OK, I'll play.............

Do you not think...........Ross knows his limitations of football knowledge and WANTS someone to take the whole thing over? I thought that is what was 'said'. (since I didn't hear it out of his mouth, I really don't know). I can see it happening here, or not.
Ross can keep ultimate authority, but he might be good with the CZAR running things by him before acting, on things like hiring/ firing, etc. so he stays informed.
Just a thought.

 

It is a myth, but would you rather have your GM (a football mind) hiring or firing your coach, or your owner (a business mind)? It should be a joint decision, but the GM's opinion should be a dominant factor IMO.

 

Amen.

 

Ross isn't a bad owner. Most criticism revolvee around his not firing Ireland...he made an informed decision and did it. Why do we hate him now again?

 

I know that when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants to hire or fire a coach, he doesn't have to consult with GM Jerry Jones.

 

speculation. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the two of them don't have a conversation in front of the mirror.

 

Preach

 

Bring in a good GM that knows what Philbin wants/needs to be succesful and go from there. Perfect example.....The Panthers this year. Brought in Dave Gettlemen from NYG keeping "lame duck" coach River, 3rd year QB with questions (Newton)......what do you know? They are 2 seed in the NFC and hosting a playoff game sunday after a bye week. The cap situation the Panthers were/are in after Marty Hurney was suicidal also.....Gettleman came in, traded Beason, cut some fat and made it work.

Same can happen here. (With a better cap situation)

 

No it's because they signed Ted Ginn Jr.

 

Bingo. You read between the lines of my post, congrats!

 

Ross is a newer owner. But, the man didn't become a multi billionaire, by being stupid. Hes an extremely savy business man. He is also, IMO, beginning to develop a much better reputation. When his loyalty looked like a weak backbone, once if parted ways with Ireland, it now looks like an asset. GM's know he isnt going to just do things spontaneously. He also has exhibited that he genuinely cares about this team. He reached out to people who are highly regarded in our franchise, in our sport, and in the business world to decide on what to do about the state of our franchise.

Now...hes made some big moves here. But he has to finish the deal. He has to get the best person available to oversee the direction of this franchise. He cant be bound by loyalty in order to do this. He cant have caveats in place. He has to seek out the advice from those that know...and go and get this person. So far...things look and sound promising.

 

I don't think you have to have your GM hire his own head coach but I certainly think the relationship between the two is central to the success of the franchise, and it helps if both men come in at the same time or hold some kind of bond with one another (which can be one guy having personally hired the other).

 

You would think this to be the case.

Now...Coaches are hired based on...their particular expertise. Philbin was an offensive coach, who had been part of developing Aaron Rogers. Does anyone ever look at GM's based on specific expertise?

 

I don't know about that. But I do think the two should resonate with one another and I think it was fairly clear from the start even just watching Hard Knocks and seeing some of the drafting that the two didn't really resonate.

For example you'd have Jeff Ireland talking about how you can't find the kind of athletic numbers that the "as uusssge" guy has just walking in off the street...but on the other hand, Joe Philbin doesn't care about that. He wants guys he can look at and come away believing are fundamentally sound, good football players. This is why they butted heads on Clyde Gates as well. Probably Michael Egnew.

I think Jeff Ireland is an athleticism numbers guy and Joe Philbin doesn't care as much about that. I think the bond they both initially shared was a commitment to high character, but I think Jeff tends to relax that commitment in exchange for certain things whereas Philbin tends to be unyielding.

 

Probably true. But id rather my GM hire the coach rather then the owner. And while Ross isn't an idiot, the GM is certain to have a ton more football knowledge.

 

That is a good point.

But then, who hires the GM?

 

I think there are traditional type organizational setups in the NFL that the GM does have the authority to hire/fire coaches...(GB, for example). That doesn't mean that the GM doesn't 'report' to someone, be that the owner, stockholders, Football czar types, whatever. I think that most any move made involving the HC is a corroberation between all the principles. If the owner doesn't want a guy fired, then he isn't going to be fired... In my work, I am the manager of the various operations. The operations managers in my charge can be fired by me, but that doesn't mean that my boss doesn't have a say and certainly doesn't mean that I can fire one of my subordinates without it going thru him first. The same is for the GM. That's how GMs get fired... The root of our problems may or may not have been Ireland, but the result was that he was let go due to those problems.

As to hiring his own HC, that is a contractural issue. But that too, can be affected by the owner. We saw that happen with Philbin. He has control over his coaching staff. The owner wanted a 'name' of someone responsible for our dilemma, Philbin gave that name and had to let Sherman go. It's the same in many businesses with the titles a bit different, but bottom line, is we ALL have someone to report to, even the owner...

 

Ill play opposites here. I can see where a GM hiring his own coach would be beneficial. But it also COULD set us back. What if he brings in a 3-4 guy, or a run heavy guy.....or a more relaxed guy.....then there may be more reshuffling of talent, different draft scenarios etc.

Where as, the gm can come in now, hear out Philbin, see where he wants to go, and build off what we already have. We are close. This isnt some **** hole team stuck in cap hell with no players. Any GM worth his salt should be able to come into Miami and get us into a legit contender in 2014. Period.

 

And all of our draft picks, cap money, a desirable location, no state taxes......its a ****ing dream.

 

That's a FIVE position unit you're talking about. I don't think you can marginalize it like it ain't no thang.

I don't think the Dolphins are affecting real change and I do believe that's going to cost us in 2014 because I don't think we're nearly as close as you think and I think the Buffalo and New York games showed us that (less you forget, outscored 39-7 during the most important time of the season against "inferior" opponents).

But I absolutely would like to see Tom Gamble brought on board. I just wouldn't necessarily be excited about the Dolphins' playoff prospects until he's able to lead a search and bring in a new head coach next year.

 

Agreed. This team is clearly in a much better position than it was when Parcells left.

 

Five position unit with one spot taken for sure. So 4 for arguments sake.

There are usually some servicable guards available. My main concern is the tackle position. LT specifically.

 

You had me at hello.

 

The Vice President of Football Operations?

 

A real good prospect GM doesn't care who the coach is, he will improve the talent of the roster regardless because he believes in his skills as an evaluator, especially if it's a sh&$ or get off the pot situation for the coach he inherits.

Come in, find out what this particular coach wants, and go to work, if the players don't respond to the coach under those lame duck situations, then allow the GM to do his search with his big picture philosophy in mind.

 

Which is precisely how this is being laid out IMO. Like I said, Philbin being here makes this job MORE attractive right now. He has a solid enough reputation that he deserves a shot but if he fails next year, as a GM, he's a get out of jail free card for you.

 

So your vision is to go 9-7 next year?

We need to aim at winning the division. So we should be aiming at winning 3 more games.

 

You're looking at this in a one year glass. I want more than winning the division next year. We won the division in 2008, how'd that go? We have a young team, with lots of good pieces......Tom Brady next year is another year closer to 40. We need to continue building and win the division for MULTIPLE years. Not just next year.

 

I think that if you find a couple of Ts in FA (and we have the cap room to do that) you're basically set. Gs can be manufactured, I actually see Breuner as a nice fit scheme wise. You can find another G on the cheap in FA or even later in the draft (although I think this coaching staff has been hesitant to play young guys. Obviously that could change with a new OC and possibly OL coach). I'd like to upgrade Daniel Thomas, but think Miller is good enough as a platoon guy if the play calling improves. I'd add a TE to pair with Clay and I wouldn't mind an upgrade to Thigpen. I don't see any of those positions requiring high value resources although I'd be tempted to take the talent at TE or WR if one fell to us. I don't see the D as bad off talent wise. I'd like to improve the depth at LB. Actually I'd probably prefer more of a 3-4 look with Jordan, Ellerbe, Wheeler and more instinctive MLB type inside next to Ellerbe. I think Ellerbe fits scheme that better.

 

If Philbin spent less time fighting Ireland and more time fighting Sherman maybe they'd both still have jobs.

 

Well I agree obviously. But I think we can agree we should of been a 10-6 team last year. So someone wanting to just improve one game makes no sense to me.

If we go 9-7 and make the playoffs with a first round exit, I'll be highly disappointed.

 

This is a year we can probably get a LT in free agency. Either Albert or Monroe. Also, sign a free agent guard. Then draft a guard and tackle in the first and third or 4th. That is close to what the Bears did last off season and it worked pretty well for them.

 

Agreed.

But if we're so close then why all the angst, the firings, the rejoicing at the firings, etc.?

 

People always want somebody to blame. And they can't tell the difference between being close, but having no QB and being close with a QB. To many people it all sounds the same. Reality is that we have more key positions filled with talent than we've had in a decade.