VRENTAS: Stephen Ross announced before last season ended that he would be bringing you back for 2015. Why do you think he had that confidence in you, even after three seasons without the playoffs?
PHILBIN: I think he believes in me as a person, as a coach. I think he believes in the things that I believe are important, the things I talked to him about when I got the job, why he hired me in the first place. He’s been very supportive of me. And I told Steve, “Look, I want you to bring me back not because you like me, but because you think I can win a championship here. This is not personal, this is business. Don’t bring me back unless you believe in me, and you want me to be here.” I only want to be coaching somewhere where somebody wants me. And I never asked him to—he actually told me well before he announced it, that he wanted me to come back. I never asked him for an extension. When I was in Green Bay, I think I got promoted three times, and I just kept working. Whoever I was working for came down to my office and asked me if I was interested in the job, so I said, “Yeah, sure.” I think your job should speak for itself. I was obviously delighted that he felt that way. Hopefully it will pay off.
VRENTAS: Ross announced publicly that you’d be back after a Week 16 victory over the Vikings at home. When did he tell you?
PHILBIN: I think it was right before we went to Denver [in Week 12]. He called me and told me. I was surprised, because I wasn’t even thinking about it. You’re in the middle of the season, and you’re not worried about it. Most of my career in colleges, I never had multiple-year contracts—you didn’t care about that stuff. I was really surprised. I said, “Wow,” and we talked, and we said we’d talk after the season and we’d figure something out and we’d go from there. [In March, the Dolphins gave Philbin a one-year contract extension through 2016].
Click to expand...