It was going to happen after Sunday night, we just didn’t know exactly when. After starting 1-3 and making no strides to improve, the Miami Dolphins fired head coach Joe Philbin Monday.
Philbin was 24-28 as the Dolphins head coach since 2012.
The Dolphins have fired Joe Philbin. He was 24-28 since taking over as head coach in 2012.
(ESPN/Media Reports) pic.twitter.com/LCOeSuTxif— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 5, 2015
“This was a tough decision for me to make knowing how tirelessly Joe worked in his four years here to make this a winning team,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. “He is a man of the highest character and integrity that I developed a close personal relationship with. I am extremely disappointed with how we have started the season, but I feel confident that we can improve quickly with the talent we have on our roster.”
Philbin will be replaced for the rest of the season by Dolphins tight end coach Dan Campbell. Campbell played 10 years as a tight end in the NFL and has been the tight ends coach for the Dolphins for the last four seasons.
Five years ago he was a coaching intern. Who is likely Dolphins interim coach Dan Campbell? http://t.co/0b3wG0mmSw pic.twitter.com/iccu58wG4o
— USA TODAY NFL (@usatodaynfl) October 5, 2015
Philbin was the first head coach to fired and if you’ve been following here since the preseason, you know that’s exactly what I predicted. What I didn’t expect was for it to happen this soon, as firing a coach after the first month of the season is more of an Oakland Raiders kind of thing.
Philbin is the 5th head coach fired 4 games or earlier into a season since 1989 (via @EliasSports) https://t.co/wEQrycOq8t
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 5, 2015
“I want to thank Steve Ross for allowing me the privilege to serve as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins,” Philbin said in a statement. “This is a tremendous organization from the top to bottom that has a talented and dedicated staff.”
Lots of reaction coming in about Philbin's firing. @taddschwartz, prez of Miami's Schwartz Media Strategies: pic.twitter.com/x38CTwdZA0
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 5, 2015
Philbin will likely land on his feet, but has probably been a head coach for the one and only time in his career. With Tom Clements rising up the ranks as a potential head coach as offensive coordinator with the Green Bay Packers, it’s entirely possible Philbin’s old job with Green Bay will open up in early February.
While I predicted Philbin would get the ax for terribly coaching the Dolphins, others predicted a postseason run for the ‘Phins. A Harvard study actually predicted that Miami would win the Super Bowl, in case you haven’t heard the last 5,000 times I brought it up. Considering these will be the same people that run our economy in a few years, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that we set a new all-time record for people out of the work force and some of the worst growth we’ve had since the Great Depression.
There’s probably no chance Campbell remains the Dolphins coach after the season unless they go on some kind of historic Cinderella-type run here in the final 12 games. So who will get to fill the first open job of the season? One that, to me, looks like a pretty cushy job with a roster that’s ready to win.
The best guy to take over for Philbin isn’t Clements, who I don’t think would take the job anyway. I think it’s Greg Roman, current offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills and former OC of the San Francisco 49ers. If you look at what Roman has done with Tyrod Taylor, and what he was become of 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick without him, to me Roman’s hiring in Miami becomes a no-brainer.
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is talented, but still raw, and Roman excels and not only developing that kind of quarterback, but maxing out his abilities. An aggressive, up-and-coming defensive coordinator like Packers linebackers coach Kevin Greene would be a natural fit on that side. The Dolphins immediately become a different, and dangerous team.
Tannenbaum: Had good conversations with Coach Philbin. Decision was made Monday morning.
— Alain Poupart (@PoupartNFL) October 5, 2015
The word out is that defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle may not last the week himself. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor should be able to find a job in the league, but he’s more of a Mike Martz kind of guy. He needs to go to a place where he’s got good assistant support for developing players and already has a nucleus of pro players who know what they’re doing. By passing up both these guys for Campbell as the interim head coach, the message that they’re on the outs in Miami is clear.
With Philbin gone, all the other hot-seat coaches move up a spot. Currently holding down the top seed in my firing bracket, Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell.
