I think thats certainly part of it. I think his salary has something to do with it as well. If he was making the minimum I think they put up with him.

 

Brandon seems like a cool guy but it was obvious he wore his emotions on his sleeve. I could see how his antics would affect a young QB. Chad on the other hand seems more egotistical but is really one of the calmest, coolest customers around. The distractions present in Ocho's personal life are far more manageable than Brandon's.

Chad will bring the positivity no doubt.

 

Philbin's never coached Brandon Marshall and he's generally made it a point to say that. People keep asking him about why he ditched Marshall and the sense I keep getting from him is that he's at a loss to answer that because he doesn't really why himself and it was more a Jeff Ireland call. He always answers the question by saying what he looks for in his players and then says but I have never coached Brandon Marshall ever so I'm in no position to say whether he brings that to the table or not. I think when Philbin talks about what he expects from Chad Johnson, he's actually revealing his own perception of Chad and telling him what he wants him to not do while he's in a Miami uniform.

 

Dumping Marshal came right from the top, not from Philbin. Personally, I do not miss the punk at all. Let the bears kiss his rear end now. The man definately thinks he is on a higher plain in life then any other human being.

 

Fairly strong possibility.

But not a sure thing, either. When Joe Philbin came in here he was asked a few times what kind of player he appreciates and he said the player that I tend to do best with are the ones that are strongly driven to genuinely want to get better. I don't know if that was just a BS answer, seemed like there might have been some morsel of truth in there. Thing is, there aren't many Dolphins that have worn the uniform while I've been tracking them that I can think of that are more driven, or even as driven, as Brandon Marshall. He doesn't just want to be a Pro Bowler. He doesn't just want to be a Hall of Famer. He wants to be the best receiver to ever play the game. And he works like it. He had a disappointing year in 2010 by his standards so he goes through a bunch of speed training before the 2011 season, increase his yards per catch significantly. Even the Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis was him proactively going out there and trying to train on something and get better.

In a sense, Joe Philbin is saying he doesn't like guys that are up and down, and so he should hate Brandon Marshall (I guess we're assuming Marshall is one of those up and down players but that seems a safe assumption). But in another sense, he loves players that are genuinely driven to get better, and points out he does the best with that kind of player, and so he should love Brandon Marshall.

There's nothing easy about that one. I think in the end Jeff Ireland made the call to get rid of the guy and Joe Philbin has seemed (almost disturbingly, at times) very "You're the boss, whatever you say" when it comes to Jeff Ireland and the personnel side of things.

Only reason I say that's a little disturbing is, and maybe he was totally full of sh-t, but Dan Henning had what I thought was some good insight into what makes good head coaches...and he said a big part of it is their willingness to be selfish and demanding about getting exactly what they want and need for their team. He felt he as a head hoach was too laid back. Maybe Henning is wrong but if you look at his career he's been around some pretty great head coaches (Bill Parcells, Joe Gibbs, maybe you toss John Fox in there) and he's been around some bad Head Coaches, himself included. There've been a few times I get a little off-putting feel from how emphatically deferential Joe Philbin is with respect to Jeff Ireland and the personnel side of the business.

Good head coaches aren't always good humans, and in fact there may be some mutual exclusivity there on a general trend basis.

 

Well, I can see where, if the perception of Philbin is one of complacency, then being bothered certainly is acceptable.

But this is his first year. Granted, the guy went through a bunch in the off-season (from the playoffs, to his son, to interviewing for his first head coaching gig, then getting it...moving fam, etc., etc.), and I think establishing a solid foundation with the guy you would be working with in your first draft is good for the team. He is working within the confines of what seems comfortable for him. Now, this is not to say that in year two, he will not have more say into what he wants as far as personnel, but I think Ireland (if here), will be more apt to listening to Philbin given the history. I am just curious, because I really do not know....when a coach is hired, is he responsible for bringing in the staff he wants, or is it a combined effort?

I think I will wait and see and revisit. I mean, maybe he had some say into some of the guys drafted, and they just happened to be on target with Ireland's board? I just really think that it might be a tad premature to make those presumptions. You may be onto something, though.....