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.
Guess Ross's staff should be on he horn with some of those Saints coordinators.....
Posted by: Kris | January 14, 2012 at 10:44 PM
as long as he stays away from their defensive coordinators...im all for it...WHO DAT????...NO REALLY, Who was that????
Niners look good though, good god, scary thought just came to mind................Davis's older brother and brace for it............TEDD GINN might see a SB before miami does....hows that for f'ed up irony*lmao*
Posted by: superPHIN | January 14, 2012 at 10:50 PM
How do u stop those 2 monster TE's....
Posted by: Kris | January 14, 2012 at 10:50 PM
We find a way to get one of them to Miami. How does NE have two of those guys and we can't get one. Freaking NE doesn't even need wide receivers.
Posted by: New Coach Wanted | January 14, 2012 at 10:59 PM
I know that no one besides me cares but still it has to be said again:
Henne put 420 yards on this NE defense on MNF and everyone in America saw it.
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 10:59 PM
420 yards - pretty stat
loss - ugly stat
W - the only stat that matters
Posted by: Logical Lou | January 14, 2012 at 11:04 PM
The best thing about this game was when Marino said "The only way Denver can win this game is if Brady comes out and plays quarterback for them."
Posted by: New Coach Wanted | January 14, 2012 at 11:04 PM
HennePuke couldnt make the Pats practice squad.
Posted by: Kyle | January 14, 2012 at 11:05 PM
Yeah.
Aaron Rodgers record for first 16 starts. 6 wins and 10 losses.
Dolfans would have demanded he be released and insisted he sucked.
Posted by: New Coach Wanted | January 14, 2012 at 11:08 PM
Flukes
Denver beating Pittsburg was a fluke. Off day for Pitt.
SF beating NO was a fluke. 5 turnovers and they were still in the game. NO, the best team in the NFL, exited early.
Shiit happens.
Posted by: Logical Lou | January 14, 2012 at 11:09 PM
Kyle,
I agree.
If Belichick were asked he would say, "Henne put more yards on us than any other QB this season, and I watched him do it to us from right here on the sideline, but he is not good enough to be on our practice squad".
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:10 PM
GB 27
NE 20
Posted by: Logical Lou | January 14, 2012 at 11:11 PM
Kyle,
The Fins organization and all of the bloggers in here are lucky to have you as a talent evaluator. How in the world does the receiving dock manage without you when you are doing your high paid NFL job?
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:13 PM
Henne got Sparano fired. How does Ireland survive?
Posted by: Kyle | January 14, 2012 at 11:13 PM
Kyle,
Thank you for showing up here at the same time that kris vanished.
I know you are not kris because he uses a small K and you use a captial K.
Furthermore I know that people named kris with a k worship on Saturday but people named Kyle with a capital K worship on Sunday so I know that you cannot be the same people.
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:17 PM
Kyle,
briefs or boxers?
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:17 PM
If the Dolphins position is that Ireland has final say on draft picks and the final 53 man roster why did they even go after Fisher? It doesn't take a genius to know that Fisher would never agree to that scenario. Why go through the embarrassment of interviewing if that was your position. They offered fisher a partnership with Ireland . I don't blame Fisher for not putting my fate in the hands of Ireland. How did that work out for Sparano? The Miami Dolphins are as clueless and hard pressed to get a new coach as the Raiders. Sad sad sad. wtf Mr Ross.
Posted by: Finfabulous | January 14, 2012 at 11:18 PM
PriceMaster is one sick puppy.
Posted by: Kris | January 14, 2012 at 11:18 PM
I heard they are going to interview Tony Sparano for HC. He seems like the best available candidate out there now.
Posted by: Paul | January 14, 2012 at 11:21 PM
PriceMaster is one sick puppy.
Posted by: Kris | January 14, 2012 at 11:18 PM
---------------------------------
CLEARLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Kyle | January 14, 2012 at 11:22 PM
Price master....
You need a life man....
You are making up names....posting to yourself.....and that is YOU @ 11:18.....
This blog is so much better without YOU on it.....
Have fun talking to YOURSELF UNDER DIFFERNT NAMES FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT.....
Insult yourself a few times under my name if you like.....
Posted by: Kris | January 14, 2012 at 11:23 PM
I wanted Cowher 1st, then Fisher. But Sparano's as average as the rest of the experiments they're talking to.
Posted by: Kyle | January 14, 2012 at 11:25 PM
F Ireland, Ross you are a JOKE for keeping him. Ross you are killing our team very slowly you punk !!!
Posted by: C63-AMG | January 14, 2012 at 11:25 PM
Kyle,
You speak the truth but I think you stumbled on it by mistake but perhaps you are smarter than I give you credit for.
Let's go through the facts carefully:
-Stephen Ross is a Michigan Alumni\
-Stephen Ross is a billionaire
-The business School at the U of Mich is named the "Ross school of Business"
-Stephen Ross is the largest donor to Michigan Boosters ever
-Chad Henne holds all Michigan and Big 10 passing records
-Chad Henne was Stephen Ross' guest of Honor at the booster functions he sponsored over and over and over again
-Stephen Ross likes Henne so much that he bought the Miami Dolphins because that was the team that drafted Henne
-Stephen Ross drives Henne around at golf tournaments and purposely drives the cart to the media pit so that he can be photographed with Henne
-Chad Henne has told Ross to fire everybody connected with the BACKDOOR wildcat and they have all been fired.
Please dispute any facts here with evidence or go f uck youself.
Henne will be franchised in the next 30 days. You will still be poor in 30 days.
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:26 PM
Ross sucks as bad as Ireland, just sell the team Ross so that we can get our Miami Dolphins back a.
Posted by: C63-AMG | January 14, 2012 at 11:27 PM
Finfabulous I agree Thib FO is clueless.
Posted by: Kyle | January 14, 2012 at 11:28 PM
Price...where's your proof of any of that garbage you just spewed out... Umm yeah, I didn't think so
Posted by: C63-AMG | January 14, 2012 at 11:29 PM
PticeMaster you're hilarious. Keep telling yourself that nonsense until you believe it.....lol
Posted by: Kyle | January 14, 2012 at 11:33 PM
C63,
Here is the websire for the U of Mich Ross School of Business:
http://www.bus.umich.edu/
It is names after Stephen Ross owner of the Phins
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:35 PM
Kris,
Briefs or boxers? :p
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:36 PM
C63,
Are you collecting SSI for mental retardation?
If so I believe in your ability and I would like to work with your advocate.
If not you need to apply for benefits.
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:38 PM
Well, now that he's such a winner and does such a great job, Ireland needs to sac up and make a bold move to get us a freaking franchise QB. Enough of the crap!!!
Posted by: dmooreiii | January 14, 2012 at 11:41 PM
kris,
I see you're imitating me again.
Let me remind you that after I assist you with your suicide I will not be disposing of your corpse down the hotel laundry chute.
First I will fill your mouth and stomach with my urine.
Then I will write a suicide note and sign your name.
Thirdly I will report the location of your corpse to the media and let them call the cops.
Lastly it will be up to your fat, ugly, poor, disgusting survivors to explain how it is that you ended up drinking my urine right before your death.
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:42 PM
Ross=bumbling fool
Posted by: robpardue | January 14, 2012 at 11:43 PM
Ross=complete imbeicile
Posted by: robpardue | January 14, 2012 at 11:44 PM
If u buy season tix,your an idiot too.take stand! force as sale!!
Posted by: robpardue | January 14, 2012 at 11:46 PM
dmooreiii,
And everybody else,
Your worst nightmare is about to become real:
HENNE IS GOING TO BE FRANCHISED
It will be one of the top 10 best moments of my life because I think Henne is a real good QB. It will be one of the worst moments of your life because you hate Henne.
It will be so painful that you will need to off yourself.
You will need a suicide assister.
That is where I come in.
Posted by: PriceMaster | January 14, 2012 at 11:58 PM
Ross should refund the ticket money he's ripping fans off for.
Posted by: JR | January 14, 2012 at 11:58 PM
Price, pass the smoke bro...
Posted by: JR | January 15, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Jeff Ireland is a RAT. He will never get an NFL job if he is ever let go. He cannot be trusted. He will be blacklisted.
Posted by: O | January 15, 2012 at 12:02 AM
You know what ENOUGH OF THIS WHINING! Ok so we lost the Fisher sweepstakes, it's over done with, let's move on. I actually kinda commend our people for going for the most coveted name out there -same last year. Are they making mistakes in their approach? Obviously they are but let's hope they learned from them.
Respect? Dunno about you but I still feel proud to be a Dolphins fan, yes we are going through a rough patch but we are still a storied franchise. And know how you win that respect back: By WINNING!
Not too long ago the Pats were in our spot, they were the laughing stock of our division, perennial bottom dwellers, how have things changed since. Mr. Kraft also went through some growing pains, it is easy to forget now. Change is not easy, which is apparently why I see so many empty sacks among our fans, the ones who still think overpaying to land a lad like Matt Flynn will take us somewhere. Grow a pair you too fans, enough of this OMG we are gonna pay too much for RG3, sniff, sigh BS. I bet all of you would have criticized Kraft for giving up the farm and Curtis Martin to the Jets in exchange for...Bill Belichick, you know that dude who was a "failure" in Cleveland, a no name coach, who is he? What is his experience? etc, etc.
I'm gonna make it really simple why it is imperative Ross and company need to at the very least interview other guys, especially one ROB CHUDZINSKI.
I'm gonna choose to not even mention in detail Chud's Canes history and all of his other successes pretty much everywhere he's been.
What do all today's games had in common? DOMINANT TE PLAY, all of the teams that were in it, except for...Denver. Mr. Ireland, I am one of those who have actually defended you but I never understood your negligence addressing the TE position. Anyway, Chud may well be the best TE guru in the country so why not at least give him another interview (and yes another one b/c somehow you guys thought Brian Daboll was the better hire or maybe he turned you down because he was friends with Rivera in San Diego and followed his pal to Carolina; in fact I bet I'm onto something there). Please use your head not your heart, and swallow a small dose of your pride, I know it is hard, but think it can lead you to success, huge success.
Let's break down today's TEs numbers:
-Vernon Davis (7) catches, 180 yds, 2 TDs
-J. Graham (5) catches, 103 yds, 2 TDs
-R. Gronk (10) catches, 145 yds, 3 TDs
-A. Hernandez (4) 55 yds, 1 TD.
These numbers by themselves are astonishing, but if you watched the games the impact these players had in all games were beyond the stats, the swagger they inject simply overpower defenses. Please wake up, TEs are the future of the NFL, Belichick in his wisdom realized this in 2010 when a lot of people second guessed his moves.
Chud immediately upon his hire in Carolina pursued TEs Greg Olsen and Jeremy Shockey who despite being past their prime and playing for a rookie QB put up 45 and 37 catches respectively and caught for more yards and same TDs (5) as Fasano and 4 for Shockey. See Chud understood how vital was going to be for his rookie QB to have competent TEs. So again why not pursue Chud, you were just played by a coach who wanted more $$$, as simple as that, why don't you show some prowess a raid the Panthers, take their best coach and TE in Greg Olsen, be bold for once!
And keeping with the theme, I still think if we do not pursue RG3 we will be left with more of the same, I'd say mortgage the house (Mr. Ross you made your $$$ in construction and you have to know sometimes you do have to mortgage the house) but do keep your 2nd rounder and draft Dwayne Allen from Clemson, the guy is a beast and we have to fight fire with fire here playing in the same division with the Pats.
Look, if you choose to go with Zimmer fine, but not giving a guy like Chud at least an interview will only confirm all the criticism of your detractors. Please keep interviewing more guys like Chud or Winston Moss, Chip Kelly and then make a decision, if you waited for Fisher that long you can prolong your search a bit more and make a more educated choice.
Posted by: TigerSam | January 15, 2012 at 12:06 AM
This team is a circus, circling the toilet. How can the fan base support this ownership? How can people keep paying money to a organization the has its priorities so screwed up? Assuming Armando is correct in his reporting, and he usually is, Ross is a typical corporate manager who has failed to understand that corporate management does not translate into NFL management. The bottom line is Tony gets fired and is promptly hire by the JETS; if Ireland gets fired he will be luck to get hired as a scout.
Posted by: jim fisher | January 15, 2012 at 12:18 AM
Why would anyone hire Ireland as a scout? Hooka mom scout you mean? .
Posted by: JR | January 15, 2012 at 12:25 AM
Cc
Posted by: bobbyd12 | January 15, 2012 at 12:29 AM
“It’s over for them being a marquee franchise,” Manny Fernandez, a standout on the Dolphins’ glory teams of the early 1970s, said Friday night. “The only thing marquee about them is South Beach. How many mistakes have they made? How many bad decisions? It just goes on and on. And it’s ridiculous not to give a coach final say over the personnel he’s responsible for winning with.”
Posted by: JR | January 15, 2012 at 12:40 AM
How is it possible that the same team that went o and 7 later managed to be so competitive? I mean it has the same talent base in the later part of the season that it did at the beginning.
I do not see this as a personal problem! They obviously are talented enough to compete against some of the better teams.
Everyone thought Alex Smith and the 49ers were a bunch of losers a year ago. What has change since last year? Not the personal, not in a year, not by much...what changed was the COACH!
Jeff Fisher is an average coach at best and his record indicates this. Why are we so hung on him?
Jeff Ireland.has built a strong core of players on this team, what we really need is someone that can coach......
Posted by: Fin Fan 1 | January 15, 2012 at 12:45 AM
Why the hell would they need to franchise Henne? Who out there needs a QB that bad? Especially one coming off of an injury.
PS...I thought Pennington was just taking a year off? What's to say he won't be back next year?
I don't think he's retired.
Posted by: Damn Damn Damn | January 15, 2012 at 01:27 AM
420 yards - pretty stat
loss - ugly stat
W - the only stat that matters
Posted by: Logical Lou | January 14, 2012 at 11:04 PM
5 turn overs by New Orleans - Ugly stat.
Loss - Ugly stat
W - Only stat that matters.
San Fran is just another team just like New Orleans. They could have laid an egg just as easily.
It's the playoffs and the FACT is, they were better prepared, better on the score board and the better team on the FIELD.
As much as you might like it, you can't have it both ways. New Orleans got their a sses handed to them on the big stage.
San Fran **CAUSED** most of those turnovers and undoubtedly were the better team TODAY!
Posted by: Odin's Bottom | January 15, 2012 at 04:19 AM
Ross is a looser
Posted by: Ireland Strikes again | January 15, 2012 at 06:26 AM
Between his blogs and tweets, Armando is starting to sound like a Jets fan who covers the Dolphins, not an objective reporter who leaves emotions at the door. Maybe someone's not "getting any" lately.... :)
Posted by: grover | January 15, 2012 at 09:59 AM
I don't get it! I JUST DON"T GET IT!
Posted by: socalfinfan | January 15, 2012 at 11:58 AM
This team is now good enough almost any coach will be successful here. Roll the dice, get a young gunslinger and see what happens.
I would trade down again and try to get a quarterback late in the first and a another 2nd rounder.
Matt Moore can handle the job, but we need a young gun to develop.
Posted by: hawk1052 | January 15, 2012 at 12:31 PM
Ireland has no credibility in league circles for hanging Tony out to dry last season.
Posted by: jokyla | January 15, 2012 at 12:33 PM
This situation is a joke and everybody, including Ross is paying the price of bad personnel decisions.
Posted by: drbullis | January 15, 2012 at 01:54 PM