Miami Dolphins: An Uncertain Future for an Unstable Team

It could be said that the Miami Dolphins since the date of January 15, 2000 might have become one of the NFL’s most snake-bitten franchises. This date of course was when Dolphin fans most beloved quarterback stepped onto a football field for the last time in their aqua and white jersey.

The game did not go as well as many fans probably remember. It ended in a 62 to 7 massacre and ended the Dan Marino era. Ever since that date, the Dolphins have only competed in three playoff games and only won one of them. There have been many ups and downs, so to say more downs, since the post-Marino era.

However, some of these ups include having a consistent top-five defense in the early 2000s and having a Defensive Player of the Year on the team, Jason Taylor. Though the team had a stellar defense, the offense noticeably lacked.

Now, the team had a tremendous opportunity to improve themselves in 2005 but passed up on signing free agent quarterback, at the time, Drew Brees. We all know what Brees went on to do with the Saints so there is no point in going there to anger more Dolphin fans.

So here we are: three head coaches later, four if you include interim Jim Bates, one playoff win in the past decade, a near winless record in 2007, and 15 different starting quarterbacks since January 15, 2000. Not exactly the brightest of resumes for a franchise to have posted in the past decade.

However, just when you thought things would turn from worse to worst, the Dolphins slowly have started to turn it around when Bill Parcells was brought in to become the architect of this franchise in 2007. He brought in several of his Dallas comrades, players included, to rebuild. He even drafted seemingly a franchise quarterback for the future, Chad Henne.

The team started slow, once again, in 2007 to an 0-2 record and Dolphins fans had seen this show one too many times. Then, something changed on September 21, 2008 that made everyone a believer again. Something was unleashed no one had really seen in the past 50 years, the wildcat. The wildcat alone defeated the Patriots 38-13 that day and made the franchise relevant again in many fans eyes.

That day, Dolphin fans across the Country also got their long awaited revenge against their arch rivals, the New England Patriots, a team which had gone on to win three Super Bowls that decade, while we were struggling to even sneak into a wildcard spot.  

Another rare thing did occur for the Dolphins that year, aside from the wildcat, it was a playoff berth, that’s right I’m talking playoffs! Though the team was defeated by Baltimore, fans felt much better after that game than on January 15. There was hope that this team was finally heading in the right direction, but were we wrong?

It would seem like it because here we are again, in the 2010 season, back where we left off. The team is if anything a .500 team. Another quarterback controversy is stemming as people believe Henne cannot get the job done, we are without our savior, Bill Parcells, who has openly admitted on being ready to move on, and now there are fans who are calling for the head of Tony Sparano. This all sounds very familiar.

Head coaches not getting the job done, saviors are brought in who have abandoned us, and quarterbacks who, well, are not Dan Marino. To make my point short, I don’t know what the future holds in store for this team. The Dolphins for the past decade have been consistent in only one field, inconsistency. Fans are upset and so am I.

We want to return to the glory days of the '70s and '80s. We want hall of famers on our beloved team once again left and right. We want coaches who can take us to Super Bowls and maybe lead us to perfect seasons. We want explosive offenses and dominating defenses but together in the same decade. Can this realistically happen overnight?

Probably not, but a decade has come and gone and this team has accomplished close to nothing. I don’t know if the playoffs will come again and if our prayers of becoming once again one of the NFL’s most respected franchises will ever be answered. Only time will tell. It won’t be easy but patience is a virtue. A wise man once said: “It is always darkest before the dawn,” so try and hang in there, Dolphin fans. I know I will.