What if Todd Bowles turns out to be a revelation?

There is only one candidate to replace Tony Sparano that we know will absolutely, positively interview for the job: Todd Bowles.

Bowles, 48, will coach the Dolphins in the final three games of the regular season as their interim coach. He has been told he will interview for the opening once the season is over and that makes sense because he is black and that meeting will fulfill the Dolphins' Rooney Rule requirement. (That may sound cold, but the NFL is a cold business.)

That is not to suggest Bowles is not worthy of the interview.

The truth is Bowles has already interviewed for three NFL head coaching jobs -- in Detroit, Kansas City and Denver. And, according to one NFL source, Bowles came very, very close to getting the Detroit job that eventually went to Jim Schwartz.

Detroit General Manager Martin Mayhew loves and believes in Bowles. The two played for the Washington Redskins together in the 1980s and early 90s.

Bowles is also a guy that former Dolphins football czar Bill Parcells believes will eventually make a good football coach. So there's that.

All that, of course, will have very little sway in whether Bowles gets a legitimate opportunity to land the job after the season. You must understand that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is intent on hiring a big-name candidate to fill the post.

But ...

What if Bowles wins this week at Buffalo? And then wins next week at New England? And finishes undefeated with a season-finale victory over the Jets?

I know, I know, it's improbable. But that's precisely my point ... what if the improbable happens?

Suddenly you have a coach on your hands that took over a terrible (4-9) team and made them perfect. You have a coach who went into games against division opponents that had a 2-1 record against the Dolphins earlier in the season and gives you a 3-0 return. You have a coach that beats Bill Belichick. You have a coach that throws a wrench into the Jets' playoff run.

You have a hot coach candidate, no?

I am not saying the Dolphins will actually be able to raise their game for Bowles to the level of being able to win out. Even if they accomplish the feat, Bowles would remain a second-tier choice for Miami.

But would that be correct? What if the Dolphins have the next big thing in coaching right under their noses and don't know it?

Discuss ...

Comments

[Xpensive Wino]

The right coach (and his staff) are certainly important, but the GM is more important...........and if Ireland is staying, we're F******.

[DC DUHFAN]

Blah blah blah, Blah blah blah blah Blah..

[OneLegged]

I agree with Wino.

It's like putting lipstick on a pig.

A 3 game win streak, as awesome as it is, isn't a fair barometer (consider Sparano just went what, 4-1 over a 5-game stretch?)

[DevilsAdvocate]

I posed the very same question here last night. Glad you are reading the blog for ideas.

[Flipper13]

As long as Ireland is around, we will live in mediocrity.

[Joshua]

More like Revelations, as in the end of the Parcells Era

[FormFactor]

Well, if that happens then Jeff Ireland definetely wouldn't have been the problem, right?
If so, Salguero's earlier column where he wondered why Ross still had faith in Ireland would be moot.

[jeff]

Moore is injured. They will not win without Moore.

Sad thing is Bowles might just be the man for the job, but we will never know.

[IrelandSucks]

Bowles WON'T be a revelation. Miami will hopefully lose all 3 games to have a top 5 draft pick. What do you expect Bowles to do in 3 games with a 3rd string QB?!

[tpl]

If that happens, Miami should hire Todd Bowles as head coach. Even if he only beats the jets and bills, and loses a close game to the pats, I figure he deserves a shot.

[IrelandSucks]

EVERYONE knows Miami has no talent at the skilled positions. Anyone who plays fantasy football knows this! Why is Ross always the last to figure it out! Believe me, it IS Ireland's fault.

[ericatl]

Very good points but!! I dont think Bowles fits the image Ross is going for. I think he wants someone with "looks" and "Image" first and foremost. He wants someone thats going to sell tickets before the team hits the field.Does that remind you of someone?? (huizenga in case yr having trouble remembering) HE would always give us a dancing chicken and dangle it in front of us to get our money!! Personally I like the idea of bowles better than any of the names that are on the table including Cowher.

[FP4FGs]

Albert Einstein once sad "Those that refuse to learn from history are due to dwell in Mediocrity for all history"., Just thought Id throw that out there.

[IrelandSucks]

NO COACH will do better with JEFF IRELAND AROUND!! We could of kept Sparano because IT JUST DOESN"T MATTER!!

Without talent, nothing matters!

[Shift]

Kind of like when Jim Bates knocked off the Pats after he took over for Wannstedt. Altho I think he finished with a losing record, the players liked him and I remember some people saying he might get the job.

Looks like the right choice looking back though, because Bates hasn't done anything good since then.

Different ownership obviously, but we all know Bowles has no chance of sticking around.

[ALoco]

IRELAND SUCKSSOUNDS A LOT LIKE CUBEN MENECE WHOS BEEN MISSING SINSE PINEAPLE PRINCESS KICK HIM OUT IN SEPTEMBER. IRELAND, WHAT SAY YOU, ARE YOU CUBEN MENECE?

[oscar canosa]

Game is off the line in most books in LV(uncertainty). One has us 1 point favorites. Hmm..

[odinseye]

Just woke up.

What did I miss?

ALoco, sorry to here you choked your lizaed to death.

Next time try losening your grip and use a good oil based lotion :)

[FormFactor]

In fact, columns of these nature serve only to strengthen what any with two eyes and even a modicum of football knowledge already know: lack talent is NOT the problem with this team.

[Smaknstein]

If Bowles wins out we lose a lot of ground in drafting a new quarterback. And he still wouldn't get the gig next year because the ownership has their heads up their ask anyone.

We would just be showcasing him for another team with better management and a better quarterback.

[ALoco]

LIKE CXLOCKWORK, ODEN IS ONLINE TO POST TILL 3 AM, ODEN GOT GO, I GET OFF WORK AT 10PM, I TALK TO YOU THEN,IAM SURE YOU BE HERE.
(BUFFET OF WORKING)

[odinseye]

I GET OFF WORK AT 10PM, I TALK TO YOU THEN,IAM SURE YOU BE HERE.
(BUFFET OF WORKING)

Posted by: ALoco | December 15, 2011 at 02:17 PM

Yeah, SURE!

Talk about me all morning and then run when I finally get out of be.........ah.........get online!

((BUFFETT OF BULLCRAP))

[ALoco]

PERDICTION: ODEN WILL WAKE UP AROUND 2 PM, THROW UP AND START DRINKING PABST BLUE RIBBON BEER WHILE EATING GOVERMENT CHESE AND THEN POST TILL 4 AM
PERDICTION: FLIPER BRED/YG/DB WILL WAKE UP AROUND 1 PM LET HIS CAT OUT AND WALK DOWN TO BUGER KING AND GET HAPPY MEAL AND TRY TO BEAT HIS RECORD OF 18 HOURS OF NON-STOP AND NO VALUE POST
( BUFFET OF PERDICTIONS)

Posted by: ALoco | December 15, 2011 at 11:16 AM

AGAIN I AM RIGHT, BUT WERES DB/YG/FLIPPER BRED?, OH WELL SOMETIME IAM WRONG BUT MY GUES IS HE BE IN COURT TO TRYING TO GET OUT OF CHILD SUPORT.

[Chris in the 623]

Three Ws might muddy the coaching waters a bit but if Ross can be trusted, can he?, it won't save Bowles HC job. It would also mean looking for later round acorns at QB. But hey, we still have the head squirrel for the job in 2012.

[DC Dolfan]

How could Miami "not know it" that they have a star HC in their midst? Mando, do you guys get any time to speak to position coaches? If so I wonder what your impression of Bowles is? These other teams have seen something in him, does Miami? Or is this a Rooney Rule charade?

Also, Bowles may be a good position coach, but does he have the goods to be a good HC for this team at this time? Does he have a sound philosophy (or is it the outdated Parcells philosophy)? Does he know what's been wrong the last 4 years with our secondary and how to fix that (since that's his specialty and his predecessor, Sparano, obviously didn't know how to fix the oline)? Can he put together a strong staff on the offense, with the idea that he'll be developing a possibly franchise QB next year?

Those are the more important questions, not can he win the next 3 games. By the way, with J.P. Losman, our backup to our backup in, I really can't fully judge Bowles. Sure, Losman has a chance against his former team, but it's not fair to think he can just come in a couple of weeks ago and be up to speed on the offense and the personnel and everything. So I don't see us winning out.

[odinseye]

PERDICTION: ODEN WILL WAKE UP AROUND 2 PM, THROW UP AND START DRINKING PABST BLUE RIBBON BEER WHILE EATING GOVERMENT CHESE AND THEN POST TILL 4 AM

AH, EXCUSE ME!

Wrong AGAIN!

It's Bourban and Coffee for me in wee hours, THANK YOU!
-----------------------------------------------

And to the smart aleck that asked if any of us had jobs? Yes we do, but ah, we actually have to WORK while we're at WORK!

Apparently Armando ain't the only that gets paid to blog here ALL DAY!

[FP4FGs.]

DC, The first thing you look at for a promotion in a head coach would be is his current position(What ever he's coaching) The best in the NFL?, what Ranbking would you give Mr. Bowles?

[adrian solorza]

This is a very hard time for a new coach. Because we virtually don't have offensive tackles and no QB. So I expect a total dominance from the Bills to us, but if coach Todd Boles keep the game close, and interesting, then the question will be different instead of "who will be the next HC?" must be "who is an upgrade over Todd Bowles?"

[odinseye]

FP4FG,

You have a good theory going there. Except to judge Bowles on Miami's secondary you have to quantify the Ireland factor.

As an illustrious former Dolphin Coach once said:

You can't make chicken salad out of chicken shyt!

[JS in LA]

Mixed messages from Ross and Ireland:

Looking fr Young Shula: Ok, so a hot asistant or collage coach to move up.
Looking for experienced coach: Obviously a former SB winner, or proven NFL winning coach without a job. All are older, or retired.
So which is it?

Is Bowles a possibility? Sure. But less likely for me but he isn't even the step away from a HC seat, whcih means he'll be completely green on handling all the tough decisions and day to day of bigtime NFL managing. That's what Sparano was. So, that seems unlikely and I don't want to retest that experiment.

[Hayden Fox]

Let's see what Todd can do. Why not? He seems like a strong leader.

[beerphin]

Bowles is a good choice

[Brutalist Architecture]

Nobody cares what you think.

[Sam 1966]

The report now is that Ross is going to hire Peterson to oversee Ireland. OMG what has happened to our once proud franchise. Peterson never won anything in KC and when he was run out of town the team was a mess. The guy does not know coaching talent, he hired Herman Edwards as his coach. We are headed for more dark days here my friends. Whoever is coach might be the least of our worries. Oh yeah and Peterson never drafted and developed a top notch QB either.

[Darkoak]

No way three games says enough win or lose to consider Bowles. No one on the current coaching staff should be considered at this point anyway. Sparano's mark on the team needs to be washed away for us to have a clean start.

The Ireland thing I get because he doesn't hit on 95% of his picks but honestly very few GM's do. His free agent pickups have been risky, to say the least. I would like to see Ireland get sacked as well along with most of the team scouts.

[Spiderman]

I'm tired of blogging/reading the same ish over and over again. Does anyone have anything new to say?

[Craig M]

adrian,

I was thinkng that too but it's not confirmed that Moore and Long won't play. By all accounts they were at practice today.

[JS in LA]

The good news is folks: Bland coaches look great with great QBs.
If we manage to stay in our draft position, we draft the remainder of RG3/Barkley choice. Not rocket science. So even Mangini might somehow seem OK with a good QB if they wind up being as good as advertised.

[FP4FGs.]

Odinseye, I see A lot of players in the next three weeks playing like a pro-bowl game AKA half speed so not to get injured, And going against a jet team trying to get into the play-offs and a new England team looking to sew up Home field advantage I see both games getting ugly early(EG the last 2 games last year) And we wont really find out what "The Todd" can give us. Sad.

[superPHIN]

Wait, if bowels wins out*lmao*...then that would mean JP Loserman is our QB of the future....SWEET!!!

Where can I buy the rented re-used buffalo jerseys at???

[odinseye]

Here's my take:

Bowles was interviewed already for HC jobs. KC was considering him prior and our most likely considering him AGAIN.

If Ross knows anyone associated with KC, he just might already know this. So, with only 3 meaningless games left, Bowles would be the logical choice while serving two purposes(Rooney Rule).

I'm not sure what the rule is exactly in promoting an interim. But I think there is a stipulation that raises pay and blocks "DeMotions".

Thus, promoting an OC or DC you'd like to keep, causes all kinds of problems.

If you read between the lines, I think this further reinforces the hints given by Ross and Irelands during the press conference when they fired Tony.

Like DA said earlier, I think they already have their guy pegged. He's willing to work with Ireland, Daboll and Nolan(he's not black and he's at least in some demand, thus Bowles helping get the jump on the Rooney Rule).

[biggs13]

meh

[Craig M]

I don't get all the hate on here for guys like Peterson and Mangini and Gruden and Billick etc....

These guys have been successful in whatever they have done. You and I may not like them but we're simply basing our thoughts on a teams won/loss record and whether they have ever won a Championship. Peterson was GM in KC for YEARS....he's forgotten more about football than most of us on here could ever hope to know. To say a guy like that 'sucks' is just plain ignornant and misinformed. The truth of the matter is most of these guys are well-respected and well-regarded in the game. We can let our biases show but for the most part we're just coming off as uninformed idiots fans.

[FP4FGs.]

Odinseye, You left out who you think it is., Please say it is'nt a guy that has a name like a female body part..NOOOOOOOOOO

[JS in LA]

Craig M,
One correction. Mangini NOT successful. Fired twice quickly for a reason.
The rest, I agree. But not necessarily OK either.

[FP4FGs.]

Greg, What success has MANGINA has?(Just wondering?)

[superPHIN]

Bowles will not be hired as the dolphins new head coach next year ppl(this is a DEAD story)......Not ross's type of star power he's looking for.....winning the next three wont change that...They didnt even have him present at sparanos firing conference for god sakes!!

[Chris in the 623]

I don't really care who we get as the new HC so long as he:

A. Will move heaven and earth to try and get a franchise QB. Will even give him a pass if he fails. But try damnit!
B. Thinks the Partiots/Packers offensive models from today are more viable than the Giants model from the 80s.
C. Is adaptable, if necessary, and not so headstrong as to reject everything that isn't his idea.
D. Can manage the clock. Sparano got better but it's so frustrating to see clock mismanagement at this level. So many of these games come down to one or two plays and those details matter.

[Brian]

Funny how Armando Posted the question last week that if Sparano won out should he keep his job and his opinion was no. Now, he thinks the interim coach should get it if he wins 3 in a row.

[phinsfan78]

I think Bowles is as qualified as anyone. The problem is. NO QB worth ashitt..... He better be lobbying for Luck like I am.

[FP4FGs.]

Gotta hit lunch Girls, Play nice.

[odinseye]

GM's and Vice Presidents of Football operations don't DEVELOP young QB's.

They draft them and turn them over to the Coaching Staffs.

Peterson may not have a great record at drafting QB's, but he made some gutsy moves bringing in some aging vets.

He also found quite a few Gems at others positions along the way. At least a couple of Hall of Famers I believe.

Ultimately, I'm all for putting ALMOST ANYONE in charge of Ireland. I think Irelands strength lies more in his scouting abilities and that's what he would be doing more of with Peterson overseeing operations.

Irelands draft day philosophies are questionable at best!

[JS in LA]

Although I assume Ireland and Ross have someone/s in mind to ask, I doubt anything is at all been lined up. It would be leaked/known. the Ireland/Ross regime hasn't exactly been Ninja stealthy in keeping its secrets.

[Craig M]

Gusy EVERY coach gets fired in the NFL. I don't believe Mangini getting fired is all his fault. The personnel decisions they have made there for years were atrocious. How do things look this year with Mangini gone? Any better or still lousy? To me they are easily one of the bottom 2-3 teams in the league.

My point being, even to get a job as a Head Coach in the NFL is an accomplishment. Mangini didn't just do it once, he did it TWICE. Add to that the fact that he's worked for Bellichick and he must have SOME clue what he's doing. As fans, we simply look at a guys won/loss record and say 'he sucks' and I'm saying, not the case. What would you have said about Bellichick after his gig in Cleveland?

Understand, this is not an endorsement of Mangini to be the next Head Coach, simply to say.....guess what?...he doesn't actually suck.....just as Ross doesn't suck either.

[Craig M]

I don't believe they have their guy lined up either. Why would they? What advantage would that serve? If that were true then why get rid of Tony now? In an age when last year's Harbaugh adventure became big news, I think Ross has been very careful to keep things quiet. They have lots of time to do this properly and I how Bowles is part of that process.

[FP4FGs.]

Craig M, Ross sucks as a owner.Now Iam out.

[ralph ortega]

Improbable?

What if Sparano had had an outstanding QB the last three years?

[odinseye]

FP4,

You could be right on half speed deal.

I hope not though. Ultimately, I don't think it matters much.

You saw the difference Jake Long's injury ALONE made last week? Throw in Losman and the reat of the team can play lights out and still lose these next three weeks.

If Moore and Long are out, we are in really bad shape. I know Long is only one guy along the O-line. But in all reality, we'll be starting a rookie center, Jerry at Tackle, a banged up Carey and Mark Colombo!

Think about THAT-LOL. SO, you're right, SAD INDEED!

[adrian solorza]

I'm really exited about how coach Bowles prepare the next game, a mobile offensive line with a mobile QB? Loseman as I remember is not much mobile, Devlin I don't know.

[Just Passing by.]

craig M, What type of "Kool-Aid" Are you drinking?, I Want some.