a soldier through it better than anyone I've ever seen in my career. But it's on ongoing process. And hopefully for him and his family it's sooner rather than later but nobody can predict it."

Polian went on to call Manning's injury, "the most troubling, most vexing injury situation I've faced in all my years in football."

And that is the player the Dolphins are supposed to bank their short-term future on?

Look, Manning is great. Everyone knows that. If he is healthy by March 8, I would guess the Colts will keep him. If, however, he's healthy and the Colts decide to go another direction simply because Manning is soon to be 36 and they're going in another direction, then obviously the Dolphins should be in the derby to land Manning.

But if he's not healthy? No. Thank. You.

My guess is if March 8 comes around and Manning's nerve still isn't healed, he'll be a man without a team. And then what?

Will he retire? Will he hit free agency?

He might do one just as much as the other. If two months from now he's still hoping for a long dormant nerve to wake up and revive his career, he might have no choice but wait and wait and wait.

He might have no choice but retire.

If Manning wants to continue waiting on a healing, some teams might be willing to wait with him. Others will go about their business and address their quarterback needs other ways. I hope the Dolphins do not sit by and hope and wait on a miracle that may never come.

We'll see what happens.

But until we know what choices Manning has for sure, until we know what he wants to do, talk of him coming to the Dolphins or any other team is premature.

The avalanche needs a plow.

Priority would be Manning first, Flynn as fallback

For five days now I've been telling you the Dolphins are on the quarterback hunt -- again.

I told you Saturday that Peyton Manning is a possibility for the team and that he's prominent on the team's radar, assuming he is available and wants to play in 2012. The point was echoed by national and other local news sources Sunday and Monday.

As you know the hiring of Joe Philbin makes Matt Flynn another possibility in the team's chase of a starting franchise quarterback. Philbin was the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator and is familiar with Flynn, the Packers backup.

But which one is the chief priority?

Is it Manning at age 36? or Flynn who is largely unproven?

A team source e-mailed me this afternoon that the priority is Manning. This coincides with news out of Mobile, Ala., where the Senior Bowl is going to be played Saturday. A league source there tells The Herald's Barry Jackson that the Dolphins have shown no interest in Flynn as of yet -- not even informal interest.

Now, teams are not allowed to show formal interest in soon-to-be free agents at this time. But at those Senior Bowl practices, where agents and team personnel departments mingle on the sideline, it's common for preliminary signs of future interest to be displayed. In fact, it's almost expected.

The Dolphins have shown no such interest in Flynn.

That combined with the e-mail tells me the Dolphins will wait until there is a clear course of action on Manning -- when they know if he's going to be in Indy or on the market, when they know his health -- before they decide what other direction to take.

If Manning is out there, if Flynn is available in free agency, at least we now know the team views Manning as the priority.

Why?

The club believes a healthy Peyton Manning is simply a better gamble than an unproven Matt Flynn. Flynn is younger and will be cheaper (although not by a lot) but clearly the Dolphins are more drawn to the idea of a proven NFL performer -- despite his advancing age and greater risk of his neck injury resurfacing.

Which elite free agent should the Dolphins sign?

Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland declined to share information on the Dolphins salary cap situation when he met with the media Tuesday. Doesn't matter because lack of specifics aside, it is clear the Dolphins cannot be full-blown buyers in free agency when it begins in March.

The Dolphins will not be able to address all of their issues in free agency. Thank God for the draft.

But the Dolphins might be able to address one major issue in free angency. One.

So which one should it be?

Do they sign quarterback Peyton Manning if he's available?

Do they sign defensive end Mario Williams, who is scheduld to hit free agency?

Or do they sign guard Carl Nicks, who NFL people are saying will not be back in New Orleans based on that team's other priorities?

All are elite players when healthy. All could be available. Which one do you sign and why? Please take into account how much demand will address the availability of each player in your answer.

Jeff Ireland speaks from Senior Bowl

Jeff Ireland just spoke to the media in Mobile, Alabama, site of the Senior Bowl, and explained in detail the Dolphins' offseason plans for the quarterback position, confirmed the cap space amount the club has to work with, and gave up the name of the player Miami will draft in the first round of the April draft ...

... Actually, he didn't, but I just wanted to see how it felt to write that sentence.

Truth is the session, attended by The Herald's Barry Jackson, revealed precious little we didn't already know. It began with Ireland repeating something every Dolphins fan has known since January of 2000.

"We need a quarterback that can lead us over the hump," he said. "This is a quarterback league. We have to do our best to make our position better."

Ireland praised 2011 starter Matt Moore's toughness, but the inference was clearly made that Miami wants to upgrade from him in 2012. If Miami needs the QB to lead the team over the hump, it obviously does not have the QB to lead the team over the top.

Moore, however, remains under contract for 2012.

The truth is the Dolphins have to get better all up and down the roster. And Ireland recognizes that.

"We're 6-10, we've got to do a better job of putting wins together," he said. "We've got to build a roster to be better than good. Good is not good enough. We want championships. Are we rebuilding? I don't believe so. I like some core pieces of this roster."

I would imagine Ireland knows what kind of offensive and defensive talent he's searching for. On defense that might include personnel for the 4-3 scheme, which the Dolphins used a lot in pass situations last season anyway, but is also a scheme the team might go to as a base look in 2012.

Ireland said he told his scouts to start looking at 4-3 personnel in case Miami goes there.

"If we have to go to a 4-3, we have the personnel to make the transition," Ireland said. "We have to add pieces."

As a personal aside, I believe the Dolphins will use their first-round pick on a pass rusher. Quinton Coples of North Carolina is a player the Dolphins are heavily scrutinizing at the Senior Bowl. The Dolphins desperately need a pass rusher to add on the side opposite Cameron Wake.

That is not where Miami's needs end. Ireland said he would love to add an "explosive" tight end.

The team needs to rebuild the entire right side of the offensive line because Marc Colombo is clearly not the answer at right tackle and right guard Vernon Carey is a free agent.

John Jerry is a possibility at either right guard or tackle.

"John has come a long way," Ireland said. "He has a long way to go."

Ireland said he is still looking forward to seeing what Lydon Murtha can do.

There will be a couple of cornerback prospects worthy or selecting high in the draft and Ireland is not showing his hand in that regard. But it's clear he's not giving up on Sean Smith and Vontae Davis.

"I believe in Sean," Ireland said. "They [Smith and Davis[ have got to take another step in the right direction."

Deeper in the secondary, Ireland praised Reshad Jones, Chris Clemon and Tyrone Culver, but noted, "I don't think we got our hands on enough balls."

New coach Joe Philbin will revamp the offense but don't expect much work done at running back. Reggie Bush has a year left on his contract and Daniel Thomas will be in his second season.

"Daniel Thomas will be a fine player," Ireland said. "He has got to stay healthy."

Ireland said he would like to keep unrestricted free agents Kendall Langford and Paul Soliai. But neither is signed and it is improbable the club with be able to keep both and still find a pass rusher.

Source: Bowles return to Dolphins unlikely

Joe Philbin is about the business of hiring a coaching staff right now. And while many of Miami's assistant coaches are excellent at what they do and the club denied some of them permission to interview with other clubs the past two weeks, their chances of staying seem slim now.

Philbin talked to interim head coach Todd Bowles Sunday and the message didn't exactly suggest the new coach is eager to retain Bowles. In fact, a source close to Bowles just told me the club's secondary/assistant head coach/interim head coach will not return to the Dolphins.

Obviously this can change at the last minute -- just google Chip Kelly. But Bowles is not in Mobile, Ala. for the Senior Bowl representing the team and he was told to feel free to search for other opportunities if he likes.

Bowles and Philbin are scheduled to speak again on Wednesday to finalize the plan for the assistant, but the source tells me the vibe when Philbin and Bowles talked last time was he was told he's free to find another job and Philbin would not hold him back.

The Wednesday meeting, meanwhile, is not expected to be anything formal. It's supposed to be a phone call, unless Philbin changes his mind between now and then.

Bowles, meanwhile, is going to do exactly what he was told: He has one year remaining with on his Dolphins contract. But he's going to search for opportunities elsewhere.

He's not alone. Philbin is setting a course to revamp the Miami offensive staff. I was told not to expect too many coaches to be retained from that offensive staff.

One coach who is not expected to be retained is offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo. Philbin, a former offensive line coach, wants to instill his way of doing things and he obviouslyy wants his people. He has already reportedly reached out to Jacksonville offensive line coach Andy Heck. Googs, as he is affectionately called in the building, is headed to the New York Jets with longtime friend Tony Sparano, according to a league source.

[Update: The Florida Times Union is reporting the Jaguars are retaining Heck.]

Wide receiver coach Steve Bush also leaving the Miami staff, according to a source in the agent industry. Assistant wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard's status is uncertain, according to the same source.

[Update: Hilliard has been hired by the Washington Redskins, that team announced today.]

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll had feelers from other teams after the regular season. The Dolphins denied him permission to interview elsewhere, according to a source. While his fate in Miami has not been sealed, it is a long shot he will return to the staff, according to a source.

Daboll may wind up in either Kansas City or with the New York Jets.

A source close to linebacker coach Bill Sheridan also tells me he'll be leaving the Dolphins. Sheridan was with the team two seasons.

The press conference start to finish

The Dolphins turned another page in their team history book Saturday. They hired Joe Philbin. He was there along with his handsome family. General Manager Jeff Ireland was there. Club owner Stephen Ross was there.

This is what they said.

All of it:

Stephen Ross: “Good afternoon. I’m Steve Ross for those of you who don’t know me. I really wish you a good day and happy that you’re here. I am also happy that this search that we had is over and more important I am happier for the person we selected to be the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. As we told you initially that we would have a thorough, incursive, and totally transparent search process and that’s what we have done. I especially want to thank Jeff Ireland and his staff for all the work that they’ve done before we started this search and the research that they’ve done and for the work that they’ve done in the process and the plan that we followed. We interviewed six people in person. Many who will eventually be head coaches in the National Football League. I want to thank all those six individuals. They were all outstanding candidates and with the exception of one, they were all excited about wanting to join and lead the Miami Dolphins. We narrowed the list down to three people. We interviewed those three people in New York. After these interviews, we felt that each one of them would be an outstanding head coach. But in the end, we felt that Joe Philbin was the right person to lead the Miami Dolphins at this time. Joe, I believe, has a lot of the same attributes that the most successful coach that the Miami Dolphins had in the past, Don Shula. As I mentioned to you, those are the types of attributes I was looking for in selecting a head coach for the Dolphins. His intelligence stands out. He has a winning background, which I think is so important. His leadership skills that we found out were unparalleled. He’s a man with integrity. He has a tremendous work ethic. He has a commitment to excellence and he has a tremendous, innovated ideas. In addition, you can’t help but be impressed by Joe’s accomplishments in the past. The track record of the Green Bay Packers is unparalleled. Not only he has a history of developing a productive offense, but he also developing players to work within that system. We appreciate the interest of all our fans and the input that they given us. And I know they are looking forward and we’re looking forward to their continuous support of our fans. I guess I can sum it up is Diane Philbin told me when I first met her today. She said something I took to heart. You hired Joe to win because that is what he’s all about and I think that really sums it up.”

Jeff Ireland Opening Statement:

“I just want to go through the search process. Before I do that, I would like to welcome the Philbin family here and we so glad to have you part of our Dolphin family. Also, I would like to thank Steve (Ross) for making the commitment in finding the right football coach for this franchise. He was involved in every aspect from the interviews, to the evaluations and to making the final decision. We put a plan together and we stuck to the plan. We covered a lot of ground. The plan included a number of head coaching candidates through the NFL, video process, we considered college head coaching candidates as well as those with NFL head coaching backgrounds. It included candidates’ with backgrounds in all phases of the game coaches with different skill sets on offense and defense. We even looked outside the box. We looked at the John Harbaugh model, which has been established and very successful with the Dave Toub interviewed. We did an extensive amount of background search on every candidate. We looked behind the scenes. It was a lot of behind the scenes work that went through this process. A lot of different resources that were used, a lot of different people Steve used and I used, reached out to a lot of people that knew Coach Philbin and the other candidates that were involved. We concluded a thorough search by meeting the three finalists this last week in New York for a second interview. We took time to further evaluate their plan, their vision. And we conclude that each of those guys were going to be a great football coach. We were going to have a good football coach regardless, but we wanted to coupled that with a unquestioned leader of men, an unquestioned amount of high integrity and one that had a plan and a vision that would continue to utilize the foundation of personnel that is here on this football team and one that has a creative mind to take us to new heights. Joe Philbin best fits that description. Joe and I have very similar philosophies regarding on what it takes to be successful in this NFL. He has experience winning a Super Bowl and he did a big part in developing a roster through fundamentals and technique and those, I think, are imperative to building a consistent winner in the National Football League. He’s a leader, a man with high character one that embodies a spirit of a winner. All those intangibles Steve and I thought were important for this football team. So without further ado, I would like to bring up the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Joe Philbin.

Joe Philbin Opening Statement:

“I want to thank Mr. Ross and Jeff Ireland for providing me with the opportunity to be the head football coach of the Miami Dolphins. It’s a privilege to be entrusted with one of the premier franchises in all of professional sports. In our discussions over the last two weeks it became evident to me of Mr. Ross’ desire to build a first-class organization in every respect; one that I am honored to join today. The Dolphins have a rich and storied past as well as a bright, unlimited future. I want to take a moment to thank those who have helped me get to this particular point in my career, specifically my high school coaches, whose example inspired me to enter the coaching profession as well as the 12 head coaches, hundreds of assistant coaches and players whose friendship and wisdom I have benefited from. In the last nine years the Green Bay Packer organization has been like family to me and I want to wish them the best of luck going forward. Most importantly, I want to thank my family -- parents, siblings, and my immediate family, including my wife Diane, and my children Matthew, Michael, John, Kevin, Tim, and Colleen, whose sacrifices have not gone unnoticed to me. Today we are embarking on a journey to return this team back to the top of the NFL; a feat that hasn’t been accomplished here in almost 40 years. We will attack the voyage with passion, energy, and enthusiasm in our quest to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to South Florida. To accomplish this, we must acquire excellent football players who are men of high character that possess an insatiable will to succeed. We then must develop them into a team that performs at an extremely high level on a consistent basis. Our team will consist of men who care more about winning and their teammates than they do about individual statistics. We will incorporate an aggressive, up-tempo attack in all three phases of the game. Our style of play will be built upon the precise execution of fundamentals. Our team will play with discipline, poise, and maximum effort. Our organization will become known for its commitment to provide the resources necessary to allow each player and staff member the ability to reach their full potential. This level of support will enable our team to enjoy unparalleled success on the field while also impacting our city and fan base in a positive manner by our humility and unselfishness off it.”

Questions for Joe Philbin:

(On how will you select your offensive and defensive coordinators) - “Well, I told Steve (Ross) and Jeff (Ireland) in the interview process I’m 50 years old. I anticipated this being the last job I ever take. This is my first head coaching opportunity and the most part of phase one of the head coaches’ responsibility is hiring a staff so I’m going to be hiring our offensive, our defensive, our special team coordinator, our offensive line coach, our quality control coaches on down the line. At this point and time, obviously we have some candidates in mind; however, we haven’t made any decisions on who those people are. And as we move forward in the process, we’ll be making those decisions.”

(On running the West Coast offense here similar to the offense ran in Green Bay) -“Well, as I was saying earlier in the day, I’ve been in the West Coast system for nine years and I’m still not exactly sure what that means. With that being said, I think it’s a mistake to just take the Green Bay Packers playbook and plop it out on the table here in South Florida. So one of the things in coaching, one of your responsibilities in coaching is to put your players in the best position to succeed. So we got to learn more about our players and learn what they do well. We got to hide what they don’t do as well, extenuated the positives. Again, as we start to build our staff, as we evaluate the roster, as we look at their unique talents and abilities we’ll start formulating a plan. There are certain characteristics obviously of the offense that’s going to come down here, but I don’t want to say that we’re just going to take the playbook, copy it, and change Green Bay to Miami and move forward like that.”

(On how much did your vision involve around a quarterback) -“We’re going to build a football team, number one. I think obviously the play and performance of a quarterback in the National Football League is obviously very important. One of the things I believe in strongly when you analyze your football team is that you have to look at the quarterback rating differential. So how your guy is performing as oppose to the opposition. So it’s certainly a key component in winning football games. But the focus wasn’t on one individual or one player. I don’t necessarily buy into the one player away mentality in anywhere I’ve ever coached at any level. I think you build a team. In this league, it’s about the 53 players, eight practice squad players, your staff, you’re building a team. Obviously, we got to have good performance out of our quarterback. Any good offense, especially in this league, has to have good quarterback play, which we will. But it wasn’t a necessary over riding thing.”

(On why do you believe you’ll be successful) -“Well, I feel very confident in the preparation. I had Anne (Rodriguez), my secretary, pop up July 5, 1984. And that was the day I began in the coaching profession. It’s been 10,061 days that I’ve been at this. I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of good people. I’ve learned from every 12 different head coaches, 100 assistant coaches I’ve been around. And I figure if you look at the body of work at every different level of football I’ve been fortunate to be around winning programs, places where we develop players. We develop men. We had good teams and I’m just confident we’ll be able to build the same thing here in Miami.”

(On what does the Miami Dolphins need most): “We got to build a team. There’s not one area necessarily. I’m not going to sit here and tell you we got to better at red zone defense or our third down offense conversion rate has to be better. Or we got to operate versus pressure better. We’re just building, I’m just kind of getting my feet wet sort of speak with the roster. I got a lot of work to do in terms of looking at what we do best. What our strengths are what our weaknesses are and together with the personnel, with the coaching come together, collaborate, find out the things we need to improve and get better and start building a team that way.”

(On how do you interact with players and do you model your style after anyone) - “I’ve always had a great relationship with players that wanted to be great players. I think one of the first attributes you look for when you identify prospective players is passion for the game. It’s much easier to coach, to motivate, to develop a player that has a real strong desire to be good. And I’ve always got along well with the guys that are very passionate about the profession that I’m involved in. I love my job. I love working with players helping them reach their potential. And I’ve always had good success matching up those kinds of people. The relationship I’ve had some people say I’m a player’s coach. Our teaching philosophy, our relationship with the players is going to be. We are going to be demanding, not demeaning. So we’re going to coach these guys extremely hard, very detailed oriented. We’re going to be thorough. We’re not going to leave any stone unturned in our quest in helping these guys develop and get better. And at the same time, we want to enjoy the relationships and enjoy the ride while we’re doing it.”

(On whether you’ll call offensive plays or will you’re offensive coordinator call plays) - “Again, that’ll be determined as the staff gets filled out. I would like to see happen is let our offensive coordinator the call plays. But that again, that’ll be determined as we move forward based on who that is and how the structure of the staff fills out.”

(On making the transition from assistant to head coach and what needs to happen in order to be successful) - “Well, number one, first I would have to say is the great trust that Mr. (Stephen) Ross and Jeff (Ireland) have placed in me. When I was a young coach starting out, one of my bosses handed me a little sheet, I told this to Mr. Ross and Jeff that every player deserves a coach that believes in him. Every head coach deserves an owner and a general manager that believes in him. You got to have faith in the people you hire and when I stand in front of the Miami Dolphins in 2012, the 53 guys and the 46 that’s going to dress. You better have confidence in those guys. You better believe in those players. And I have a lot of faith in what I’m capable of doing. And I’m very grateful to the faith that Mr. Ross and Jeff have place in me.”

(On who were your biggest influences) - “Well, the biggest influence I probably had was when I went to Worchester Academy in the Fall of 1979 and one of my classmates, my next door neighbor, State Senator (Jack) Hart from South Boston is over here today with my family. But there I was fortunate to be coached by Kirk Ferentz, who some of you guys know the head coach of the University of Iowa. Mike Sherman, who was the head coach at Texas A&M most recently, but was also the man responsible that gave me the opportunity to coach in the National Football League. Ken O’Keefe, the offensive coordinator at the University of Iowa. I worked with all three of those men at different places along the way. I worked with Coach O’Keefe at Allegheny College. We won a National Championship. I worked with Coach Ferentz at the University of Iowa. We were fortunate to win the only time in Iowa history that went undefeated in the Big Ten Conference. And then I worked with Coach Sherman where we won two division championships up in Green Bay. That was probably the most impactful year that I had and those were some of the men that inspired me in the coaching profession. And obviously, my last six years with Coach (Mike) McCarthy in Green Bay have been fantastic. He’s an excellent football coach and a great human being so that’s been a great experience for me as well.”

(On what do you think made you the person for the head coaching position) - “I think they’re better to answer that, but I think I thought we had a good chemistry between us. There was a good fit. When I left the facility I guess it was two weeks ago today. I just felt very comfortable. I felt very good about these guys. I felt very strong about the commitment Mr. (Stephen) Ross, the resources he’s going to commit. The passion that he has to win and felt really good about meeting with Jeff (Ireland) and I thought we were very compatible working together, his work ethic, his professionalism. I felt very good about that when I left. I didn’t know exactly where I fit on the whole top to bottom on the poll. I didn’t really care, but I knew when I was flying home I felt very, very good about our first meeting.”

(On how long will it take to win again) - “Well, we didn’t talk about when the three of us sat down together. What we really talked about I think Mr. (Stephen) Ross use this term in his other businesses is he wants to be best in class. He wants to build championship organizations whether it will be professional football or the other endeavors he’s involved in and so we didn’t sit down and say ok in 2012 we’re going to win six games, in 13(2013) we’re going to win 12, and 14 (2014) we’re going to win seven. Football is not built that way. It’s tough to predict, but what we talked about was building a foundation, building a program, building a football team that could deliver, sustained success over a period of time. And I’ve coached in the National Football League for nine years and college for 19. I don’t know if you ever go into a game where you don’t feel like you have a chance to win. So our focus is going to be that week the focus is going to be on the New York Jets, or the Buffalo Bills, or the Indianapolis Colts or whoever we may be playing in that particular week. We got a lot of work to do. We’re not going to sit around and put raw numbers in February or March or August for that matter with our players. We’re going to be about focusing on the task at hand. We’re going to be a developmental team. We’re going to get better week-to-week and year-to-year.”

(On how did you handle your personal situation) - “Yeah, it was obviously heartbreaking. As you said, I flew home from Miami two weeks ago. It was 30,000 feet in the air. I felt great about things. Obviously, as a family we have endured a heartbreaking loss and to be honest with you we had a beautiful service on Friday, a week ago, about eight days ago, phenomenal. We got 60 immediate family members. Just a tremendous out pouring from the community, former players, former colleagues can’t tell how touch we were as a family. And then I coached in the game on Sunday. And still can’t that believe that Mr. (Stephen) Ross and Jeff (Ireland) called me back after how poorly we played (laughing). But I was dejected. I came home Sunday night and really the TV haven’t been on in our house for a week. The Miami Dolphins maybe have hired a coach, I had no idea. And I walked down and I was talking to my son, Tim, and I saw he was kind of dejected and he asked me, ‘Dad what are the Miami Dolphins doing?’ And I said I have no idea what they’re doing. You’re going to go after the job are you? I said I don’t know what I’m going to do. I was dejected on a lot of different fronts. He looked at me and said, ‘You better go after that job. Your son, Mike, would want you to go after that job.’ And so that was kind of the start of me kind of getting back, get moving again.”

(On the transition from Green Bay to Miami) -“We’re like the Griswolds. I mean, my son John flew in from Philadelphia. Someone from the Dolphins had to pick him up. Diane’s sister is coming later on a different flight. We were going to put her on the toilet on the plane, but they wouldn’t let us (laughing) so we’re an all in family. We put our heart and soul in what we do. We’re not perfect. We’re excited as we could be in coming to South Florida and getting involved in the community and really anxious. We’re going to get them down here real soon. On a normal year, I would stay here and work until July and the kids would come next year in school, but we’re going to get them down here and immersed in the community as quickly as we possibility can.”

(On which defensive scheme, 3-4 or 4-3) -“Defensively, the vision of the defense would be based on fundamentals and technique. I want to be known for a great tackling team. I want us to have the best pursuit in the National Football League. I want us to take the ball away from our opponent. And I want us to put pressure and disrupt the quarterback. The rhythm and the timing of the quarterback, that’s the vision of our defense. What you’re going to learn from me is that I believe in fundamentals, execution, discipline are primary, schemes are secondary. We’re going to take a look again as I said we’re going to study the roster. We’re going to study what we do well. We’re going to look at possibilities. We’re going to hire the best leader of men, the best teacher, the best communicator, the best motivator that we can find to be our defensive coordinator and it’s going to be a collaborative effort. It’s not going to be one individual’s defense. It’s going to be the Miami Dolphins defense.”

(On what message do you give fans) -“Well, just kind of what I said in my opening statement. I don’t think football is an overly complicated game. As the offensive coordinator in Green Bay, we use to stand up in front of the offense and ask them if they could count to four, because if you could count to four you could play in the Packer offense. Football is a people game still. The objective is obviously we’re all chasing the same prize. Everybody wants to bring the Lombardi trophy back to their particular city or their particular fan base. But I think we have to stay focus on, we have to get excellent football players, high character individuals, and men that have a strong, strong will to succeed. That’s the plan. When you get those kinds of individuals, we get a staff in here that’s going to teach with enthusiasm, with clarity with simplicity and accuracy and we’re going to be able to accomplish some great things together.”

Questions for Stephen Ross:

(On why did you select Joe Philbin) - “Well, I think you just heard Joe (Philbin) and I think you can kind of make your own decision. I think he really impressed me just listening to him, his organization, his plan, how he would execute it and make us a winner as fast as possible. I really believe that people that work in great winning organizations learn how to win and that’s what it’s all about. That’s the primary reason and who he is as a person and what he’ll do for this organization the reasons why Joe Philbin is the coach of the Miami Dolphins.”

(On Joe Philbin bring the Packer mentality to Miami) - “I don’t know. Right now, we don’t have any Packers on our roster. We’re not allowed to talk about that. That wasn’t the reason. We didn’t spend a lot of time about that. We talked about creating a winning football team and it’s not just one person that’s going to make us a winning football team.”

(On how involved was Carl Peterson in the interview process) - “Carl (Peterson) is a friend of mine, been an advisor for a long period of time. He sat in all the meetings with the various candidates and we got his perspective. But the decision was made by myself working with Jeff Ireland.”

(On what were you looking for in the second interview process) - “Well, I mean, I thing I found out, never have been at it before and hopefully wouldn’t have to go through it again, but when you speak to six different candidates and at the end of the day you kind of reflect. It kind of all runs in together how to differentiating who said what. You know who impressed you, but it wasn’t the specifics. So we wanted to really be fresh because usually in those cases the last person you meet with is the guy you’re going to hire. So I wanted to meet them all at one time that in a short period of time and go through some of those questions again, hear them, and have that follow up with them and so you can really make a decision then on what you heard and you really had those thoughts in your mind.”

(On if how Joe Philbin handled his personal situation influence your decision) - “I mean, you certainly have to admire Joe (Philbin) is a very strong person that came out in the first process and my heart goes out to him having gone through what he’s gone through, but I mean I think you find out what a person is all about in times like that and the stress that he went through. So I think he’s still going to have a lot of problems going through that, but I think he’s a strong person. He’s a family person and he has a lot to look forward too. And I think this opportunity and probably this change of scenery is great for him.”

(On how difficult was hiring a head coach compared to your other businesses and what have you learned) - “In football, one thing I found out early on, football is a lot different than business. The differential of winning and losing is so small. And it’s really, business is a question of detail is just as much. But I think the idea of winning and winning in such a define moment is something you really have to know what that’s all about. It was really important to me that one of the aspects is that you’re used to winning and you expect to win and you’ve shown you’ve been a winner. I don’t think any of our candidates showed it like Joe Philbin.”

(On this decision being the most important decision you’ve made) - “Every time I make a decision, that’s the most important decision at that time so this was the most important. But in terms of the Miami Dolphins I know this is probably the most important decision. We spent an awful lot of time talking about the pros and cons of each individual and we really believed at the end of the day nobody was really, really more capable of doing this job and bringing the Miami Dolphins back to being a winning organization than Joe Philbin.”

Question to Jeff Ireland:

(On what stood out from the interview with Joe Philbin) – “Well I think after our first meeting, I knew about 15 minutes into the interview this was a guy that we should seriously take a look at, his vision, his core beliefs, his principles that he believes in, a lot of the objectives that were so apart of what Joe Philbin is all about, his passion for it obviously. You do a lot of due diligence going into a coaching search, a lot of phone calls to people around this business. This is a big fraternity of people that know people and that’s the one thing going through this process that I learned about Joe Philbin, there is not one person out there that doesn’t respect this person, not only as a coach but as a person. But it was those core beliefs, the beliefs that I believe in, the fundamentals, the technique, details. Being aggressive. Some of the things he talked about his offense being tempo related. Obviously looking at an offense that he produced very low turnovers, things that were keys to success with the Green Bay Packers, those were all things that were key to making this decision.”

(On if Joe Philbin will have final say on the coordinators) – “100 percent. Joe Philbin has total authority to hire his coaches.”

(On what type of team Joe Philbin is inheriting based on what he built) – “Well, I think he is inheriting a good football team. Doesn’t reflect in the wins and losses, but I think there is some foundation, some pieces here that he can work with. Obviously we are going through a new coach process, so there are some pieces that are missing. That falls on me to help get him get those pieces and I am a scout at heart, I am going to go find players for the head coach. That’s what my job is going to be, that is my ultimate job for this head coach, is to eliminate distractions from him and let him coach the football team and I have to fins football players for him.”

(On how much continuity he is looking for in terms of the coaches) – “That’s Joe Philbin’s job. He’s going to decide on the coaches, I am sure he has a process that he has in mind, were going to discuss that here, we discussed that thoroughly through the process. I am sure that he wants to talk to a few guys on this staff, he’ll probably talk to every coach on this staff. But ultimately its Joe’s decision on what offense he wants to run, what defense he wants to run, but that Joe Philbin’s job.”

(On how much of Joe Philbin’s experience with quarterbacks impact the decision) – “We talked about pretty much, we talked about corners, we talked about outside linebackers, we talked about quarterbacks, we talked a lot about the offensive line. But it was Joe’s vision and his core beliefs and his overall values about and vision for building a football team that was most important with this hire.”

(On if there was ever a moment where you and Mr. Ross didn’t agree during the coaching search process) – “These are tough decisions and Mr. Ross and I we went through plenty of debates in this process. Ultimately we found the right guy and that was a collaborative effort between Steve and I, we had Carl’s help, Dawn Aponte was a part of the process. Like I said, we went through a very thorough process and ultimately it was Steve and I sitting down together and making this decision.”

(On if there will be an open competition for the starting quarterback position) – “That’s Joe Philbin’s job, he’s going to decide who we have as a quarterback, so I can tell you that we are going to try to find players for this man here and give him the best chance to lead this franchise into new heights and a new era.”

Philbin's packet impressed everyone

Jeff Ireland said that 15 minutes into Joe Philbin's first interview, he knew the Dolphins were onto something. Stephen Ross said after his interview he talked to Carl Peterson, his long-time friend and adviser, and Peterson told him it was the best presentation by a coach he'd ever seen.

Yeah, Joe Philbin apparently had the Dolphins at hello. Or at least that's the narrative today.

So how did Philbin do it?

“I put together a packet of information that I really started working on in 2009 maybe," he told me Saturday. "And I’ve been amending it and adjusting it and tweaking it for the last couple of years. But I had things ready to go in case an opportunity would have presented itself. I had really worked on it hard in the summer. Obviously I don’t have a lot of time to work on it during the season. It’s been brewing for a while.”

The packet, which Ross indicated is about an inch or two thick, is meant to show teams what Philbin is about. It speaks of Philbin's history, his philosophy …

“Yeah, expectations, values, things in my core belief, base philosophy," he said. "It’s not how we’re going to attack Cover 2 but how we’re going to run an offense. What kind of system we envision running. Are we going to be a multiple formation team. Are we going to be a no-huddle team, things along those lines. More broad based.”

After the interview, Philbin was happy with his performance. He said he got on a plane home and felt like he was flying at 30,000 feet -- plane or not.

“I though it went well, I really did," he said. "When I flew home I thought it went very well. And I thought we got along well, also. Mr. Ross and I, the first time we sat down, just the two of us for well over an hour. And we kicked around a lot of things and talked about the things he had done in his career. I thought it was good.”

Dolphins refute Bowles was pushed on McCoy

I arrived at Dolphins camp for the Joe Philbin presser early and, within minutes of being here, I was pulled aside by team people who wanted to deliver a message:

General Manager Jeff Ireland read the post on Mike McCoy and Todd Bowles and wanted the message to reach me that he denies the Dolphins would push an assistant on a head coach.

Further, I was told that it was the Dolphins' view that McCoy was actually enthusiastic about talking to Bowles and possibly hiring Bowles as his defensive coordinator.

And so now I'm in the twilight zone because on the one hand, I'm told by people extremely close and familiar with McCoy that he did not want to necessarily hire Bowles for reasons explained in the last post 

And on the other hand, the Dolphins are saying their understanding is that McCoy loved the idea of hiring Todd Bowles as the defensive coordinator.

This feels like a Jeff Fisher replay where Fisher's view of his meetings with the team and the team's view of the same meetings were completely at odds.

Bowles as DC might have worked against McCoy

At 4 p.m. today the Dolphins will introduce Joe Philbin as their new head coach and one assumes they'll explain why they picked the former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator. That will be interesting.

Before that happens, let me take a moment to tell you why the Dolphins may not have picked Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

McCoy, as I reported earlier in this space, was confident he was going to get the Dolphins job. At 39 years old, he was the only one of the finalists that fit into Stephen Ross's desire to hire "a young Don Shula."

But that's not the reason McCoy was so confident. Turns out he was reading signs from the team. He gauged their enthusiasm following his first meeting with them Monday. And he was even more confident after flying to New York for a Thursday interview because that went a full eight hours -- nine hours if you count the meal -- and afterward general manager Jeff Ireland told McCoy that if things went as expected, the team would send a plane for McCoy and the family to bring them from Denver back to South Florida on Friday.

But it never got to that point and McCoy thinks he knows the reason.

Seems during the McCoy interview, the topic of defensive coordinator came up. And the Dolphins told McCoy they really liked Todd Bowles and would like him to hire Bowles as the defensive coordinator.

This is interesting on many fronts because it suggests the team at the time already knew Bowles was not going to be selected as the head coach and was already planning another job for him. It's also interesting because as of late last night, the club had not told Bowles anything about becoming defensive coordinator. I'm told the only conversation between Bowles and Ireland Friday night was when the GM told the interim coach the Dolphins were hiring Philbin. It is also interesting in that it means the Dolphins were assuming Bowles, who is interviewing for other head coaching jobs, would not get any of those jobs.

At any rate, McCoy didn't agree to hiring Bowles as his defensive coordinator. He told the Dolphins that as a first time head coach, and an offensive-minded coach at that, he'd like to hire an experienced defensive coordinator. He told the Dolphins he'd like someone that had done the job and succeeded in the job previously so he could concentrate more on upgrading the Miami offense.

Todd Bowles, you must understand, has never been a defensive coordinator.

But the Dolphins insisted. And McCoy pushed back.

The Dolphins spoke of how well-regarded Bowles is and McCoy made the point that it is irregular to force an assistant on a new coach when that assistant just lost a job derby to the new head coach and that assistant is not experienced in the job the team wants him to carry out. It can be uncomfortable for all parties.

It wasn't contentious. But McCoy had definite ideas about people he'd like to interview for the job. And the Dolphins -- once they found out from McCoy that Steve Spagnuolo was already hired elsewhere -- had definite ideas about Bowles.

Ultimately, McCoy told the team he would be more than happy to include Bowles in the interview process for a defensive coordinator. He'd be happy to meet Bowles. But he declined to make any promises to hire Bowles.

Obviously, the club went with Philbin as the new head coach. They began talking to Philbin late into the evening Thursday and reached a deal with him Friday afternoon.

Now, I am not telling you the defensive coordinator issue is the reason McCoy was eliminated. I am telling you that's the reason McCoy thinks he didn't get the job.

The truest test of this will be seeing whom Philbin "hires" as his defensive coordinator. He's got a ton of coaching talent in Green Bay that he can draw from as a possible DC candidates. And he should have his own people and be comfortable with them if he wants. He's never worked with Bowles and, far as I know, didn't have Bowles in his plans when he began the interview process.

But if Todd Bowles becomes the Dolphins next defensive coordinator under Joe Philbin, you'll know this was indeed a tipping point in the McCoy interview. You'll know that perhaps the reason the team picked Philbin over McCoy was Philbin's willingness to meet Miami's desires to hire Bowles where McCoy wanted to hire his own people.

We'll see.

Follow me on twitter. I will be providing real-time updates of the Philbin presser on my timeline today.

Philbin's desire to be Miami's coach already a plus

I don't know what kind of coach Joe Philbin will turn out to be. I don't know if he'll be a success. I don't know if he'll ever get his team to the playoffs or Super Bowl. I do know he wants to be the Dolphins coach. He's excited about the idea. He is eager and sees this as his career's grandest opportunity even, as I write in my column today, following a terrible personal tragedy.

(Please read the column.)

And yet, with all the uncertainty, Philbin is already better than what the Dolphins have gotten in the past in one regard.

He is better than what Miami might have gotten out of Jeff Fisher in one regard.

"I have seen how much the fans in South Florida care about the Dolphins, and that passion is one reason why I’m really excited to be here," Philbin said in a statement. "I’m looking forward to their support, and I can’t wait to get started.”

It's important that Phibin is so fired up about the idea of taking over the Dolphins because I've covered too many Dolphins coaches who weren't really into the idea. You will remember that in January of 1999, Jimmy Johnson no longer wanted to coach the Dolphins and actually walked away from the Dolphins.

Then owner Wayne Huizenga begged him, convinced him to return to the team for the 1999 season. Johnson was miserable. It was a nightmare. Bad idea.

Fast forward to Nick Saban. He had it good at LSU. He loved it there because he was a hero and a national champion. But Huizenga convinced him to take the Dolphins job -- even after Saban reportedly changed his mind about coming. Huizenga helped him change his mind back again and put him and the family on the plane to South Florida.

It was a mistake that would reveal itself inside of two years.

Fast forward again to Jeff Fisher. You may be upset that Miami didn't land him. I certainly was. But ultimately, for whatever reasons, Fisher didn't want to come to the Dolphins. So the Dolphins are better off not having him. It's better to not hire someone who doesn't really want to come.

I warn you that wanting to be here is not a guarantee or predictor of success. Tony Sparano wanted to be the Dolphins coach more than he wanted to draw breath on some days. That didn't help him the past three years while the Dolphins posted back-to-back-to-back losing seasons.

But do I like the fact Philbin is by all account commited to being the Miami coach? Absolutely.

Follow Armando Salguero on twitter.

Joe Philbin to coach the Dolphins

Joe Philbin will be the Miami Dolphins next head coach, The Miami Herald has learned.

The former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator has been offered the job and he will become the Dolphins 10th head coach. He will inherit the same office once occupied by Don Shula.

He will also inherit a position that saw such failed efforts as the tenures of Nick Saban, Cam Cameron and Dave Wannstedt. As Philbin has never been a head coach, the Dolphins are hopeful Philbin will be a success.

But they obviously cannot know for certain.

Philbin is expected to fly to South Florida Saturday, reunite with owner Stephen Ross and the rest of the Dolphins hierarchy with whome he last interviewed on Wednesday, and afterward would sign a contract. Terms of that deal are still not available but a source said the deal is for no less than four years and "consistent with league norms."

A press conference will be held after Philbin signs his contract on Saturday.

The Dolphins failed last week to land first choice Jeff Fisher, who opted instead to join the St. Louis Rams and has become one of the richest coaches in the NFL, earning upwards of $7 million per season. The Philbin contract is likely worth about half that amount annually.

In picking Philbin, the Dolphins have a coach whose past is similar to that of former coach Tony Sparano. Philbin was an offensive line coach with Green Bay as Sparano was in Dallas. Philbin was the offensive coordinator in Green Bay but didn't call the plays just as Sparano held muted play-calling duties in Dallas before coming to Miami.

Philbin had never been an NFL head coach before coming to Miami. Sparano was never an NFL head coach before coming to Miami.

Philbin wins a three-man derby that also included interim coach Todd Bowles and Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. There have been whispers that Miami would like to offer Bowles the defensive coordinator job and that is still possible.

But a source close to Bowles says that has not been discussed with Bowles or his representation.

Dolphins owner on the move back to South Florida

Stephen Ross is done working in New York for the week. His job as a Big Apple real estate mogul is done. His job as the Dolphins owner who has spent the past four days interviewing potential head coach candidates is also mostly done.

Time to come home.

Time to name a coach.

Ross will board his private jet at around 8 a.m. this morning and head to South Florida, where he'll arrive around 11 a.m. He is expected to have with him a decision or near-decision on Miami's next coach when he returns. It's unclear if the new Dolphins' coach will be riding with him from New York, where the interviews were conducted.

Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is considered the leading candidate -- at least that's what he considered himself, as I reported two days ago. Unconfirmed reports, based on dubious tweets from CBS 4 in Denver and the assistant director of communications for the Mountain West Conference, say it's McCoy. I'm trying to confirm through, you know, legitimate means.

Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and Miami interim coach Todd Bowles are also candidates.

[UPDATE: NFL Insider Danny More said on the Armando and Perk radio show this morning that Philbin has been eliminated as a candidate. He also reported McCoy returned to Denver following his interview with the Dolphins. That would suggest McCoy won't be on the plane with Ross when he lands.]

[UPDATE 2: A source close to Philbin tells me the Green Bay offensive coordinator has not been told one way or another what his status with the Dolphins is. Sheesh!]

[UPDATE 3: The Mountain West communications director says he has no inside information on McCoy.]

[UPDATE 4: The Dolphins contingent landed in Fort. Lauderdale. McCoy indeed was not on the plane as More said. Neither were any of the other two coaching candidates. GM Jeff Ireland and senior vice president for football operations Dawn Aponte got off the plane and returned to the team's facility. Aponte's role on the trip would obviously be one of budget and contract negotiation.]

[UPDATE 5: A Bowles family source tells me the interim coach has not been told one way or another what his status with the Dolphins is at this time.]

 

McCoy believes himself the leading candidate

Mike McCoy is scheduled to interview with the Dolphins on Thursday, the last of the three second-round interviews the team is conducting as it tries to find a new head coach. But this one might be more significant than the other two in that McCoy tangibly believes the job is his to lose.

Acccording to a source, McCoy considers himself the front-runner in the Miami job and is so confident of this status, he took his name out of consideration for the vacant Oakland Raiders job. McCoy was scheduled to interview for that Raiders opening in Denver on Wednesday but ultimately declined.

The source, who requested anonymity, said the Raiders were not thrilled with the apparent snub but were made to understand that McCoy believes himself the front-runner in Miami and he didn't want to do anything to hinder that status.

Both Todd Bowles and Joe Philbin, Miami's other two finalists, are also on the radar for head coach jobs with other teams but have not removed their names from the running of any potential opportunity.

It is unclear if McCoy was led to believe he is the front-runner by the Dolphins. The Dolphins are not commenting to the extent they declined to even confirm which candidates are being interviewed in the second round. The club did confirm completed interviews during the first-round of interviews.

The team did tell both Bowles and Philbin that today's interviews "went great," according to sources. The club is clearly not showing its cards.

McCoy has the enviable position of being the last of the three finalists to interview for the job. On Wednesday, the Dolphins talked to both interim head coach Bowles and Green Bay offensive coordinator Philbin for a second time.

McCoy will get the chance to the leave the lasting impression on owner Steven Ross and general manager Jeff Ireland.

Philbin, meanwhile, got an endorsement for his Dolphins candidacy from current Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy.

“I think he would make an excellent head coach,” McCarthy told Green Bay media. “I’ve said that before.”

Philbin has been with Green Bay since 2003 and has been offensive coordinator since 2007, although McCarthy calls plays. The Packers have ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in yardage each of the past five seasons, including third in 2011.

As Philbin, McCoy and Bowles compete for the job interviews, there is starting to be behind-the-scenes lobbying for each candidate from parties partial to one or the other.

One source asked why the Dolphins would be so enamored with McCoy as to give him a second interview, noting that the Broncos started the season on a 1-4 slide and ended the season on a 1-4 slide. In fairness, the Broncos did win the AFC West title.

But even that title was getting shot down by sources partial to the other candidates.

One of those noted that the only reason the Broncos won the AFC West is because since-fired Dolphins coach Tony Sparano opted for a two-point conversation against the Broncos early in the fourth quarter of their October 23 game. The conversion failed, giving the Dolphins a 12-0 lead instead of a 13-0 or 14-0 lead.

Had Sparano kicked the extra point, the Dolphins might have withstood a breakneck Denver comeback and still won the game 16-15 in regulation instead of losing 18-15 in overtime.

Interesting ...

That people close to the other candidates are bringing up these issues might also be a sign they believe McCoy might be Miami's leading candidate and he might need to be cut down a couple of rungs to even the playing field.

Dolphins should have new coach by Friday

Todd Bowles, Joe Philbin and Mike McCoy will interview a second time for the Dolphins' vacant head coach job starting today and going through Thursday. Bowles and Philbin will be today and McCoy on Thursday.

If this goes according to plan, the Dolphins should have a new head coach by Friday afternoon.

I don't know who the leader is at this time. It frankly doesn't matter because I'm told this round of interviews truly will decide the winner.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject:

1. Bowles has spent four years working for the Dolphins. He was the interim coach that went 2-1. He has the backing of Bill Parcells. He almost got the Detroit job a couple of years ago. He already interviewed for the Oakland job this year and is on the radar for the Indianapolis Colts' job if he doesn't land the one in Miami.

What exactly do the Dolphins have to find out about him that they don't already know?

One has to wonder if the fact Bowles is part of the old guard, under Tony Sparano, is a help or hinderance in that it's viewed as doing more of the same thing? Among fans the answer might be different than among the men who are actually deciding this hire.

If Bowles does not land the job, will he be be offered the defensive coordinator job because the other two candidates are offense-minded coaches? Do not dismiss this possibility.

2. McCoy is suddenly hot. He can thank Tim Tebow for that. The fact is McCoy's offense was terrible before Tim Tebow dropped the winner's annointing on the Broncos. The offense was putrid under Kyle Orton. And McCoy was no hero in Carolina, either. Fact is he got less out of Matt Moore in 2007 with the Panthers than the Dolphins did this year. That's fact.

But McCoy did get more out of Brandon Marshall than has been the norm in Miami. And he comes highly recommended as well. Dan Henning respected him. John Fox loves him. And he is a hot commodity around the NFL, as Tampa and Oakland are also interested in him.

You have to give McCoy major props for adjusting the Denver offense this year to suit Tebow's skill set. The ability to adapt is a trademark of a former Dolphins coach had. That coach's name was Don Shula.

McCoy is 39 years old. He kind of fits the young Don Shula quote from Stephen Ross.

3. Philbin is similarly impressive and comes with hopes he might bring some of the Green Bay success to the Dolphins -- as in tangibly. There is talk he might bring quarterback coach Tom Clements with him to Miami as the offensive coordinator. There is talk he might be able to recruit Matt Flynn, Green Bay's backup quarterback, to the Dolphins as well.

I suggest the Dolphins judge Philbin on his own merits. You don't hire a guy based on what else the guy might bring you. That's like a woman that marries a man mostly because he's got money. Rarely works out.

I asked a source close to Philbin what he emotional state is. You'll recall Philbin had a son who drowned last week. He stayed away from the Packers much of the time last week before coaching from the press box on Sunday.

I am told Philbin has assured the Dolphins through his agent and will do so again in person that he is willing, ready and eager to move on with his career and that he is emotionally fine.

Many of you want me to tell you who I believe should get the job. I cannot because I'm not going to pretend to know these guys intimately enough to gauge which is best. I am not in the interviews. I have not actually sat down with any of them.

Any journalist giving you an opinion on which candidate would be best ... run away from that idiot.

Follow me on twitter. I am not an idiot -- most of the time.

Dolphins onto second round interviews

The Dolphins are making progress in their effort to hire a head coach -- at least they seem closer to getting there.

The club yesterday made the pivot away from some candidates and is "on to the second round" of interviews, I've been told by the club.

I am looking for confirmation this means no new candidates will be added to the current pool although I believe that to be the case. I have been told several candidates have been cut from the process -- one of them being Chicago Bears special teams coach Dave Toub, who was the first candidate to interview for the job.

Toub was told Monday he was no longer being considered for the job. He re-signed with the Bears today.

An NFL source tells me Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has also been cut from consideration.

So what does this mean?

It means the next Dolphins coach will be selected among the following group: Todd Bowles, Joe Philbin, and Mike McCoy.

Philbin, the Green Bay offensive coordinator, will interview again on Wednesday. McCoy, the Broncos offensive coordinator, will interview again Thursday. I am trying to confirm when Bowles will get his second interview, assuming it is not happening today.

[UPDATE: I should have mentioned this earlier, but Philbin is clearly eager to have the job. There were questions about his emtional state following the drowning death of his 21-year-old son last week. There were questions whether Philbin would be willing to relocate his family. He is willing to relocate his family, a source close to Philbin told me.]

All the interviews will be in New York, where owner Stephen Ross is spending the next couple of days.

Falcons hire Nolan as new defensive coordinator

Mike Nolan has been hired as the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator, the NFL team said moments ago.

Nolan leaves the Dolphins after two seasons as their defensive coordinator.

Nolan's defense was sixth in the NFL in fewest points allowed in 2011 after finishing 14th in the category in 2010. The move obviously leaves the Dolphins without a defensive coordinator even as the team is continuing to search for a head coach.

Yes, the coaching talent is leaking in Miami.

Nolan is a very good coach. The only way this is not viewed as a significant loss is if the Dolphins hire a defensive minded head coach such as Mike Zimmer. Zimmer, the current Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator, would run the 4-3 defense if he comes to Miami.

The Dolphins are and have been a 3-4 defense under Nolan.

The Falcons have been a 4-3 defense.

If the Dolphins, however, hire say Mike McCoy as their head coach, this is clearly a loss for the franchise. Yes, it will be painted as McCoy, an offensive coach, should get the right to hire his own staff. But let's face it, no one McCoy gets is going to be as experienced as Nolan and probably won't be as good.

I'm not, however, surprised Nolan is gone. He was disappointed the Dolphins didn't at least interview him for the vacant head coach job after Jeff Fisher turned the team down. The man has pride.

The argument could easily be made Nolan has more credentials than several of the assistant coaches the Dolphins have interviewed for the head coach vacancy.

The absence of a good QB option hurts on field, off

Jimmy Johnson wanted to get back into coaching in 1996 and he wanted to do it in Florida so he looked around the landscape of possible jobs and weighed the Tampa Bay Bucs and Miami Dolphins. In Tampa, he had more cap room, a budding great defense with youngsters Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch, and the promise of a new stadium.

In Miami, Johnson saw Dan Marino.

Johnson picked the Dolphins. And he did it primarily because he believed Marino could get him to the Super Bowl quicker than anyone on the Tampa roster playing quarterback at the time could. Johnson figured he could build a team around the quarterback easier than find the quarterback to build the team around.

Yes, he was wrong because Marino would soon begin his decline.

But a team's quarterback situation was important for more than one reason all the way back then -- even before the NFL became a lubricated lightning strike league where teams can score four touchdowns in four minutes of playoff action as New Orleans and San Francisco did last weekend.

Fast forward to 2011. The Dolphins lost out on hiring Jeff FIsher a few days ago. And on Monday there was this in Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback column in Sports Illustrated quoting Fisher:

"From day one, when I began this process after the season, I felt Miami and St. Louis were my best options. I did my research. I looked at every team that had an opening. I looked at the personnel on each team, I looked at the owners, I looked at the cap situations, and I narrowed it to two. Not Marvin. Me. Marvin didn't push me. I am convinced he was completely objective.''

Fisher went on to say at the start of the process he was interested in a team that had a good owner and good quarterback, and he felt St. Louis had the best combination of both.

I'm not going to replay the Fisher fiasco. That's done.

But the lesson from that missed opportunity is that aside from hurting the team on the field, aside from keeping the team perpetually playing a secondary role to NFL teams that do have quarterbacks, the Dolphins decade-long inability to land even a good quarterback has come to roost off the field as well.

We've seen glimpses of how the QB situation has driven the direction of the franchise before.

Nick Saban quit after 2006 when he realized he made a terrible mistake in his chase of a quarterback and that mistake was probably irreparable, thus killing his chances to win soon, thus making life in the NFL miserable.

The 2004 Dolphins were terrible because Ricky Williams quit days before the season, that is true. But if they had a great quarterback instead of the terrible Jay Fielder-A.J. Feeley competition that was never settled, they might have overcome the disaster of that season.

The one season the Dolphins did kinda sorta solve their QB woes -- 2008 -- also gave the team its most successful season in years. Chad Pennington was great and the club won the AFC East.

Knowing this history, knowing how the quarterback situation has repurcussions on and off the field, how can anyone rightly say that the status quo is good enough?

It is not.

 

Judge the information with a grain of salt

Don't believe everything you read. Don't believe this blog, the websites, the pundits or so-called insiders on ESPN, NFL Network or other networks, either. Take it all in with a grain of salt when it comes to this Dolphins coaching search.

Why?

If you've been paying attention you've noticed a lot of good people have been feeding you a lot of bad information.

At this time last week, the NFL Network had a report up all day that Jeff Fisher was about to take the Dolphins coaching job. How'd that work out? I was told Fisher would decide by last Wednesday, but he didn't come in with a decision until Thursday. (The decision was leaked Friday.) Other local publications have been off the reservation as well, with one reporting Fisher never spoke to the Dolphins once his decision was made.

In truth, he called Jeff Ireland personally and told the Miami general manager he wasn't coming.

And then this: Over the weekend every network reported one candidate or another had a great interview with Miami. ESPN and FOX have said Joe Philbin wowed the Dolphins. NFL Network said Mike Zimmer blew the team away.

If these guys were so awesome, how come the interview process continues, with Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy on the interview schedule within the next couple of days? How come the team still wanted to hire Jeff FIsher?

All I'm saying is this so-called inside information comes from one of a couple of sources: the agents representing the coaches -- the ones the Dolphins tell not to speak to the media -- or Jeff Ireland or one of his Dolphins minions. All of them have an agenda. The agents want to drum up good tidings for their clients. Ireland and the Dolphins want to make it seem like this search is going exactly as planned without hiccups and that all the candidates they've indentified are the most incredible leaders since Patton.

The truth is all the candidates the Dolphins have so far interviewed either didn't make the playoffs or got bounced from the playoffs by teams and coaches staff that apparently did better work. No one on any of the NFL's top four teams -- New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots or Baltimore Ravens -- has interviewed for the Miami coaching job.

Think about that: Those four are the NFL's best teams this year as defined by the fact they have reached the furthest point in the season still alive for a Super Bowl title. And not one coach on those most successful teams has been reported to be on Miami's radar. Amazing.

Meanwhile, reports that defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is bound for one place or another have to be met with a grain of salt, too. Nolan is indeed a valuable coach. And he is on the radar in New Orleans and Atlanta. But he's valuable in Miami as well. And he's under contract. And no one is asking to interview him for a head coach vacancy.

So the Dolphins can hold him back until they are certain he will or won't be on their staff. If the Dolphins give the job to an offensive coach such as say, a Philbin or McCoy, the chances are good they'd like to retain Nolan. If Zimmer, a defensive coach who likes the 4-3 and not the 3-4, gets the job, the chances are Nolan will go elsewhere.

The only caveat to Nolan staying is his state of disappointment over not being interviewed for the Dolphins head coaching job. I hear Nolan is not too happy about the apparent snub. And so the Dolphins might be forced to let him go because no one wants an unhappy employee.

But I doubt the Dolphins are so dumb as to allow Nolan to cruise on down the road without them first knowing which direction they're going. So as to the reports Nolan is on the radar in New Orleans and could be hired soon ...

Take the information in but judge it by what you see. Plus, I still believe his more likely landing spot is Atlanta.

On Tebow, believing and beating Tom Brady

I covered the playoff game between the Broncos and Patriots Saturday and while this is a Dolphins blog, allow me to discuss with you something we rarely get to talk about on a Dolphins blog -- the playoffs.

Coming out of the thumping of the Broncos by the Patriots it's clear to me that while Tom Brady continues to play at his current level, the Dolphins have little chance of winning the AFC East unless they find their own franchise quarterback. I'm not talking about finding a nice quarterback or a fair quarterback or caretaker. I'm talking a Top 10 QB is necessary for Miami to compete with the Patriots.

Otherwise Miami is merely playing for second place in the division.

Coming out of that game, it struck me as odd one comment I heard in the press box from a journalist. Mocking the fact the Broncos were getting shredded, he turned to another writer and asked mockingly, "Where's Tim Tebow's God tonight?

Obviously, Tebow is a man of faith and he delivered an impassioned speech to his teammates before the game that was taken straight out of the Bible. It didn't work.

But does that diminish the power of faith?

I say not.

I say without faith we have nothing.

Now, some people put their faith in God. Some people put their faith in their abilities. Some put their faith in the greater group, as Vince Wilfork said following the game. But faith was at work all over the field last night.

Believing is important is important in sports. You cannot succeed unless you do not believe.

Today on Sportscenter the analysts discussed Tebow's future. It was interesting to hear their take -- even known Tebow hater Merrill Hoge who clearly has allowed his dislike of Tebow's game to blind his analysis.

The topic that came up was whether Tebow be the Broncos QB going forward. Tom Jackson made a troubling statement about Tebow when he wondered aloud if "Tebow's fansbase" would allow Denver President John Elway to make a change.

"Tebow's fanbase," seems odd phrasing to me. It makes the group sound like some cult or something. It makes them sound like drones that approve of everything Tebow does regardless of those actions. 

I'm a Tebow fan. I make no apologies for that because I like his approach off the field and appreciate his winning ways on the field. I identify with the fact Tebow's unorthodox. I love that he's gritty. And after he took a 1-4 team and helped it get in the playoffs, I cannot deny he wins.

But I'm not blind and I don't think "Tebow's fansbase" is blind. I'm not the spokesman for that fanbase, but allow me to tell you what I think Tebow's fanbase will allow, Tom Jackson:

They'll allow a legitimate quarterback competition for the right to start.

They'll allow the winner of that competition to have as much support as possible.

They'll allow for the idea that Tebow's mechanics are not very good, but mechanics can change and improve with coaching -- just ask Aaron Rodgers -- and in a lockout offseason, Tebow didn't get that coaching.

Tebow's fanbase understands that the guy they root for is not a complete player. But he's only 16 games into his NFL career. That's a bit early to throw up your hands and say, "Tebow's got no chance to improve, or Tebow absolutely positively cannot be a good NFL quarterback."

The statement is idiotic.

Perhaps you disagree. That's fine. It's America. But if you disagree, tell me how it is Drew Brees got two years of struggles knowing he would never be taller than 6-foot and a national outcry didn't ensue. Tell me how it is Mark Sanchez was awful his rookie season but the folks in New York thought him capable of improving because he went to the playoffs with his team?

No one said Sanchez needed to go after that terrible first full season as a starter. How is it that Tebow similarly takes the Broncos to the playoffs and he doesn't get the same room for growth?

Look, Tim Tebow is not Tom Brady. Nowhere close. Brady played Goliath to Tebow's David Sunday and Goliath clearly won. But I cannot discount Tebow's growth potential. I cannot discount that he was in a playoff game last night. And I cannot discount the fact that when the Broncos bring in competition for him next year, he just might do what he's been doing for a long time going back to college.

Win

The combination coach is probably wishful thinking

Dolphins fans are desperate. And they're starting to reach for anyone and anything that might give them hope. So I'm getting e-mails suggesting different coaches would be a great idea as long as, you know, they bring someone else in tow.

They want Joe Philbin as long he gets Matt Flynn.

They want Mike Zimmer to run the defense as long as he brings Todd Haley to work on the offense.

They want Dave Toub if he can convince Devin Hester to come home.

While I hope not, you're probably setting yourself up for disappointment. Major disappointment.

The fact is Philbin had a good interview. A club source says he impressed. But there are questions whether he would be in position to move his family following the death of his 21-year-old son last week. His emotional state is uncertain to the point no one knows how it would affect his candidacy for the job.

And to believe he definitely can bring Flynn with him is a fairy tale.

Let's just say it right now: The Green Bay Packers are not stupid. They are likely not going to let a commodity such as Flynn simply walk out the door in free agency without trying to get something for him first. That means they may franchise him. Or they may put a transition tag on him. I predict there is no way the Packers just let Flynn go for free.

And, by the way, Flynn won't be free even if he costs no compensation. He's going to his next team to start, not to compete to start. And he's going to cost starter money. He is the 2012 version of Kevin Kolb. I'm not saying he won't perform once he gets to his next team. I am saying it is going to cost a mint to sign him and probably cost draft picks to get him away from the Packers on top of that.

I heard the idea floated Saturday that Zimmer is headed to the Dolphins because he is familiar to Jeff Ireland and he's a good coach and he also had a solid interview in New York last week when he met with the Dolphins.

But Zimmer has no more experience putting a staff together than you and me. So he might need some help with running the offense, which suggests perhaps Haley would be a fit.

It is plausible, I guess.

Haley's agent is also Jeff Ireland's agent. I'm sure the idea has been floated for Haley to get an interview of some sort. But if the only job available is an offensive coordinator gig, the thinking among league people is that Haley probably would be most comfortable returning to the Arizona Cardinals.

And that's assuming he's not going to the New York Jets.

The point is Haley has options.

If this sounds pessemistic, please rethink that. It is reality. Maybe lightning strikes and the Dolphins can get Zimmer and Haley or Philbin and Flynn.

But lightning hasn't really been striking on the Dolphins' behalf a lot lately.

Jeff Ireland's position with Dolphins stronger than ever

Jeff Fisher is going to coach the Rams now. Fine. So the Dolphins lose in that chase. Owner Stephen Ross is left with a black eye because it's the second time he tries to land a coach and fails. So he loses, too. Dolphins fans wanting the certainty of having a tried and experienced head coach also lose.

So the winner in all this?

Jeff Ireland.

Ireland has emerged from a 6-10 season and a coach search in which the team's leading candidate went elsewhere more powerful than ever. Ross picked Ireland while dispatching Tony Sparano. He picked Ireland over Carl Peterson -- because he said Peterson would not join the team to oversee it and Ireland. And Ross picked Ireland over Fisher, keeping the GM as the unquestioned decision-maker over the club while stiff-arming Fisher's desire to have that power.

Jeff Ireland won.

Recognizing this, I asked Ross about Ireland Friday and the owner's words were glowing:

“I think he’s done an outstanding job of creating the team we’ve put on the field the last four years. We’ve got a lot of capability going forward, and I believe we will win moving forward. He has a passion about it. I enjoy working with him. He’s ambitious. He’s bright. He’s a very good GM.”

Ireland's foundation is stronger now than it has ever been. He is stronger than when he answered to Bill Parcells. He is stronger than when he and Sparano were in the proverbial cone of uncertainty after the 2010 season. He is even stronger now than he was in the spring of 2011 when he got a contract extension.  I've been telling you for some time that Ross truly does appreciate Ireland. But now there's tangible proof Ross prefers Ireland to a star head coach wanting power over personnel.

Ireland wins.

What I'm thinking about the Dolphins coach search

Some thoughts on the Dolphins and their search for a coach:

1. They failed to land Jeff Fisher, the top candidate they wanted, and that is now two times that owner Stephen Ross identifies a coach he truly wants and fails to land him.

2. When I texted with a couple of Dolphins sources Friday afternoon after the Fisher news came out, their tone was of legitimate loss. There was a tone of disappointment, even anger in their words. Then I spoke with Ross and he stressed he's not disappointed. He spoke of finding a coach that 'hopefully will be in the hall of fame." So did the Dolphins pivot from their true feelings to spin mode? Of, course they did! They were disappointed, folks. No doubt about it. This failure to land Fisher is as much a loss as either game played again the Patriots during the season. It was a defeat.

3. Speaking of the message and the ability to communicate, I am seriously wondering the Dolphins' ability to do that even in the most intimate and what should be the most transparent venue -- within their walls, behind closed doors, during their sealed interviews. Ross told me in no uncertain terms that when Fisher came for his visit, he explained to the coach that Miami's philosophy is to have the head coach and the general manager work in a collaborative effort. Ross said the coach and GM must have a "partnership" and Fisher and he "had conversations that set forth the parameters of how the organization would be run and Jeff understood those and had no problem with it." But one very highly placed source close to Fisher called this morning and insists Fisher never agreed to anything like that, never indicated he was comfortable with that setup, and "the ultimate proof I'm telling the truth is [Fisher] will be the Rams coach and not the Dolphins."

So was Ross speaking a language Fisher didn't understand or vice versa? Did these folks spend hours together interviewing and when it was all done, they still didn't get what the other wanted or expected?

4. I think these next two paragraphs from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch speak poorly of the Dolphins:

"According to sources familiar with the negotiations, Fisher actually informed Rams owner Stan Kroenke sometime Thursday that he wanted to be the next head coach of the Rams.

"Because the contract hadn't been finalized, the Rams kept things quiet and even planned to continue their interview process. But Miami owner Stephen Ross kept pushing and pushing to land Fisher. Growing impatient, the Dolphins informed the Fisher camp they needed an answer Friday or they were going to move on in their search."

I cannot account for the paragraphs factually although the writer, Jim Thomas, is well-respected in journalism circles and has a reputation as a no-nonsense, solid reporter. So if true, I'm left shaking my head that the Dolphins would not be cool enough to play out the process. It seems dumb to pressure a candidate they're trying to land, and look nervous compared to the cool approach by the Rams. The Rams! The Dolphins made the Rams look laid-back, cool and under control! The Rams!

That doesn't speak well of the Miami approach, especially considering they could have continued on with their interviews with no problems anyway. Makes Miami look dumb.

5. Ross told me the process between Miami and Fisher was "sincere." He volunteered it. I'm glad he's comfortable. But I personally -- nothing to do with the Dolphins or what they're saying -- cannot get past the idea Fisher used Miami a bit. I have no proof of it. But it the possibility lingers for me. 

6. So what now? Ross told me interviews will continue but that coaches they are eyeing are in the playoffs today. Obviously, that includes coaches on the staffs of the 49ers, Packers, Saints, Giants, Patriots, Broncos, Ravens, and Texans. I would hope Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Baltimore defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, Saints OL/running game coach Aaron Kromer, Green Bay assistant head coach Winston Moss, and Giants defensive coordintor Perry Fewell all deserve a look.

7. I understood that neither Todd Bowles nor Mike Nolan had much of a chance to be the Dolphins head coach while Jeff Fisher was out there. But he's not out there anymore. The Dolphins should re-think the idea of Bowles, who went 2-1 against three division foes at the end of the season. The Dolphins should consider interviewing Nolan, whose defense recovered from a terrible season-opener against New England to post decent numbers, for the head job. Nolan was head coach in San Francisco and it didn't work out. But to not even get an interview? Really?

Follow Armando Salguero on twitter.

Jeff Fisher picks Rams over Dolphins

Jeff Fisher has decided to join the St. Louis Rams as their head coach, The Miami Herald has confirmed through various club and NFL sources.

Fisher seemed headed to the Dolphins throughout the day Wednesday but intense negotiations with the Dolphins, particularly club owner Stephen Ross on the power structure of the organization could not be resolved so Fisher opted to go to St. Louis.

According to an NFL source close to Fisher, Ross was not willing to give Fisher power over the entire football operations, including veto power of decisions by general manager Jeff Ireland.

[Update 1: A club source tells me Fisher never requested full authority over the Dolphins. Source says club's understanding was that Fisher and Ireland would work together, agreeing mutually on personnel.]

Obviously, given the contradictory stories coming from the Dolphins and the source who is in the Fisher camp, the two sides were apparently not speaking the same language here. Either that or someone is fibbing.

That leaves the Dolphins, who hoped to lure Fisher to become their coach, scrambling to recover from yet another disappointment following a season filled with disappointments.

Fisher, through representatives, informed the Rams he had picked them to succeed the fired Steve Spagnulo. Fisher is expected to sign a contract by the weekend. Contract details remain sketchy.

Fisher's also informed the Dolphins he would be going to St. Louis and thanked the Dolphins for considering him. Fisher spoke with Ireland directly. The Dolphins interviewed with Fisher last week and were hoping to make him the 10th coach in the franchise's history.

So where does this leave the Dolphins?

The team must quickly rebound and continue a search for a new coach. The club has already interviewed Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Chicago special teams coordinator Dave Toub.

The Dolphins are expected to expand their coach search. Among the candidates are former Texas Tech coach Mike Sherman, current Carolina offensive coodinator Rob Chudzinski, New York Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

The club contends, through sources, that Fisher's decision is not a blow.

This, of course, is part wishful thinking, part spin meant to protect the club's reputation. The truth is the Dolphins have sunk from a franchise that once could lure practically any candidate -- Jimmy Johnson, Nick Saban, Bill Parcells -- it chased away from other suitors.

In this case, the Dolphins find themselves placing second in a two-team competition to a St. Louis franchise that could be on the move from its current city in the span to three seasons, a club that has been one of the NFL's losingest franchises for nearly a decade.

Dolphins coach search generally on right track

Suppose for a second that the worst happens. Suppose Jeff Fisher picks the Rams over the Dolphins. What next?

Obviously, the Dolphins will move on. They'll continue to search for the 10th head coach in their storied history among a list of candidates little-known to the common fan.

No, that doesn't sound like a great Plan B.

But take heart because at least the Dolphins search for a star head coach also seemingly has identified the right people out of the list of so-called lesser lights. Consider that today the Cincinnati Bengals granted permission to the Tampa Bay Bucs to interview defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

Well, Zimmer is on the Dolphins radar. He interviewed this week. The Dolphins had Mike Mularkey on their radar but he was hired as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach. The Dolphins interviewed Todd Bowles and he is on the Oakland Raiders radar. Obviously the Dolphins want Fisher and so do the Rams.

The Dolphins may eventually show interest in Mike Sherman and he has already interviewed in Tampa.

The point is the Dolphins aren't operating completely off the reservation here. Their search has identified candidates that have also been identified by other teams. I grant you Miami's search has also included a couple of guys that have drawn no interest elsewhere -- Chicago special teams coach Dave Toub and Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. (There were reports the Chiefs wanted to interview Philbin but I have not been able to confirm the interview ever happened.)

And yes, the Dolphins have looked away from a couple of guys -- most notably Carolina's Rob Chudzinki, Green Bay's Dom Capers and Winston Moss -- who have drawn interest elsewhere.

But my expectation is if Fisher goes to St. Louis, Miami's list will expand and could include Chudzinski, who has interviewed in Jacksonville, St. Louis and will talk to Tampa Bay.

So I have a comfort level that thinking other teams know something the Dolphins do not is not an accurate representation of what is happening.

If the Dolphins miss out on Fisher, I hope Miami's wide net gets wider still. I hope Moss gets a loook because, as someone told me recently, he seems to be made of the same kind of stuff that Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin is made of.

Meanwhile, I feel comfortable the Dolphins are generally on the right track.

Generally.

The Fisher negotiation can be complex

Another day, another round of negotiations between Jeff Fisher and the Dolphins. And Jeff Fisher and the Rams.

And, I suppose, Jeff Fisher and his heart.

I cannot comment on the tug-of-war Fisher is having in picking either the Dolphins or the Rams. I don't know what's inside Fisher's mind or heart and he's not calling or texting or e-mailing to tell me -- yet.

I do know the way this will go is when Fisher, through his agent, has finished negotiating with one or the other team, he will inform the team he picks he'd like to work for them. And then that team will offer him the job as their next coach.

The team that does not win this Fisher tourney will continue searching for answers and have the plausible deniability of saying it never offered Fisher the job. But, really, who are we kidding?

These negotiations intrigue me in that they are not necessarily about money going to Fisher. They are about money to hire a coaching staff, which is important because Fisher is reportedly constructing an experienced and expensive one. (He has invested quite some time the past couple of days compiling a staff.)

The talks are also about power. And that's where Dolphins fans wanting Fisher should be worried.

The Dolphins, you see, have a general manager in place. And that GM, Jeff Ireland, currently has power to pick talent. But Fisher wants the power to have final say over his talent. So some way, somehow, the Dolphins have to find a way to massage the situation so that Fisher doesn't feel like the players he's going to have are being dictated to him.

The Rams don't have this problem because they currently don't have a general manager and aren't expected to hire a GM until Fisher has made a decision. And if Fisher goes to St. Louis, he will almost definitely have veto power over the general manager not to mention over the general manager's personnel decisions.

This doesn't mean Fisher doesn't like Ireland. I hear the opposite is true in that he likes Ireland and respects his work. This simply means Fisher doesn't want to be dictated to by Ireland. And so this has to be negotiated so it is acceptable to everyone

Unfortunately for the Dolphins that may not be the end of the power tug-of-war.

Fisher, you should know, had two defining issues while with the Tennessee Titans and they haunt him to this day to the point he doesn't really want to repeat them:

First, he had to juggle a franchise move from Houston to Memphis to Nashville that cost him a couple of seasons, cost him a competitive advantage, a fan base and home field advantage, cost him and his coaches life issues that he doesn't want to repeat should the Rams move from St. Louis.

The second defining issue that bothered Fisher in Tennessee was owner Bud Adams dictating personnel decisions to him. Adams basically forced Fisher to pick Vince Young although the coach didn't want to go in that direction. And while it seemed like the right move for a couple of seasons, ultimately it not only failed but indirectly led to Fisher's separation from the team. This is an issue for the coach. And so he wants to make sure neither Stan Kroenke in St. Louis nor Stephen Ross in Miami are going to be telling him which players he has to draft or sign or keep or cut.

Both these issues have to be negotiated and I suppose the team that comes closest to Fisher's stance will ultimately have a major advantage in getting the coach. It's not an easy situation for either team.

The Rams probably cannot guarantee Fisher they will never, ever, ever move. The truth is they might move if the dome where they play is not improved to the team's satisfaction. And so Fisher, knowing the possibility exists he might have to relive a franchise relocation, probably wants certain assurances to make that experience feel less like the root canal without novacaine that it felt like before. I don't pretend to know the specific details of this but -- speculating here -- it probably involves cost of living increases for his coaches and staff, it probably includes certain guarantees on the kind of facility the club would move into. I can't pretend to know how the sides will massage this.

The Dolphins don't have relocation issues and so that's a major advantage. But the club does have structure issues. Fisher probably wants some assurance from Ross that he won't dictate to him like Adams dictated to him. This is legitimate because, you'll remember, it was Ross who shut down the Kyle Orton trade possibility and got involved in the attempt to convince Mike Brown to trade Carson Palmer to the Dolphins. So can Ross promise he'll never dictate to Fisher? I have no idea. It has to be negotiated. No such negotiation probably has to happen with Kroenke, who is an avowed hands-off owner.

Obviously there are other issues that have to be overcome before Fisher picks a team, gets an offer, accepts the offer, signs a contract and takes control. Yes, it is complicated.

That's how things are when you have two teams that lately aren't known for having all their ducks lined up neatly in a row.

Follow me on twitter.

Fisher search leads national pundits to question Fins

Even as Jeff Fisher continues to ponder what team he will coach and what team's owner will be his new boss, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is taking it on the chin from national pundits that obviously don't hold him in high regard.

The latest to take a swipe at Ross is Foxsports.com and FOX-TV NFL insider Jay Glazer, who today held a live chat on the website he works for and was asked his thoughts on Ross.

"I think he is a great businessman but doesn't know what he doens't know when it comes to the NFL," Glazer said. "He has no idea the type of effect many of the things he does has. I wouldn't say he's a meddler and he definitely wants to win but he's done some things behind the scenes that has had many inside the league scratching their heads. Going to interview Jim Harbaugh last year while Sparano was still emplyed was ridiculous."

This comes only one day after Peter King of NBC's Sunday Night Football over America and the entire Earth not to mention the inner Planets, was asked on twitter what is the general perception of the Dolphins organization (Ross/Jeff Ireland) around the league?

"Proceed with caution," King answered.

Glazer and King obviously agree.

No deal yet on Jeff Fisher

Regarding the only topic anyone wants to know anything about right now:

Jeff Fisher is still not the Dolphins' coach. Or the Rams' coach.

He was scheduled to make his decision on either the Rams or Dolphins on Wednesday. I do not know if he did that. My sources got suddenly vague at one point, refusing to tell me if negotiations were underway on a contract or not.

All I could get out of one was this: "No deal done."

I did ask about the NFL Network story that said Fisher was close to a decision and leaning toward the Dolphins. Dolphins didn't know anything about that. So if Fisher is close to deciding or has decided, I cannot tell you.

Fisher has been speaking with both teams (either directly or through his representation) over the past few days -- apparently to get clarificcation on certain issues.

It is interesting this has not happened yet because it shows that neither organization -- neither the Dolphins nor Rams -- is a slam-dunk in Fisher's mind. Both have positives aspects. Both have negative aspects.

Understandable since both have been strangers to the playoffs most of the past decade and as for playoff wins? Zero.

Follow me on twitter for the up-to-the-second news feed.

Fisher expected to decide which team he'll coach today

I believe today will be a franchise defining day.

Jeff Fisher, who has been weighing whether to take the head coach job in Miami or St. Louis, is expected to make a decision which team, if either, he would like to work for in 2012. Let me be more clear: I am not reporting Fisher will be named coach of either team today.

I am reporting that, according to one source that thus far has been spot on, the coach is finalizing his choice of teams today. Following that decision, I am supposing here, Fisher will tell his agent which direction he's going and negotiations will get going on a contract and various other details.

I do not know what Fisher's decision will be. But it's obvious that whatever he decides will define the direction of both the Dolphins and Rams for years to come.

The winning team will be regarded to be hiring the hotest, most experienced coach on the market. That team will get a head coach who is going to piece together a star-studded coaching staff. That team's credibility will get an instant boost without even one game under the new coach being played.

The team that loses the Fisher sweepstakes will be regarded as having to hire a secondary choice. That team will be rightly seen as having lost out. That team will have to answer to its fan base questions such as, "What is it about you that was deemed to be lacking in this derby.'

It's entirely possible the team not getting Fisher gets a coach that some day in the future does better work than Fisher. But that won't be the narrative now. The narrative now will be that the losing team, well, lost out.

So how do I know Fisher is scheduled to choose today. Well, since the start of this entire saga I've gotten half a dozen e-mails from people claiming to be close to Fisher or his family or his closest friends. One of these people has provided rock-solid information. And that person tells me today is the day he was told Fisher is making his call.

We'll see what happens. I'd expect something to leak before the end of the day is over and definitely by tomorrow as to where Jeff Fisher is going.  

 

Tony Sparano headed to the NYJ

I asked a very wise football man on Monday if Tony Sparano could work for Rex Ryan.

"I don't see why not," he said, already knowing Sparano was headed to the Jets as their new offensive coordinator. "Tony and Rex are a lot more similar than anyone knows. It can work."

We'll get to see because the former Dolphins head coach has been hired to replace Brian Schottenheimer as the J-E-T-S offensive coordinator.

I know, I know ...

Fist pump!

The Jets will now have at least two former Dolphins coaches in Sparano and Mike Westhoff. If Sparano follows Westhoff's approach, he'll view every game against the Dolphins as a personal vendetta. He'll try to add wrinkles and gadgets that will make the Dolphins wish they'd never fired him.

I know, I know ...

Many of you are surprised Sparano would be the play-caller. He called plays in Dallas in 2006 and run plays in 2007. When Sean Payton went to New Orleans, he wanted to take Sparano with him as the offensive coordinator. The move was blocked by Bill Parcells, who kept Sparano in Dallas.

Many of you believe Sparano to be a classic ground-and-pound kind of guy. And that's probably right. He is a run-first coach. It's an undeniable part of his DNA. But perhaps that's what the Jets want because they used that formula plus great defense to make it to the AFC championship game two consecutive years in a row.

This year, the Jets opened up the offense a bit more and failed to make the playoffs. Ultimately, Sparano's success in New York will depend on the very same thing his success in Miami depended on: The quarterback. Period.

Now that he's working for the Jets, I'm certain Sparano will be no local favorite. But I still respect Sparano. He'll bring some class to the Jets organization.

Heaven knows they needed it.

Reason Mularkey won't interview with Dolphins

Mike Mularkey has been named the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The coach interviewed with the Jaguars Tuesday and was scheduled to interview with the Dolphins at some point this week -- probably starting Wednesday and leaking into Thursday -- but his representative has contacted the Dolphins and told them Mularkey won't make it to the interview.

He's got a new gig in Jacksonville, beating out Carolina offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, interim coach Mel Tucker and Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, all of whom interviewed for the job.

Mularkey, a Fort Lauderdale native, was on the Dolphins radar based on his work as the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator the past four years. It was interesting that he was on the radar at all because the Dolphins fired Mularkey as their tight end coach in January of 2008.

Dolphins general mananger Jeff Ireland and then football czar Bill Parcells made that decision. And Ireland was key in getting Mularkey scheduled to meet with the Dolphins.

Mularkey was considered a strong candidate in case leading candidate Jeff Fisher did not accept the Miami job. Fisher has not yet made a decision.

Can I be honest, here? I'm glad Mularkey is going to Jacksonville. While I recognize the Dolphins valued his work in Atlanta, and liked the fact he had head coach experience in Buffalo, the truth is he seemed underwhelming to me as a candidate.

Mularkey will likely be solid, and consistent and all that. But if his history is an indicator, he'll also be bland and unspectacular. Yes, he'll work hard. But getting to the playoffs and winning in the postseason requires more than than hard work.

Mularkey had a very talented offense in Atlanta. They scored a lot of points in the regular-season. But the Falcons have been 0-3 in the postseason under Mike Smith with Mularkey as the offensive coordinator.

Last weekend against the Giants, the Falcons offense was shut out. And as I have written previously, during Mularkey's two-year stint in Miami -- the first of which in 2006 he served as the offensive coordinator -- the Dolphins were unsuccessful on offense. Miami averaged only 16.3 points per game in 2006 under Mularkey.

Regardless, I wish coach the best. If he is given excellent talent, he will likely develop that talent into successful regular-season records. Will that translate beyond the regular-season?

He now gets to prove whether it does or does not.

Connecting dots on RG3 declaring for the draft

Robert Griffin III is today telling Baylor coach Art Briles he will declare for the NFL draft in April, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.

That's not a surprise in that RG3 as he's known has already earned his undergraduate degree in political science, already won the Heisman Trophy, already put the Baylor program on the national stage again, and is likely to the second quarterback drafted.

It all makes sense but there's more to it than that.

RG3's decision has an indirect effect on the current head coach search being conducted by the Dolphins and Rams in that the No. 2 pick St. Louis holds suddenly became more valuable.

With RG3 in the mix, the Rams may have increased their options for trading the pick to a quarterback-hungry team for multiple first round picks. The Rams may also suddenly have a viable new option for picking a new quarterback if the prospective head coach or general manager is not completely sold on Sam Bradford.

And so Jeff Fisher, who is weighing which team gives him his best chance of building a winner as quickly as possible, can absolutely consider the chances of adding multiple draft picks for that second pick into the whole equation.

That is a potential boon that St. Louis may have at its disposal that Miami will not.

Fisher probably will not base his decision on how valuable the No. 2 overall pick is, but he probably has considered that pick on some level. And that pick just got more valuable. Furthermore, the fact RG3 now figures as a possibility has to give anyone considering the Rams significant reason to believe working for the Rams is suddenly a more attractive proposition.

All that aside, let me say this about RG3: I am not scout. I am not expert on personnel matters. But I am quite certain the gifts this young man brings to the table will make him a success in the NFL.

Yes, RG3 needs to tighten up his footwork because he gets into the bad habit of throwing off his back foot a lot -- partly because his arm is so strong. But he is simply too intelligent, too athletic, too accurate as a passer, and too much of a solid citizen to do anything but succeed in the NFL. I'm not saying Griffin III is another Cam Newton or Andy Dalton who will have instant success in the NFL.

But he will be able to start in the NFL for someone right away next year. And he will be a very good player in the NFL eventually.

Raiders fire Jackson and ripple effects felt here

The Oakland Raiders have fired head coach Hue Jackson.

The possibility was discussed right here last week and as such, one of the candidates former Green Bay personnel man turned Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie is going to consider for the vacancy is Green Bay assistant head coach Winston Moss.

ESPN is reporting McKenzie will also consider Packers secondary coach and former Steelers safety Darren Perry ...

.... notice any names missing?

Where's the interest in Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin?

Yeah, not so much.

Look, different teams are interested in different coaches. The Dolphins are most interested in Jeff Fisher and that is where their search starts and ends until he makes a decision (with several people now telling me he's leaning toward Miami).

After Fisher the Dolphins have indeed cast a wide net, including offensive, defensive and special teams assistants. Tampa Bay has cast a vastly different wide net, interviewing a couple of candidates of little interest to Miami, such as Marty Schotteneimer. Every team is different.

But the fact the Raiders are now run by a Packers guy, the fact that Packers guy probably knows the inner workings of the Packers better than the Dolphins, and the fact the Packers guy is looking at several other Packers guys but not Philbin, suggests a couple of things to me:

Perhaps if the Dolphins want to start getting results like the Packers, or looking like the Packers, they should maybe interview Moss or even Perry. I'm not saying the Dolphins should absolutely hire Moss and Perry, but this movement out west should cause the Dolphins to think long and hard why Moss isn't on their radar but is so prominent on the radar of a former Packers guy.

Moss, by the way, is from Miami.

Report says Kelly on Dolphins radar -- but no!

Let's begin this morning by crushing an erroneous report:

KEZI-TV in Eugene Oregon is reporting this morning the Dolphins have "contacted Chip Kelly's agent regarding the team's head coaching position."

Kelly is the very successful and much heralded head coach of the Oregon Ducks, which makes this sound plausible. Problem is it's not true.

A high-ranking Dolphins source tells me the idea the Dolphins have contacted Kelly in any way is "not true at all."

So that's that.

I will say, Kelly has an interesting take on playing offense. The Ducks run a play every 13 seconds and do it out of a spread formation with a twist. The twist is the Ducks are ultimately trying to get to down-hill running mode.

I will also say, Kelly has zero NFL head coach experience. Kelly's offense may not necessarily translate to the NFL.

Zimmer expected to interview with Dolphins Tuesday

In 2003 the Nebraska Cornhuskers were looking for a head coach and decided Mike Zimmer should be that man. For reasons I'm not completely clear about, Zimmer turned the job down.

He continued working with the Dallas Cowboys under then coach Bill Parcells and showed himself a versatile coach. He always ran the 4-3 defense, most notably under previous Dallas coach Dave Campo, but when Parcells came aboard, he wanted to run the 3-4.

And Zimmer did that with little trouble. Parcells retained him as the defensive coordinator which says something of Zimmer's versatility and the respect he commanded. When Parcells departed Dallas in 2007, Zimmer also left.

He went to Atlanta under Bobby Petrino. Yeah, that didn't last. Petrino literally quit on the team before the season was over and the entire coaching staff was left hanging.

The Bengals hired Zimmer in 2008 to be their defensive coordinator.

To sum up how Cincinnati players feel about Zimmer, all I have to say is that players gave him the game ball when he coached the week his wife passed in October of 2009. The Bengals beat the Ravens 17-14 that week.

Zimmer backs his players and he doesn't mind doing it in the face of apparent pressure. In the preseason after the Bengals' defense laid an egg against Detroit in a 34-3 loss, Zimmer was disappointed and upset. But a day after the game, after watching film, he was put on the spot by owner Mike Brown about the unit.

In that tough moment Zimmer put himself on the line and told the owner something he probably didn't expect to hear: He told Brown he believed in his players and promised they'd be pretty good in 2011, which hardly seemed possible at the time.

The Bengals, despite the defection of cornerback Jonathan Joseph, did just fine. They were ninth in the NFL in points allowed this season. (The Dolphins were tied for sixth, which makes you wonder why Mike Nolan isn't being interviewed but that's another matter.)

So now Zimmer, at age 55, is on the head coaching radar. He's reportedly interviewing with the Dolphins on Tuesday and is also expected to interview other places this week. His dream to become a head coach is alive.

"It's still alive, but sometimes you get frustrated over the course of time,'' Zimmer told Sports Illustrated recently. ""I go back and think about what they said about Tony Dungy and guys like that. You kind of wonder sometimes, like what else can I do? What does it take? You wonder why some guys get interviewed or get a job over you, but you just end up going with it, and still keep hoping for that opportunity to run your own team.

"All I can do is say, 'Here's what I've done, this is my track record, and this is my reputation as a coach.' I'm a coach who can get a good nucleus of guys and make them into a good team, I think."

Son of Dolphins HC candidate goes missing

Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, who interviewed for the Dolphins vacant coaching job Friday and Saturday and is now supposed to be preparing for the New York Giants playoff game this coming weekend, has bigger concerns right now.

His 21-year-old son Michael has been missing since Sunday.

The younger Philbin has not been heard from since early Sunday and was reported missing late Sunday in Oshkosh, Wis.

[UPDATE: The young Philbin has a troubled past. He was sentenced to six months in jail in 2009 for sexually assualting two under-age girls.]

[UPDATE 2: A body identified as the young Philbin was found floating in a river near Oshkosh. No cause of death has been determined.]

Tough situation.

Wish the Philbin family the best.

Murlarkey's rise from failed TE coach to HC candidate

Mike Mularkey, who reportedly will interview for the Dolphins head coach job this week, gained a solid albeit unspectacular NFL reputation as the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator. The Fort Lauderdale-born former tight end parlayed that reputation into a job as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills.

It didn't go too well.

Yes, he did outstanding work his first season -- after an 0-4 start -- and rallied the team to a 9-7 finish. But his second season was dogged by QB problems, as neither JP Losman nor Kelly Holcomb could produce enough to keep the Bills from finishing 24th in the NFL on offense.

After that season, the Bills hired Marv Levy as the defacto general manager and he wasn't a big Mularkey fan. The coach "resigned" and was then hired by Nick Saban to be his offensive coordinator for the 2006 season.

That didn't go well, either. The Dolphins averaged 16.3 points per game that season. Miami scored 20 points or more in only six of 16 games that year. Miami was 20th in total offense. Mularkey's play-calling was questionable and Saban often threw him under the bus to the point Mularkey didn't exactly love his boss.

His next boss, Cam Cameron, kept Mularkey on the staff but demoted him to tight ends coach. That was short-lived also. Those Dolphins were 1-15 and obviously everyone failed. And pretty much everyone got canned.

When the Bill Parcells-Jeff Ireland administration took over, Mularkey was fired. He was dismissed on January 8, 2008 along with all the other assistants.

Mularkey went to Atlanta and immediately was credited with making Michael Turner a fine starting running back, turning Matt Ryan into a good starting quarterback and generally handling the tons of talent on the Atlanta offense well. Atlanta finished 10th in scoring in 2008, then 13th in 2009, then 5th in 2010 and seventh in 2011.

But ...

Is what Mularkey did in Atlanta truly worthy of making him a head coach?

Parcells and Ireland (before Sparano was hired) decided Mularkey should not be retained as an assistant but now Ireland and owner Stephen Ross have him on their head coach short list? He wasn't good enough to hire as the tight end coach four years ago but he deserves a head coach interview?

People around the NFL run hot and cold on Mularkey. Some like him for running a balanced offense. Some dislike him for running an offense that depends too much on talent and doesn't present enough updated looks and problems to defenses. I was not a big fan of his play-calling back in the day.

Mularkey, by the way, is free to interview with the Dolphins now because the Falcons were eliminated from the playoffs Sunday. The Falcons were crushed 24-2 by the Giants.

The Dolphins scored 17 points against the G-Men back in October with offensive talent not considered to be nearly as good as Atlanta's. The Falcons scored two points Sunday with better talent. In fact, Mularkey's offense was outscored by the Giants ... and his own defense.

Because Mularkey's offense was shut out.

After the game, some Falcons players were not too thrilled with Mularkey's approach or his play-calling that included two failed quarterback sneaks on fourth-and-1. There's this from Jason Cole's game story on YahooSports!

"Rather than challenge defenses with aggressive play-calling, Atlanta has played scared.

“We talked about trying to establish the running game because we didn’t think we could pass protect,” said Falcons wide receiver Roddy White, who was limited to five catches for 52 yards with a long of only 21 yards. “We played right into their hands. I mean, if they sack us every down and we can’t move the ball, OK. But let’s try.”

"White’s remarks echo private comments of several other players who have pointed at a disconnection who offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey’s approach. Numerous players believe Mularkey is too conservative, particularly in tense situations like the playoffs.

Or as one player put it: “Something has to be said to [coach] Mike [Smith] this offseason.”

Curious.

Fisher leaves St. Louis (flying commercial)

Jeff Fisher spent four hours at the St. Louis Rams facility today before leaving for the airport where he boarded a flight on Southwest Airlines, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The man the Dolphins flew to their training facility on a private helicopter apparently doesn't mind flying commercial with unassigned seats and no first class cabin!

And so what all does this mean?

Fisher was flying to Denver. [Update: A source tells me he went to San Diego.] The actual purpose of his trip is unknown but I suppose he's going to get aorund family and make a decision.

You already know Fisher has not told the Dolphins he's not coming. But neither are the Dolphins holding their breath.

They have, according to numerous national reports on FOX and CBS, scheduled interviews this week with Atlanta offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

Doesn't look great but not over yet

I hate doing this but in today's up-to-the-second news cycle, I imagine you'll want to know:

I just asked a couple of Dolphins people in the know if they've been told by Jeff Fisher that he's going to the St. Louis Rams.

"No," both said.

So the Dolphins believe they're still in the game with Fisher at this minute. It can change in the coming hours and several league sources are saying it will. But not yet.

Now, I grant you, it looks grim for the Dolphins and even they recognize that. Even one of the men I communicated with said he expects Fisher to go to the Rams, although he'd love for him to come to Miami.

Yeah, that's not good. Fisher spent a day meeting with Rams owner Stan Kroenke in Denver. And he's spent the past couple of days at the Rams facility in St. Louis. He's reportedly met with quarterback Sam Bradford and talked to officials about a possible move back to Los Angeles.

All this feels, sounds, looks like Fisher is dotting his i and crossing his t before picking the Rams.

But it's not over until it's over.

Reasons some things are happening as they are

If you want to know why the Dolphins want to hire Jeff Fisher to be their head coach, read my Sunday column in The Herald.

If you want to know why the team is lukewarm at best on the idea of even talking to Marty Schottenheimer although his career winning percentage blows Fisher away, read my Sunday column in The Herald.

And if you want to know why Brian Billick has zero chance to become the Dolphins coach even if Jeff Fisher doesn't accept the job, read my Sunday column in The Herald.

That is all for now. Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone.

Did the Dolphins interview best Green Bay assistant?

The Dolphins have announced their interivew with Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin has concluded this Saturday afternoon.

Great.

I'm wondering if they interviewed the best Green Bay assistant?

The fact of the matter is many NFL people I speak with tell me the biggest budding star in the Green Bay Packers coaching staff is assistant head coach Winston Moss. Yes, Joe Philbin is considered to be a very good coach. He is a solid X and O guy and he has no problem communicating with most of his players.

But those same people tell me Moss commands a room when he walks into it. Those people tell me when Moss speaks, everyone listens. They tell me Moss will be a head coach in the NFL and if he gets into the right situation, he will be a bigtime winner because he knows football, knows how to pick good people, and is a natural leader.

And so again, I ask, are the Dolphins interviewing the right Green Bay assistant?

I know this: The Oakland Raiders are becoming the Green Bay Packers of the west. They've asked former Packers general manager Ron Wolf his opinion on all things from hiring a general manager to hiring a head coach. No, Wolf is not oficially working for Oakland but his words are resonating.

So it comes as no surprise the Raiders hired former Green Bay director of football operation Reggie McKenzie on January 5. McKenzie has the power to fire and hire head coaches. And, again, people I'm speaking with tell me McKenzie is seriously considering firing head coach Hue Jackson.

And if that happens, McKenzie will ask for permission to interview, you guessed it, Winston Moss.

So the people from Green Bay who best know the people working within the organization are moving to Oakland and when they think of bringing other Green Bay people with them, they're probably going to be talking to Winston Moss.

And the Dolphins, admirers of what the Packers have done, look at the Packers staff and don't include Moss in the interview process? I'm not saying, don't talk to Philbin. I am saying, absolutely talk to Moss!

Oh, one more thing:

Winston Moss is from Miami. He was born here. He went to Southridge High School here. (I remember interviewing him after a high school game and he ended the interview with, "Thank you, sir.") Moss also went to The University of Miami.

Moss was the leader at Southridge. He was a leader on The U team that won a lot of games and had a lot of Alpha males on it. They listened to Moss. He was a leader as an NFL player also. He was a team captain three times in his pro career and was voted winner of the Ed Block Courage Award on the 1993 Raiders and an Unsung Hero Award in 1996 by the NFL Players Association.

The man's impressive to practically everyone who knows him.

Why the Dolphins talk to him, I have no idea.  

Why the Rams are favorites to get Fisher

At no time have I told you on this blog what I think is going to happen with the Jeff Fisher search. I've told you what, in fact, is happening in the news. I've told you what is supposed to happen next, based on facts.

Now let's go a step further. Let me report to you that of the five sources I've spoke to on the topic the past three days, four told me they expect Fisher to go to St. Louis. So there's that.

As for my opinion? Allow me to give you that now based on what I know:

I spoke to a very highly placed Dolphins source late Thursday and was told the Dolphins are optimistic they will get Fisher. But they don't know. Not really. Not at all.

So the Dolphins don't really know if they're getting Fisher or not. They hope they are. They simply don't know and the Internet report saying they think they're getting Fisher is probably overstating the issue.

Me?

I don't think the Dolphins are getting Jeff Fisher. I think he'll end up in St. Louis. Furthermore, the only way I believe Fisher comes to Miami is if the Rams somehow blow the process of hiring him. If the Rams play this smart rather than play it like they've performed on the field the past decade, they simply have the better opportunity for Fisher.

In St. Louis, Fisher has the ability to mold the franchise's structure. He would have say over the hiring of a general manager. He doesn't have that in Miami. In St. Louis he will have a quarterback in Sam Bradford that is younger and has more long-range potential than Miami's Matt Moore. If Fisher is not sold on either quarterback -- a possibility -- he'd have a better opportunity to find a pedigreed replacement in St. Louis because the Rams have the No. 2 overall pick. The Dolphins, who own the eighth or ninth pick depending on a coin toss, likely will not have a chance to pick either Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III.

In St. Louis, the No. 2 overall selection can be used as trade bait and it would bring multiple first-round picks in return -- perhaps from Cleveland, which has two first-round picks this year and wants a quarterback (RG3). The Dolphins can trade down from their spot but it will not bring an extra first-round pick this year.

The Rams have more salary cap space than the Dolphins.

The Rams play in division that does not include Bill Belchick.

The quarterbacks the Rams have to beat to win the division are Tarvaris Jackson, Kevin Kolb or John Skelton, and Alex Smith. The quarterback the Dolphins have to beat to win the division is Tom Brady.

St. Louis owner Stan Kroenke is a known quantity. He owns the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche as well as the Arsenal football club of the Premier League. He does not interfere with his coaches. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is a less known quantity. He doesn't currently own other sports franchises and it cannot be said he is like Jerry Jones But Ross did at various points involve himself in the team's quarterback search last season.

Miami's advantages over St. Louis?

It's simply nicer here. This is a bigger market. The overall Miami roster is deeper than the one in St. Louis, although the Rams defense is already built with 4-3 personnel while Miami's defense has been built since 2005 with 3-4 personnel.

Fisher runs the 4-3 defense.

Jeff Fisher: Decision next week

Jeff Fisher is done with his initial meetings with the Dolphins and St. Louis Rams and he will decide between the two next week, according to ESPN.

Fisher apparently said idependently or told the network he won't decide between the two teams until next week, which suggests he'll take the weekend to think things through. He also said the decision is, as has been reported here, between Miami and St. Louis exclusively.

Both teams are hopeful of landing Fisher.

Why?

Simple: Both know he can do the job. Fisher has been a successful NFL head coach.

But both teams are continuing with their coach search. The Dolphins today are hosting Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. The Rams are similarly continuing with their interview process. But everyone both teams are interviewing that is not named Fisher pretty much comes with this warning:

None have any NFL head coach experience. So in that regard, the teams are hoping these candidates can be head coaches.

See the difference?

Fisher is known to be able to do the job. The other candidates, the teams hope they can do the job.

Jason Taylor on NFL Network this weekend

Jason Taylor just came on my radio show to talk of his retirement from the Dolphins and we got to talking about post NFL career.

He's going to TV, folks.

Taylor has several irons in the fire, so to speak, and is looking to stick with whomever is a best fit for him. And this weekend he'll be kicking the tires for a fit with the NFL Network. Taylor said on the show he'd be in studio on NFLN.

Taylor, 37, is also likely to do South Florida radio work, probably with a segment on a show.

Perspective always a good thing this time of year

Let's pause from the news that is almost certain to break out later on Friday (Joe Philbin in town, the Jeff Fisher watch) to take account of what is going on right now.

I know the narrative in covering the Dolphins is often that the entire organization is comprised of bumbling, driveling dumb-dumbs. Anytiome I write anything even remotely positive, many of you call me a homer. You say anyone that works for the Dolphins is not as good as the guy working for the Patriots, Packers, Giants, Saints or Ravens because, well, those teams are better than the Dolphins.

So their people are obviously better than Miami's people.

Well, that is sometimes the case. It's undeniable.

But not always.

I knew long ago when the Dolphins got rid of Wes Welker and he turned out to be quite special in New England that mediocre results here don't mean a player or coach or front office man is mediocre. I learned the lesson when the Dolphins fired Mike Westhoff and he is still one of the better special teams coaches in the NFL. I learned it when year after year Miami would blow out assistants like Mike Mularkey, Joel Collier, Dom Capers, Clarence Brooks, Paul Boudreau, or Keith Armstrong, and they'd land somewhere else and do great work.

Same with the upper management.

People we don't appreciate much here leave or are fired and they end up being great for other teams. Browns President Bryan Weidermeier and former Dolphins marketing man Jim Ross come to mind.

I'm reminded of this because the Dolphins were a disasterous 6-10 this season. And someone has to be responsible. So we think everyone in the organization thus sucks.

Not true.

Too simplistic to think that way.

There are quality people working for the Miami Dolphins today. There are fewer, than years ago, I grant you, but still there are quality professionals around.

In coaching, you can tell quality beyond player production in how quickly folks get hired. I assure you men such as Mike Nolan, Bryan Cox, Todd Bowles and Brian Daboll will not be unemployed long if they are not retained in Miami.

And it says something when Brian Gaine out of the personnel department is mentioned as a candidate for the Rams general manager job. (I don't know Gaine that well, have heard some things about him I didn't love, but still am open enough to believe he brings certain gifts to his job.)

It says something when Bowles is considered a candidate to interview for head coach jobs elsewhere. Bowles, by the way, reportedly is on the Rams radar to interview for their open job. The NFL Network reported the Dolphins denied the interview request but that is inaccurate. The Dolphins had not even received the consent request form as of late Thursday.

But I digress ...

The point here is we have to take a step back and breathe sometimes during these hectic times following a terrible season. No, the club is definitely not producing. One playoff appearance in a decade is completely unacceptable and I understand the frustration that has caused.

But does that mean everyone working for the Dolphins is awful?

No.

Landry Jones returning to Oklahoma as senior

The quaterback talent for the 2012 draft just got thinner, as Oklahoma University just announced Landry Jones is returning to school for his senior year.

"I want to accomplish the goals that I set before I got here, and there is still a lot more to do," Jones said. "I want to make sure I've exhausted every effort in that area. And I want to be a senior. I enjoy being at OU and with my teammates and look forward to graduating with the guys that were in my class when I got here."

The Artesia, NM, native said the NFL remains his goal.

"That's the ultimate goal for anyone who plays football," Jones said. "I've thought about that since I was a little boy. It would be a great honor to play in the NFL and that goal will still be there when I finish at Oklahoma."

I'm glad Jones is going back to school. It is the best decision for him because, frankly, he struggled terribly the final month or so of the season and that hurt his draft stock. He showed poor decision-making. He turned the ball over. He proved himself incapable of carrying his team when injuries befell the offense.

Unlike the decision by USC's Matt Barkley to return to school, Landry's decision isn't really a huge hit to the Dolphins. Jones would probably not have been a top 10 draft pick, given his struggles.

He thus would not have figured in Miami's plans at No. 8 or No. 9 where the Dolphins are scheduled to select. (There will be a coin toss between Miami and Carolina for the No. 8 pick and the loser takes No. 9).

Barkley, by contrast, might have been the second or third quarterback selected and would definitely have been on the radar of both the Dolphins and other teams in the top 10 looking for a quarterback.

The indirect effect this Jones decision might have is that teams in the middle of the first round that might have waited for Jones to fall to them now might be tempted to trade up past the Dolphins to land a quarterback.

Impossible to predict.

Good, experienced coaches NOT in short supply

The Dolphins aren't just sitting around waiting for Jeff Fisher to say yes or no. They have interviews planned Friday and Saturday.

As the search has developed it has become obvious the Dolphins are reaching for the biggest-name, most experienced coaches first -- with a failed attempt at Jon Gruden and the current attempt at Fisher -- and then they're rummaging among the lesser-known assistants (Chicago's Dave Toub, who interviewed Wednesday and Green Bay's Joe Philbin who's interviewing by the weekend, according to the Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel for example).

The question must be asked, however, are the Dolphins being comprehensive in their search of the best available coaching talent?

Or are they perhaps limiting themselves unnecessarily.

I've already told you the team is off the Brian Billick train -- adding themselves to the list of teams declining to hop on board with the former Baltimore coach.

But how about other higher-profile candidates?

How about Marty Schottenheimer? How about Mike Sherman? How about Jim Haslet?

How about expanding this search to include other men of character and experience? How about including guys that might just totally wow owner Stephen Ross, general manager Jeff Ireland and enigma-in-waiting Carl Peterson?

Schottenheimer, for example, would love a chance at coaching the Dolphins. And the Dolphins would be wise to speak to him. He's a winner. He's credible. He's respected. Don Shula once told me if he could have picked his successor, he would have picked Schottenheimer.

Schottenheimer is said to be eager, prepared and ready to go if the Dolphins were to call.

Yes, he's 68 years old. And I recognize the NFL is often a young man's league. But Marv Levy took his Buffalo Bills to the Super Bowl when he was 65 years old. And again at 66 years old. And 67. And 68.

And then Levy won the AFC Coach of the Year award in 1995 ... at age 70.

"He's got a fire in his belly," someone close to Schottenheimer told me recently, adding that the former coach with a 200-126-1 (.613) career record is ready to return to work.

To prove it, Schottenheimer took on the task of coaching the Virginia Destroyers of the UFL in March of 2011. He won the UFL championship in October of 2011.

The point I'm making is this: The Dolphins don't need to promise Schottenheimer the job by calling him. But they should at least interview him because when he sits in a room with Ireland, Ross and Peterson, he would be the most accomplished football man in the room and could probably teach the trio something.

And what if he's so impressive and surprising that he becomes a viable fall-back choice in case Fisher doesn't take the job? The Dophins would have guarded against major disappointment. If, on the other hand, the team decides Schottenhiemer isn't it but still learns something about football while listening to him, they still benefit.

It's a win-win.

It's also curious why Sherman isn't getting more attention from Miami. He just interviewed with the Tampa Bay Bucs this morning. He is a quality, experienced candidate.

An offensive mind? Yes. Prepared? Yes. Meticulous? Allow me to share this story:

When I worked for ESPN between 2001 and 2003, I covered Sherman and his Packers for a while. I remember a Thanksgiving Day meeting between the Packers and Lions in which the Pack came to Detroit the afternoon before the game and met with me and my crew for interviews.

I sat down with Sherman and asked him difficult questions. He was prepared. He wasn't dismissive. But I asked one question that apparently took him by surprise. He answered but when the on-camera interview ended, he went back to the question which he was obviously still on his mind.

"Can I get another shot at giving you a better answer?" he asked.

You're offering a better answer?

Are you kidding me?

We fired the cameras back up and off went.

Sherman is an impressive guy. Like Marty Schottenheimer. Like Haslet.

Men worthy of Dolphins interviews.