How long will Henning be with the Dolphins?

Dan Henning is by all accounts doing a fine job as the Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator. After initially delaying a decision to accept the job in Miami and the Dolphins looking at other candidates, the hiring of Henning has paid tremendous dividends.

"He has balls of steel," Ricky Williams recently said of Henning and his play-calling.

"I didn't know Ricky was that observant," Henning kidded today.

But as the Dolphins have found a solid play-caller and proven championship offensive coordinator the question remains can they keep him? Henning is 66 years old and when I asked today how often he ponders his future and whether he wants to continue working, he admitted it is often on his mind.

"A lot," Henning said. "That happens a lot. I've been retired twice. And when I came down here I didn't know [coach] Tony [Sparano]. I knew Bill [Parcells]. So Tony and I had to feel one another out. I had to make sure he was interested and I had to make sure I was interested. And we went through a little bit of a dance there and the object was for us to get to know one another. I wanted to know what it was going to be like and I wanted him to know what I was going to be like so he would be comfortable with me.

"So if I do this it has to be under the conditions I'm doing it now. And right now it's a comfortable situation. I believe we got people that can get us players. If we don't have people that can get us players I have to go retire again. And I think Bill and [general manager] Jeff [Ireland] are doing a great job at that. And we have a head coach that can control the players and has a passion for wanting to win and knows how to organize and, in my mind, has done an excellent job of motivating the team. That allows me to do my job with some kind of a comfort zone -- although Tony would say he doesn't want anyone to feel comfortable."

That's great but it didn't sound like a solid commitment to me. So I asked if he could say he wants to be around a while longer?

"Tomorrow," Henning answered. "I'd like to still be here tomorrow. That would be nice."

Hmmmm. I can not tell you Henning is going to be one and done with the Dolphins. But his coaching history is one of a nomad. Rarely has he stayed places beyond two or three years.

His history:

1968-1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1976-1978 1979-1980 1981-1982 1983-1986 1987-1988 1989-1991 1992-1993 1994-1996 1997 1998-2000 2002-2006 2008-present

Florida State Virginia Tech Houston Oilers Virginia Tech Florida State New York Jets Miami Dolphins Washington Redskins Atlanta Falcons Washington Redskins San Diego Chargers Detroit Lions Boston College Buffalo Bills New York Jets (Offensive coordinator) Carolina Panthers (Offensive coordinator) Miami Dolphins (Offensive coordinator)

Comments

[Nick]

While that isn't a solid commitment, and Henning has done a good job with the play calling - bottom line is Bill Parcells can, will, and has found other good play callers. So i wouldn't worry too much - however it would be nice to have the same offense for more then one year for Henne to learn under....

[Master]

1st

[finfan2009]

Well commenting on the guy above me first, if Henne isn't gonna start next year I'd rather get a new offensive coordinator in because Henne wont be running Henning's plays most likely. However, it would most certainly be great to keep Henning around as long as possible. He doesn't sound to committed at all though. At least he isn't lying about it.

[Master]

We have all spent months complaining about the offense.
The defense has played well enough to keep it close and Chad p. has come through with late game, monumental 15 - 20 play drives to put us ahead and run down the clock.
Henning has done a good job.
Why not make Chad P the offensive coordinator when Henning retires again.

[James Phin Up!]

David Lee will be the next O coordinator so it should be relatively the same O with a little Lee seasoning.

Phin Up!

[Teddy]

Tony sparano has called plays b4 david lee is a smart offensive guy he is next in line i think..henning & chad p wont be around for '10 season

[The Boz in Oz]

I agree with Phins Up. Lee was the Wildcat father. Henne will be with Lee for a few years. Lee brought Romo through the ranks. Think Bill agreed to give Henning a nice one year deal. However if Miami can get its 3-4 key players Henning might want to come back and be part of the superbowl march.

[jets sux]

Why does this matter now? It sounds like it a good fit for him. How long before the Sun burns out?- who can predict the future? No wonder you get slammed daily for writing stupid articles.

[Crocodile]

Some anonymus coach said in the ofseason that the Dolphins coaching situation is a big promotion program.

The younger coaches will replace the ritired guys.

For me it seems to be a good plan.

Dolphins in the postseason NOW

:-)

[Jon]

Hey, lets keep Henning as long as he wants to strap on the head set. The man sniffs blood and attacks and then attacks again.

[ziggy]

I think he will stay if the dolphins keep winning and make the playoffs. Although it might be an early exit, he would no doubt see the potential for this team to be in the super bowl within the next 2 years. Im sure he would like to win a super bowl before retiring.

[Democratic Dolphin]

Any ideas on who to root for tonight, apart from hoping for a tie.

I can make an argument that a loss by either the Jets or the Patriots would benefit the Fins more.

[Ken]

Henning has done a great job. I wouldn't be surprised that if he does leave David Lee would be his replacement. It was Lee that brought the wildcat to Miami so I think some of the credit for Miami's offensive success has to go to him.

Excellent post. Good stuff, Mando.

[Robert]

I think we want the Pats to beat the Jets since (1) we get them next week in our house and (2) we've already beat them. We would still be behind the J-e-t-s suck suck suck in a tiebreak.

[Marc]

I don't care who wins so long as they break Favres neck...

[The truth]

Armando, remember that Henning wasn't offered this job at first. it was offered to Chris Palmer and he turned it down and then they interviewed a few other guys. Getting henning worked out for us if he stays for a while. Palmer obviously is doing great with the Giants.

[Agua]

I've seen this kind of crap out of Armando before. He's trying to create a controversey. Just look at his track record of creating rumors out of nothing (trade Ronnie Brown, anyone?)

[flpd]

Hey Agua I read the Miami Herald pretty religiously and I live in South Florida so I listen to Mando on the radio. I challenge you to produce a link to a story where he said trade Ronnie Brown. You can't because he's never said that. And that makes you a tremendous dope for just making crap up.

[Samuel Stone]

Truth is Mando relayed the Mortensen story about Ronnie Brown possibly being traded this preseason and pretty much said it was wrong and it was bunk. So I don't know WTF this aqua dude is talking about.

[AK47]

I'm not worried about Henning! I'm worried about Bill Parcells!!
Look at the dallas cowboys right now, it's a mess ever since Parcells left.
I know we don't have that crazy jerry jones as owner but I think the biggest piece of this team is Bill.
I hope jeff ireland can step up when Parcells decides to hang em up!

[klndry]

I think the OC is doing a great job. From nothing he produced a pretty good offense. Not a lot of flash. But good and consistent.
What controversy? I didn't read it in this blog. There are times when it happens but I don't think that we should be shooting the messenger and in this case it Mando did a great job in telling me a little about Henning. I like reading positive stories about the Dolphins. So the bloggers that cuss him out are just stirring the pot. They should Get a Life.

[SteFin]

Damn if he goes to New England it would be the Quad-fecta of AFC East! Boy he'd be hard to replace, it seems he's set trends in the League. Dan must be highly respected by how many revisits to past employer's in his resume.
That point alone speaks volumes of who he is. Armando find out his weigh in on personel moves and his weight on Draft moves. I'm assuming next to Tony, you don't want to lose this guy. I picture he has the boilerplate template of the type of player he likes and wants.

[Bee supreme]

The Beef Says"TELL DAN TO TAKE IS AARP ASS TO DETRIOT,WE VE GOT 3 EXTRA GINNS ON THE SIDE LINES"

[Bee supreme]

The Beef Says"TELL DAN TO TAKE IS AARP ASS TO DETRIOT,WE VE GOT 3 EXTRA GINNS ON THE SIDE LINES"

[bennyR]

Henning has been an excellent coach and play caller for us. I believe the key is that Sparano has allowed Henning a lot of leeway in controlling the offensive plays and game plan.

This is a very different situation than the one when Wannstedt was coaching. Under his authority, we had Norv Turner, Chan Gailey, and others as the Offensive Coordinator but Wannstedt always wanted to stick to the vanilla philosophy. He didn't give them the comfort zone to operate.

[beef supreme]

Beef Says"DO NOT DISGRACE THIS FORM WITH THE NAME OF WANNSTADT,OS CAMMRON" thank you

[teezeepan]

Wasn't Henning let go by a couple of those teams listed?

[beef supreme]

Beef Says"DO NOT DISGRACE THIS FORM WITH THE NAME OF WANNSTADT,OS CAMMRON" thank you

[ParcellsCampFollower]

Nick - you had it right at the beginning of this thread...lol

[beef supreme]

Beef says"KICK THAT SORRY 2 AND 6 TEAMS SORRY ASS!"

[beef supreme]

Beef says"KICK THAT SORRY 2 AND 6 TEAMS SORRY ASS!"

[beef supreme]

Beef says"KICK THAT SORRY 2 AND 6 TEAMS SORRY ASS!"

Mando would prolly lose his job if he pushed for our franchise running back to be traded

[beerphin]

Hey Mando, Are the Raider's D-line a big factor in sunday's game? just read Smiley's comments about them being a a half a body taller and being beasts... Also it seems Fargus is upset at being called a "Team of losers" coming from a guy who put up 180 yards last year, should we be worried? I know this is a topic from last article but I'm curious now about how are Lines offense and defense match-up

[beerphin]

*our not are as to Henning... he is a wildcard... I'd like to see him back another year or two as we push for a super bowl ring... I think he knows parcells and ireland will keep improving the team by getting Playmakers. that makes his job easier and more fun... gives him a reason to stick around if we are legit contenders

[dreday]

BRING BACK SCOTT LINEHAN!

[Daniel]

Greetings from London... thank you for a great Blog Armando, you've kept my heart warm with Fins news while on my sebatical in the colder rainer part of Europe. Here's to 20,000 comments!

[Mr. Bungle]

We'll see. Henning is about Parcells' age and it's tough for the older guys to keep coaching. Who will be the candidate for offensive coordinator should Henning retire after this season?

[Pat]

I love some of the things Henning has done so far. I really like the Wildcat and it works, so I like him even more. I'd like to for him long enough to see, at the very least, the beginning of the Chad Henne era, because with all of the experience Henning brings, I think Henne can immensely benefit from that. We'll see.

[El Cache]

DAVID LEE WILL BE THE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, AFTER HE HAS GROOMED HENNE, THEY WILL NOT BRING SOME OTHER BONEHEAD TO SCREW THINGS UP. BILL PARCELLS PROMOTES WITHIN!

[JohnnyGato]

Hey Beef Supreme... you need to learn how to spell! That's Cameron NOT Camarron.

El Cache. What that hell is wrong with ya? Don't you know how to turn off Caps Lock?