Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross Must Make Changes, Then Get Out of the Way

It seems like every year, the Miami Dolphins are searching for a head coach, a general manager or both.

Maybe that's because, in the past 10 years, they have made a change at one or both positions five times (2005, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013). Head coaches and general managers age like milk in the Miami sun. 

Joe Philbin has had three years to prove himself as a head coach, which appears to be about the shelf life. At this point, it would be hard to sell the public on a fourth year. His team has come out flat in back-to-back late-season must-win games, much like it did last year en route to falling short of the playoffs.

The 2014 Dolphins seem headed for the same fate, and now, it seems like only a matter of time before the Dolphins are starting over again, again.

If this is really going to happen, though, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross should make the necessary changes and give those changes time to take effect.

In the days following Miami's 41-13 curb-stomping at the hands of the New England Patriots, reports have flown in from all directions, giving the appearance that a head coaching change is percolating. According to Bleacher Report NFL insider Jason Cole, the Dolphins are already "about 80 percent of the way towards firing Joe Philbin."

That's not all. According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Ross was seen after the game having conversations with special adviser Dan Marino; Ross was also seen at his helicopter with former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who flew with Ross back to the New York area.

Tannenbaum is also an agent for Priority Sports, a firm that represents coaches and broadcasters—or exactly the kind of contacts one would need when on a head coaching hunt. As Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com notes, "Tannenbaum represents at least three coaches who have been involved in recent searches elsewhere: Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson."

It would be irresponsible to assume that Ross and Tannenbaum discussed potential replacements for Philbin, but it would be naive to assume they ignored the subject completely. 

The Dolphins' patience with Philbin must really be wearing thin, considering the fact that these reports are getting out despite the Dolphins still technically being in the hunt for the playoffs.

If the Dolphins win their final two games and finish 9-7, it will be the third straight year of progress in three years under Philbin—he inherited a 6-10 team in 2011, and the Dolphins went 7-9 in 2012 and 8-8 in 2013. That being said, they've finished each year with only one more win than the previous year and have yet to make the progress that really matters with a trip to the playoffs.

Team	Current record	What needs to happen?
San Diego Chargers	8-6	Lose final 2 games
Baltimore Ravens	9-5	Lose final 2 games
Pittsburgh Steelers	9-5	Lose final 2 games
Houston Texans	7-7	Win Week 16, lose Week 17
Buffalo Bills	8-6	Lose 1 of final 2 games

They could still make the postseason but would need help from five teams: the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.

Barring a miracle, Ross has some hard decisions on his hands. Considering the consistency with which he makes those decisions, it would be hard to fault him for being tired of it. 

But, really, it's his own doing. Ross is not content to fully press the reset button, starting from scratch with a new head coach, a new general manager and a new direction. He wants to make the one change that will get his team over the hump—not all the changes that will build his team from the ground up. With a string of five, going on six seasons where his team has been at or close to .500, it's hard to blame him.

He basically admitted it last year, in introducing Dennis Hickey as the new general manager.

Year	Head coach	General manager	Record
2009	Tony Sparano	Jeff Ireland	7-9
2010	Tony Sparano	Jeff Ireland	7-9
2011	Tony Sparano/Todd Bowles	Jeff Ireland	6-10
2012	Joe Philbin	Jeff Ireland	7-9
2013	Joe Philbin	Jeff Ireland	8-8
2014	Joe Philbin	Dennis Hickey	7-7
2015	?	Dennis Hickey	?

"We were competitive," Ross said of the Dolphins' 8-8 finish in 2013, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. "There's such a fine line between winning and losing. You just don't start all over again. Talking to outsiders, we're not that far away. I have a lot of faith and confidence in Coach Philbin and his staff and the direction we're headed. So there was no reason to make wholesale changes."

The Dolphins aren't likely to make wholesale changes this year, either—just the change at head coach. This will allow Hickey to hire his own man, rather than be saddled with the guy the previous regime hired—even if that collaborative mind set was what brought Ross to hire him, anyway.

And on the surface, given the importance Ross placed on being able to work collaboratively with people already in place, it would seem like Ross would be committed to Philbin for the long term. 

"We spent a lot of time talking to [Hickey], getting his thoughts, kind of determining if he would have that compatibility with the coach—because to me, that was the most important thing," Ross said when announcing Hickey. "The reason we made the change [at general manager is because] we needed to have harmony within the organization. We had to think as one organization, where everybody has respect for each other and operates with the same mind set at all times." 

That should be the exact approach he and Hickey take to finding the next head coach.

Hopefully that way, Ross won't be back in this position three years down the line.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.

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