Ross more likely to bounce Kevin Coyle than Joe Philbin

LONDON -- Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and head coach Joe Philbin will speak as early as this afternoon, but probably later, to discuss the state of the Dolphins.

Part of that discussion will be the job status of both the Miami head coach and defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle. And I'm told Ross is more inclined to ask Philbin to dismiss Coyle than he is to dismiss Philbin himself at this time.

Ross, I am told, wants to remain optimistic this season is not fully lost as Philbin seemed to be deluding himself about on Sunday. But unlike Philbin, Ross is closer to believing some sort of change must be made now. Philbin believes no staff changes are necessary at this time.

So Ross will have to push Philbin to remove Coyle and Philbin will try to convince Ross that shouldn't happen. And, of course, Philbin might also have to convince Ross not to fire him now also.

Nothing is yet decided but as I wrote in my column today Ross was embarrassed in front of friends and partners on Sunday. That is the second consecutive week Ross is beyond merely disappointed with a loss but actually upset about a loss.

Another thing: This is all about timing, folks.

Stay now or go now, Joe Philbin's chances of being the Dolphins coach in 2016 are slim and none.

By the way, Coyle is not the only issue the Dolphins face now. The regression of the offense is eye-popping. Yes, the Bills have a nice defense. Yes, the Jets have a very nice defense.

But this Miami offense is stunningly woeful on multiple fronts. It cannot protect Ryan Tannehill with any degree of consistency. The running game is missing in action. And outside of getting the ball to Jarvis Landry the offense has no real personality.

What happens when teams simply decide to take Landry away?

Sunday this offense had 12 third-down conversion opportunities. It converted zero of them. This offense also had four fourth-down conversion opportunities. Another goose egg.

When you go 0-for-16 on the big money downs you have to start looking around and wondering who are our playmakers and why aren't they winning against the other team's playmakers?

The bottom line is the offense is averaging 14.5 points per game (no, I'm not giving the offense that punt return TD vs. Washington). And that is 10 points per game less than this offense average last year.