Miami Dolphins Take One Step Closer to Complete Housecleaning with MNF Loss

Black Monday is 20 days away, but, already, there's no one left for Dan Campbell to fire, unless he plans on firing himself.

The interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins has started the housecleaning process over the course of his two months in place, but he might not be the one who gets to finish the job. 

After the Dolphins' 31-24 loss to the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, the ouster for the rest of the staff is almost a given.

Sure, some could be spared, but there will be massive changes in the roster, the personnel department and even more changes in the coaching staff. Now, we watch the hours tick away on the Dolphins as we know them.

The Dolphins put up a fight on Monday night, which is more than they could say back in September, when their lack of effort was the primary reason behind their 1-3 start to the season before the firing of then-head coach Joe Philbin. They also exhibited many of the same problems we've seen from them on and off week after week. 

The Dolphins have shown they are capable of playing at a high level. They've also shown they just can't put it together week in and week out. That's the definition of inconsistent. 

Once again, the Dolphins got away from the running game in a close contest. Neither team ever had a lead of more than seven points; there was never any reason for the Dolphins to lean on quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Dolphins running back Lamar Miller had just 12 carries, but he picked up 89 yards (7.4 YPA) and two touchdowns.

Imagine the kind of damage he could have done if the Dolphins had committed to the running game—which Campbell has repeatedly iterated is his intention. 

It wasn't exactly foolish for the Dolphins coaches to think that the passing game could take advantage of the Giants secondary. Headed into Monday night's game, the Giants pass defense ranked dead-last in the NFL in both pass attempts and passing yards, and second-to-last in net yards per pass attempt. 

Tannehill certainly attempted a lot of passes, but with just 25 completions on 41 attempts for 236 yards and one touchdown, the Dolphins just weren't getting much value. His deep ball to Kenny Stills for a 47-yard touchdown was the Dolphins' highlight of the game, but it was one of just two explosive plays of 20 yards or more in the passing game for the Dolphins offense. 

He would have had more, were it not for a few painful drops by Damien Williams, Jarvis Landry and others, one of which (a deep ball by Tannehill that was slightly overthrown but hit Williams in the hands) would have probably resulted in a touchdown.

But don't blame Tannehill for the shortcomings of the team—at least not fully. He has been every bit as inconsistent as just about anyone else on the team. His skill position players aren't helping the matter, either, with painful drops like the ones that happened on Monday. 

Landry is a dominant slot receiver, but can he be the focal point of the offense? Wes Welker was once the focal point of the New England Patriots offense, but that was with Tom Brady at the helm, and even then, Welker had help from the likes of Randy Moss at wide receiver (2007-2010) and duo Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez at tight end (2010-2012).

But the defense might be the unit that's most deserving of scrutiny. 

For starters, how does Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. get that wide open on prime time? How do you just forget about him, after hearing questions about him all week? 

Giants quarterback Eli Manning hit Beckham on two passes that gained 45 and 84 yards. But Beckham was just one of many playmakers Manning found on Monday. In fact, he found nearly anyone he wanted. he completed 27 of his 31 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns. Manning's four incomplete passes on Monday are the lowest for any quarterback with 30 pass attempts or more this season. 

The Dolphins have problems at cornerback, linebacker, on the offensive line and they're soon to have a problem at running back with Lamar Miller's contract running up this offseason. There are so many holes on the roster, it can be hard to overcome on the field unless the quarterback play is consistently at a high level. 

That falls on the front office. The Dolphins have taken half-measures to change their infrastructure year after year; they'll fire a head coach and keep the general manager, or vice versa. Now's the time to blow it all up, but that's probably not what Stephen Ross is going to do. 

What's more likely to happen is that Mike Tannenbaum, the Dolphins vice president of football operations, would be moved to the general manager position with both Dennis Hickey and Dawn Aponte sent off. Aponte is in charge of contracts, but Tannenbaum is often known as a numbers guy for his ability to finesse the salary cap and add talented players on contracts backloaded with guaranteed money.

But Tannenbaum's track record has not been sterling, either. After all, his deals led to the Jets landing in cap jail following the 2012 season. 

Between the front office, the roster and the coaching staff, the Dolphins have plenty of changes ahead. Only 20 days and counting until the ball gets rolling, and the heads along with it.