Dolphins' Mediocrity Could Continue with Vote of Confidence in Joe Philbin

The Miami Dolphins were four minutes and 35 seconds away from having every justifiable reason to fire head coach Joe Philbin. 

Down 35-28 to the Minnesota Vikings, with that much time remaining in the fourth quarter, quarterback Ryan Tannehill drove the Dolphins downfield for a quick touchdown, which was followed by an even quicker safety, and the Dolphins escaped with a 37-35 win. 

A loss would have guaranteed that the Dolphins would have failed to move above .500 under Philbin. A win didn't even guarantee that the Dolphins would make the playoffs. In fact, the Dolphins were eliminated from postseason contention with the victory, thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers' 20-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Despite three years of failing to make the playoffs, Philbin will get another shot. Owner Stephen Ross made no bones about that when he gave the media a "Christmas gift" with his answer on whether Philbin would be back for 2015: a resounding yes.

"It's frustrating that we didn't make the playoffs. I feel as bad as everybody," Ross said, via ESPN.com's James Walker. "But I think we're building something here, and I believe in the coach."

It looks like Philbin isn't the only one who's safe, according to Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post:

Headed into Sunday, the Dolphins were 22-24 over the past three seasons. Their .478 win percentage ranks 18th in the NFL in that time. 

Just last week, it seemed that Ross was looking in every direction for the necessary counsel he would need to find Philbin's replacement. According to Bleacher Report NFL insider Jason Cole, the Dolphins were about 80 percent of the way toward firing Philbin. Now, he is guaranteed to at least be riding out the last year of his contract.

That, however, is the hole in Mr. Ross' master plan: In the final year of his contract, Philbin will essentially be a lame-duck head coach. A vote of confidence for a second year with Philbin may not be anything more than a vote of confidence for a second year of general manager Dennis Hickey and executive Dawn Aponte—which was a given anyway.

Those two were brought in for their ability to get along with Philbin.

"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 as his general manager this past offseason.

"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 mindset at all times."

In some ways, perhaps Philbin's return in 2015 should have been seen as a given as well. After all, Ross was very supportive of Philbin in the fallout of the locker-room scandal involving Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito.

"I don't think there's a better person, a more respected person, a more caring person in the National Football League than Joe Philbin," Ross said after the events were reported. "I have total, utmost confidence in Joe Philbin as our coach."

If the Dolphins win next week against the New York Jets, they will have made progress in each year under Philbin by winning one more game than the year before.

Year	2012	2013	2014
Comp %	58.3	60.4	66.3
YPA	6.8	6.7	6.7
TD	12	24	22
INT	13	17	11
Rate	76.1	81.7	90.8

Tannehill has developed from a mediocre rookie season to a highly efficient third year that has shown he can be part of the solution and not the problem. 

But the Dolphins have failed to make the kind of progress that truly matters: postseason progress. 

The Dolphins last made the playoffs in 2008; since then, 24 other teams have made the postseason. Miami is a proud franchise hungry for playoff success. 

With that in mind, the 2015 season must be playoffs-or-bust for Philbin.

The president has a four-year term to make an impact on the entire country. If Philbin can't make an impact in that length of time on an NFL franchise, there's no reason he should remain as head coach of the Dolphins.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.

Follow @ErikFrenz