It's time for the official fire Jeff Ireland Thread. He's done more to hurt this organization than anyone else who has earned a "Fire _______ Thread." I welcome anyone who has similar thoughts to share them, and I also welcome his supporters to argue on his behalf.

I'm sure some will view this thread as a knee jerk reaction to yesterday's game and that's ok. Most of you know my feelings on Jeff Ireland and know that I've had them going back 3 seasons now.

I'm going to keep this "rant" free and just lay out the evidence as I see it as why Jeff Ireland's tenure as GM of the Miami Dolphins needs to be over at the end of this season, if not sooner.

Brandon Marshall and the WR position.

For Brandon Marshall's tenure as a Dolphin the only thing holding him back was poor QB play. Even with the poor QB play, he registered 2 very solid seasons for the Miami Dolphins. We paid 2 #2 picks to get him and jettisoned him for 2 3rd round picks. Many of us were initially angry with the trade. Too little value, too big a player. Then when the news came out of the off the field incident, many praised Ireland for getting some value for a troubled player. When the off the field incident was revealed to be overblown resulting in no suspension, we then thought Ireland must have a plan to replace Marshall. A Legadu Nanee and Chad Johnson fiasco later we realize there is no plan. Brandon Marshall is off to a real nice start in Chicago. That kind of ability and production would have benefited Tannehill greatly. Look at the playoff season Andy Dalton had last year. Does anyone think that happens without A.J. Green? Yesterday's game reinforces the notion that the WR position is as big an embarrassment as we all thought it would be.

And I'll just tack on lack of a play making tight end here with the WRs.

The secondary:

Another area that got weaker from last season to this season. And yet another position where we lost value on a player who made an impact playing his position. The first round pick turned into the now infamous "coupla picks" (2 and conditional 6). I have no idea how VD did for the Colts yesterday, so I won't speak to that. I do know how Richard Marshall did. He looked like a complete liability. Granted he was covering an all pro WR so I won't throw the guy completely under the bus yet. We struggled against Houston's passing attack with VD as well, even though that's when the defense was still sucking wind from the work stoppage shortened training camp. The safety position is still a complete disaster. The defense looked clueless at times and was clearly missing the presence and communication skills of Yeremiah Bell. Another glaring weakness crucial to success in today's NFL that has not been adequately addressed by the GM.

The Quarterback position:

No, I'm not going to claim Ryan Tannehill is a failed QB after 1 game. I thought he looked pretty good at times during yesterday's game. That side arm flick to Bess with pressure in his face impressed the hell out of me. I just want to mention a potential issue we may face at the position if Ireland is retained. Let's say Ryan Tannehill has the kind of season we saw from Chad Henne in 2009. Flashes of talent, some wins, and good reasons to be hopeful for the future but also some reasons for doubt: A TD ratio on the wrong side of 1, limited production, etc. Sure, he COULD be a franchise QB. Or he might not be. Let's also say we end up with a high enough draft pick to take one of the top 2 QBs in next year's draft. Would Ireland take the best 1 or 2 QBs in next year's draft if Tannehill was in a position to only maybe be a franchise QB? Probably not since Ireland is invested in Tannehill. Drafting another QB high would be admitting he's not sure about Tannehill, something his arrogance will not allow him to do, IMHO. A brand new GM won't care about how past picks were spent and is most likely to take the best QB available is there is any doubt whatsoever about Tannehill.

But again, this is just a hypothetical. Tannehill has plenty of time to prove himself definitively one way or another.

Next year's draft picks and the future:

Next year the Miami Dolphins will have a stockpile of draft picks. Do the Dolphins really want to trust them to a man who has done little to prove he is a capable GM up until this point? Or should Ross use those picks to lure in Ireland's potential replacement? It's been mentioned how appealing that many picks in a draft would be to a incoming GM.

Perception:

There is a growing perception that coaches and players don't want to work for or with Jeff Ireland. Perception becomes reality. Jeff has not been able to recruit and/or retain top free agent talent and has arguably played a role in failing to land 2 top coaching candidates. Jeff Fisher is probably a good miss. Jim Harbaugh is looking more and more like one of the absolute best coaches in the league. His free agency record speaks for itself. Legadu Nanee and Richard Marshall. I can point to past mistakes but then we get into the "Those are Bill Parcells fault!" stuff.

MomWhoreGate didn't do much for Ireland's perception around the league either and continues to be a running joke among fans of every team.

The sad reality:

The ideal time to fire Jeff Ireland would have been exactly when Tony Sparano was fired. Because he was retained, he may very well end up ruining Joe Philbin's career as a head coach. He's handed Philbin a roster full of holes at crucial positions. Philbin may have a hard time piecing together 3 wins with this roster. And if that's the case, a new GM might decide it's time for a new coach. The Dolphins will be starting over again. If 3 wins or less is the case, would Philbin deserve to go? It might be impossible to tell. Will it be poor coaching? Or strictly a lack of talent? Or both? For the record, I don't think Philbin coached a bad game yesterday. But since the house wasn't cleaned before Philbin arrived, his future may be linked to Ireland's and Miami may lose a coach who didn't deserve to go.

Overall:

I know many of you will continue to support and defend Jeff Ireland, and that's ok. I could be wrong. But one thing we can all agree on is that we want the Miami Dolphins to stop being an embarrassment on and off the football field. I don't think that happens so long as Jeff Ireland is the GM. I think this roster has entirely too many holes at crucial positions. Positions that we have been waiting for to be filled for too long. Jeff Ireland has arrogantly ignored these positions thinking he can get by with later round talent. He has become the unfortunate face of this franchise and the Dolphins will be judged by his actions until he's gone. Some say he deserves a chance without Bill Parcells. To that I say, IMO, he's an even bigger disaster without Parcells than he was with him. Stephen Ross retained the puppet GM of a failed regime. Arguably the worst component of that failed regime.

As far as who should replace him, I'm a big fan of Bill Polian even though I know many here think the demise of the Colts last season was evidence he's a worse GM than Ireland. That's debatable. I welcome anyone to discuss any other potential Ireland replacements for if and when he is fired.

In conclusion, I firmly believe Ireland needs to be replaced. I just hope Stephen Ross has the confidence to do so at the end of this season. As a businessman, he has to know that the guy managing the operations of his most public asset is not doing a very good job.

 

Thanks for proving you only read the title.

 

I think the talent levels of other NFL rosters is a pretty good baseline. I think at this point, maybe only the Browns have worse talent on their roster? Just my opinion.

 

Thanks for proving you clearly have no idea what the word "rant" means. Not everything you disagree with is a rant. Here, let me help -

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rant

 

No, it's not. Anything else?

 

I really hope not. I know it always ends up being a contentious issue. Does Jeff Ireland deserve an official "FIRE" thread. I think so. Dan Henning had one. I think Ireland has done more disservice to the Miami Dolphins than Henning, IMHO.

 

Nope, still not a rant. And last I checked, opinions are allowed in this forum.

 

I won't speak to why Moderators moved any other threads to the rant forum. I wouldn't know. Last I checked sharing opinions on this forum is allowed. I'm not ranting, put a lot of thought in the post, and consolidated all my thoughts, opinions, and views on Ireland's work into one central thread. What's wrong with that? I know you don't agree. But how about tell me why you don't agree with what I posted instead of quibbling over whether or not this is a rant?

 

Or the opposite could be true. He could make a bad move that he thinks might generate a few more wins to save his job if he thinks this season is headed down the tubes.

 

I believe the talent level displayed by this roster will consistently support the statements I've made here over the course of the season. That's why I'm starting this thread now. We can revisit after each game whether I'm right or wrong.