10 Players and Coaches Beyond Tony Sparano That Miami Dolphins Should Boot

The firing of Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano was not surprising. He was on his way out even before the regular season began, when owner Stephen Ross tried to land former Stanford and current 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. To everyone's surprise, he gave Tony Sparano a one year extension on his contract to make it up to him, however, the fans, as well as Sparano, knew very well that if he was not successful this year, he would be packing his bags before the season was over.

After an 0-7 start, it was inevitable for Tony Sparano to leave and call this a lost season. It appeared that he still had his players playing hard for him, but he was not getting the desired results. The head coach is always the first one to go when a team is not playing up to its full potential, but is Tony Sparano the only one that should suffer the consequences after this year's season?

Here are 10 players that the Dolphins should part ways with to be able to move on to a better and brighter future.

Marc Colombo

This is an absolute no-brainer. Marc Colombo might be one of—if not the—worst right tackles in the whole league. He can't block anyone and it shows week in and week out. He gets bull rushed by big defenders and can't keep up with fast linebackers or defensive ends coming off the edge. The guy is always a liability, and is vulnerable to giving up multiple sacks in one game.

Since Tony Sparano became the head coach and Jeff Ireland became the general manager, the Dolphins have always been willing to sign any Cowboy player that is cut. Marc Colombo was cut for a reason, and the Dolphins have payed the price.

Colombo needs to stick to playing music with Leonard Davis and worry about recording an album, instead of blocking for the poor quarterback playing on his team.

Chris Clemons

Chris Clemons has been short of average since he has been with the Dolphins. He was drafted in the fifth round in 2009 out of Clemson, and has yet to prove that he can be a starter, or even a serviceable backup, in the NFL. He is a liability in coverage and gives up too many big passing plays. He hasn't blossomed into what the Dolphins expected, which is why they took Reshad Jones in the fifth round just a year later.

It is safe to say that neither of these players are likely to develop into elite-level safeties. Given the fact that Clemons is a year more experienced than Jones, I am willing to give up on Clemons and give Jones one more year to prove himself. I believe the Dolphins will, and should, draft a safety in the early rounds to give the secondary more stability.

Nolan Carroll

Mel Kiper Jr. said after the 2010 draft that Nolan Carrol was one of the steals in the draft. He had broken his leg in his senior year at Maryland, and missed almost the whole season. His draft stock dropped significantly and was chosen by the Dolphins in the fifth round. He has played on special teams most of the time, and when he has been thrown into the fire to play corner back, he has been constantly beat by big, small, tall, fast and slow receivers.

When Vontae Davis was hurt with a hamstring injury during the first few weeks of the season, Carrol was playing the secondary corner back spot alongside Sean Smith. Well, that obviously didn't work out. Caroll's most famous play was when he got tripped by a Jets coach while on a punt return. That should tell it all.

Will Allen

Will Allen was picked up by the Dolphins after the New York Giants opted to sign free agent Sam Madison instead of re-sign Allen. He has struggled with intercepting passes ever since he entered the league in 2001, and that was the main reason the Giants did not re-sign him.

While a member of the Dolphins, Allen has contributed very little and has spent most of his time on the sidelines with injuries.

He has failed to compete for a starting corner back spot with Vontae Davis and Sean Smith. Allen has recorded seven interceptions in his five years with the Dolphins. He was released by the Dolphins on September 3rd in order for the team to keep corner back Benny Sapp. He was then re-signed on September 14th after the Dolphins released Benny Sapp. It would not surprise me if the Dolphins decided to terminate Allen's contract again at the end of the season.

John Jerry

John Jerry has had a short history in the Dolphins organization. He was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft and the Dolphins hoped he would be able to anchor the inside of the offensive line for years to come. He has yet to develop into a starter or even a backup. His play has been abhorrent since he joined the team, and has failed to live up to expectations.

Jerry is another project that the Sparano-Ireland duo were hoping could stabilize the offensive line. The Dolphins have to part ways with Jerry, as he has been a failure and I'm sure the new head coach will not want him on this team.

Sean Smith

What is there to say about Sean Smith? Almost every Dolphins fan has been waiting for him to blossom into a shut down corner and compete at the same level as Vontae Davis. He may be one of the most inconsistent corner backs in the league, as he can play an outstanding first half, and come back in the second half and give up big play after big play. His size for a corner back is an advantage and when playing at his highest level, he can keep up with any wide receiver in the league.

Both the Dolphins, as well as Sean Smith, need a fresh start and next season should be the beginning of it. The Dolphins need a legitimate corner that can hold the other corner back spot and improve the secondary. The Dolphins are a free safety and corner back away from having a top three defense for years to come.

Chad Henne

Ah yes. The inevitable question of what the Dolphins will do with Chad Henne. He has been one of the most polarizing figures in this team the last three years, and continues to be a headline even though he has been hurt for most of the season.

He has frustrated, and times infuriated, Dolphins' fans and this offseason should be the end of it. Matt Moore has shown that he can manage the game better than Henne and can take the team further.

The Dolphins will most likely draft a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft this year. Whether it is Matt Barkley, Robert Griffin III or Landry Jones, the Dolphins will move on without Chad Henne, and keep Matt Moore as the starter or the backup next year. Henne will be an excellent backup in this league, but will have to do it in another uniform.

Brian Daboll

I'm not too comfortable putting Brian Daboll in this list. This is his first year with the organization and has not had an elite quarterback to run his offense through. He has finally figured out how to utilize his two running backs in Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas. He has been able to get Matt Moore into the best position to win games without having him perform at an elite level. What baffles me the most, and what intrigued me to add him to this list, is his play calling in the red zone.

Miami has scored an abysmal 46.67 percent of the time they have entered the red zone. That is down from last year's percentage of 52.94 percent. Who would have thought that things could have gotten worse than last year?

I am still willing to give Daboll a couple more years to get accustomed to this offense and a better head coach and starting quarterback. It will be interesting to see if the new head coach decides to keep him around.

Jeff Ireland

Jeff Ireland is not a player and he's not a coach, but he is one of the most important people the Dolphins have to look at when evaluating what has gone wrong the past three years. He has been the one mostly responsible for all the draft failures in recent years, and the overpaying of below-average free agents, mostly from the Cowboys.

I have no idea what Stephen Ross was thinking when he decided to fire Tony Sparano and keep Ireland around, it really makes no sense. This keeps the Dolphins from signing a high-profile head coach that wants to be a general manager and a head coach.

With the quality of quarterbacks coming out of college this year, let's see if Ireland decides to go with an offensive lineman in the first round this year.

Stephen Ross

How would the NFL work if owners were able to get fired? Stephen Ross has done a pitiful job since buying the franchise and has made it one of the laughing stocks in the league. To many, the Dolphins franchise is a joke and not even half of what it was back in its glory days. He is more worried about having high profile stars than winning a Super Bowl. He is willing to keep one of the main reasons for the Dolphins recent misfortunes, and fire a coach that all the players play hard for.

Ross wants to be a "Kraft" type owner and be present in all football aspects. However, he has no clue about how the game works and should just worry about his own business. Sell the team to an owner that actually cares about winning and retire with some dignity.