If not Harbaugh, then who?

I'd also love Harbaugh. But he's the only established coach that has been or might get fired I'd want. I'm OK with rolling the dice again on an OC or DC if Harbaugh doesn't work out. Particularly interesting is Jesse Minter. Chargers' defense was bottom third of the league years on end and then he comes in and they finished #1 and #9 in points allowed in 2024 and 2025.

I also doubt Tomlin will be fired. The guy has a stellar record and produces a consistent winner. He's just been bad in the playoffs lately.

 

Saban was a NFL rookie too. He's part of that mix of failure. It doesn't matter how much you coach at college. Guy was a loser in the NFL.

There have been rumors today that Packers coach LaFleur could be let go if they lose Saturday. He would immediately jump to number one for me. Maybe the most appealing coach available since Andy Reid if that were the case. 17 years younger than Harbaugh, and almost certainly more suited for the slow, patient teardown and rebuild that Miami needs.

 

I have trouble believing Lefleur would be let go.. i know they had some preseason expectations but come on… if hes responsible for Jordan Love’s extension then i understand. I know Mcdaniels is responsible for Tua’s with the way he talked him up

 

The simple fact is that if you are looking for your next Don Shula the best way if finding him is by rolling the dice on a DC or OC. NFL tampering rules basically prevent teams acquiring a HC in the manner the Robbies acquired Shula back in the day.

A retread HC turning the franchise around has happened, such as with Andy Reid and Tony Dungy. However those opportunities occur far less often than finding the diamond in the rough.

Don't get me wrong I'm all for hiring Harbaugh, but if we fail I'd rather roll the dice an a co-ordinator than some mid of the road re-tread who will give us a few years worth of mediocrity.

So if not Harbaugh, Chris Shula

 

My understanding of the Don Shula to the ‘phins is:
It was a transfer from the NFL to the AFL when they were different organizations and Don Shula was promoted from HC to GM/HC plus 5% ownership stake. The Colt’s GM at the time didn’t file anti-tampering because it was a promotion they couldn’t/wouldn’t match, but the Colt’s owner whined to the commissioner and the commissioner imposed a fine even though it wasn’t technically tampering.

 

Stefanski or Shula

 

They can't hire a Shula. It would be just too much pressure. If he fails, it would be terrible for him and the team. That's a big legacy to live up to. It's also too Oedipal. lol

 

Better not be Raheem Morris...guy is worse than McDaniel

 

I'm not sure that's true at all. While not all HCs that were successful in their first stop were successful at their second, I think most who were legitimately successful in their first have generally had pretty good success at their second. Shula is an example, as is Parcells, Holmgren, Reeves, Reid, Dungy, etc. Belichick and Shanahan weren't very successful in their first stops, but were in their second ones. I think the success rate of the "hot coordinator" is far less than the success rate of good, experienced HCs.

 

I no longer think that Harbaugh is coming to Miami. I do not think you become the GM of a team and then go and hire someone that you have no working relationship with as your HC. I think that Hafley and Campanile are real possibilities with McCarthy and LeFluer as other distinct possibilities.

 

Harbaugh's not coming here. He listed 4 non-negotiable demands: 1) $20 million per year, 2) $10 million budget for coaching staff, 3) complete authority over roster, and 4) freedom to choose own general manager.

So he's not coming here.

 

I don't think he's coming either.

But....

Do you think any team is giving him that?

 

He's earning 17 mil per year now, and having full control kind of comes with the territory for someone like that, so he might get it. Still many teams interested.

 

Bill Bellichick couldn't even get full control of the team.

 

Belichick had final say on all football matters during most of his time in NE.

 

I like Chris Shula, but it'll never happen here.

 

To me the Gm is more important the coach anyway.You have the best coach in the league but if he doesn't have the right players for his system it will never work.
Heard great things about this Gm so will trust whoever he picks.

 

Great players and prospects without a coach that can develop them and motivate them properly, find the right assistant coaches, design offensive and defense systems, and game plan, will lead to a mediocre team. Hard to say who is more influential in the end (assuming the roles are strictly demarcated), but it's clear they're both important.

 

True but still going to trust the GM and apparently Aikman is still helping to find the right coach.
I just meaning not getting Harbaugh is not the end of the world

 

We should give it to him. Hell of a time for Ross to get stingy all of a sudden. Guess we wasted too much money on Tua.

 

Ross has never been stingy (with the Dolphins), so it has to be something else. Maybe he wants a GM in place now rather than waiting on Harbaugh. Or maybe Sullivan was really convincing in his interview. Maybe Aikman isn't as high on Harbaugh? There's also the intriguing possibility of Ross having talked to Harbaugh behind the scenes to gauge whether he would accept Sullivan as GM. It's the only thing that potentially keeps the Harbaugh possibility alive. Not sure what the reason is, but it's likely not stinginess.

 

Its probably not a true story anyway. Kind of seems unlikely he is demanding these teams fire their GM.

 

Tony Grossi of ESPN first reported it citing a "league insider", although he does say the league insider is "speculating":

 

Well if you were hoping for a game that could lead to LaFleur getting fired it might have happened

 

Why Shula, apart from the obvious connection?

Genuine question, I know little to nothing about him.

 

Yup. Went about as well as it could have. Now we sit and hope.

 

Wouldn't mind LeFleur. He likely beings some good coaches with him. Packers have always been hit with the injury bug so that warrants attention.

Ha, injury but. Bug

 

I wouldn't mind him either, but over the last 4 years with a presumably superior FO and QB, LaFleur has gone 37-30-1 compared to McDaniel's 35-33 here. Do you think LaFleur would have done better here over that time? Do you think McDaniel would have done worse in GB?

 

I'm not a big fan of Love. But his WR core, with the injuries, probably held him back.

I think LaFleur teams are always in it. Rarely look outmatched. Which is more indicative of a coaches ability. Similar to Harbaugh teams.

 

I love the Packers WR group myself. Not so much Golden, but Dobbs and Watson are both guys I'd love the Fins to have, and Reed has a lot of potential too.

 

They always seem to have injuries. All of them

 

He feels like a high floor guy - we know he's a solid coach and has had real success and serious experience. He will probably make us better, but his teams do seem to come up short pretty consistently. Someone else mentioned his teams also seem to suffer a lot of key injuries as well. Again, hard to tell if that's something HE is doing (practicing to hard?), an org thing (drafting injury prone guys?) or just bad luck.

If I had to rank them at this point, I think my preference would be:

1) Harbaugh 2) LaFleur 3) Stefanski 4) Kubiak - not really any bold takes. Not a huge fan of defensive head coaches as the league prioritizes offense and will be far more likely to snatch a good OC away from a defensive team than a good DC from an offensive team.

 

Per adam schefter, packers are working on an extension for lafleur. Lafleur is staying in Green Bay

 

Since they won the Superbowl, until Chris took the D coordinator position, the Rams finished 21st, 19th, 17th in points allowed. In Chris's first year they finished 10th without really investing in the D side of the roster. He was asked to interview for 2 other HC positions besides Miami. He has one season as a NFL coordinator. He is very inexperienced, but the potential is there, and it's not just the Dolphins checking. It looks like he will get a job in the next couple of years, and if they feel he is the man at all, a Shula as HC is kismet.

 

His name has been bounced around for a potential HC gig for several seasons now. Wasn't he mentioned (at least in passing) when we hired McDaniel?

 

Mentioned by who? Bounced around by who? Dolphin message board users? He would have been a linebacker coach with no NFL coordinator experience in 2022 when Mike was hired.