Joe Philbin's Handling of Ryan Tannehill May Be 1st Step in Losing Player Trust

Nobody's job is safe in the NFL. Every week, it seems, players are playing for their jobs and coaches are coaching for theirs. You can't blame any party for doing everything it takes to keep their job—because that ultimately means they are doing everything it takes to win.

That being said, what does Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin stand to gain from failing to fully support his starting quarterback when faced with questions as to whether Ryan Tannehill would remain the signal-caller? 

Not as much as he stands to lose.

"We are going to choose the 46 guys that we think can help us win the football game, and we are going to go from there," Philbin said earlier this week when asked about whether there would be a competition for the quarterback spot. "That's the starting point, and we are going to utilize the players the best way we feel fit."

Philbin may have been trying to get "cute" by misleading reporters, leaving doubt in the opponent's mind as to who would be the starting quarterback, but Philbin must know by now that the Dolphins' success this season will be determined by Tannehill's success. If Tannehill will remain the starter, Philbin just successfully accomplished what so many coaches and fans accuse reporters of doing: making a story out of a non-story.

As a result, he has created a distraction in the locker room.

"Obviously, it doesn't feel good," Tannehill said of Philbin's answers to questions about the quarterback position, via James Walker of ESPN. "It creates a bunch of stir [and] a bunch of distraction in the locker room—mostly from the outside coming in and guys having to deal with the distraction of it. So it's not a good feeling."

If Philbin was trying to be secretive about his quarterback in an effort to play mind games with his opponent, it seems his plan has backfired in the most ultimate way, as he has succeeded only in playing mind games with his own team. That is especially true now that word has gotten out that Tannehill will be starting on Sunday.

Make no mistake, Philbin would probably have delivered similar answers if asked about any player on the roster—not just the quarterback—but as we all know, the quarterback position is not like any other on the roster. It is the most important, the very position by which coaching staffs keep their jobs or begin looking for a new one.

That being said, the Dolphins may be looking for a new quarterback, head coach or both next offseason—depending on how the rest of the season goes. But right now, it doesn't look good.

Year	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rate	Sk
2012	282	484	58.30%	3294	6.8	12	13	76.1	35
2013	355	588	60.40%	3913	6.7	24	17	81.7	58
2014	70	124	56.50%	624	5	4	2	74.1	9

Tannehill has been far from perfect this year. In 2014, the Dolphins quarterback ranks 29th out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks in completion percentage, 32nd in yards per pass attempt and 29th in passer rating. Even when accounting for 11 drops by Dolphins receivers—second most in the NFL—stats website Pro Football Focus (subscription required) says Tannehill's 71.7 overall accuracy percentage ranks 26th out of 35 qualifying quarterbacks this season.

Tannehill hasn't been good, but benching him now is still a rash move. Tannehill showed progress in 2013, improving his numbers across the board from the year before, but it's beginning to look like he has regressed this season.

The Dolphins should give it some time. Backup quarterback Matt Moore doesn't bring the Dolphins any closer to a winning season or a Super Bowl. The Dolphins may as well ride things out with Tannehill for now and see if his performance improves—as well as the performance of his teammates.

While they should not make any immediate changes, they should certainly be thinking about his long-term future as the starting quarterback. 

Unless otherwise noted, quotes obtained via team news release and all stats obtained via Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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