Bleacher Report's own Dan Levy, Josh Zerkle, Matt Miller and yours truly take a crack at the best- and worst-case scenarios for the Miami Dolphins and their long-suffering fanbase.

After firing Tony Sparano and getting rid of Chad Henne, owner Stephen Ross and general manager Jeff Ireland struck out on their first attempts to replace each when they didn't land Jeff Fisher or Peyton Manning. 

Instead of Fisher, the Dolphins have Joe Philbin (which may turn out for the best), and instead of Manning, they have some combination of David Garrard, Ryan Tannehill and Matt Moore (let's just say they may have gotten the short end of that stick.)

Philbin and his offensive coordinator, Mike Sherman, go way back (Sherman was Philbin's English teacher back in prep school and later hired him to coach the offensive line in Green Bay when he was head coach of the Packers) and will undoubtedly lean on the running game, at least early on.

It's simply where the talent is on the offensive side of the ball—at running back and on the offensive line. 

Meanwhile, on defense, Kevin Coyle will most likely employ a few more hybrid fronts than his predecessor, Mike Nolan, to try to take advantage of Cameron Wake's pass-rushing ability. Along with Wake, Coyle will undoubtedly lean on defensive tackle Paul Soliai as he tries to mold this group to fit his scheme and vice versa. 

Overall, it's hard to see this Dolphins team getting past the rest of the AFC East in 2012, but Philbin and company will certainly spend this season laying the foundation of what could be a much-improved team in 2013.