Hyde: Show Parker the door
Dolphins needs to be serious about culture reset.
So DeVante Parker’s agent is upset about his client being inactive? He rants about Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase’s “incompetence?” He charges Gase is “not telling the truth” about Parker’s health? He even attempts to channel Shakespeare by saying, “Something smells in Miami?”
Fine. Tell him to quit holding his nose. Say you’re releasing his client and you hope the door doesn’t hit either of them on the way out.
If the Dolphins are serious about this culture re-set, you don’t let the agent of the biggest disappointment on the roster to label your coach as an incompetent (and malodorous) liar.
You tell that player and agent to have a nice day – only have it somewhere outside of sunny, South Florida.
The only way that would have changed is if Parker came out and called his agent incompetent. Parker said Monday evening Gould didn’t speak for him. But he said he’s not changing agents and is frustrated by not playing. The last part, you get.
But this is a bad look for everyone, including Shakespeare.
Let’s start here: Gould seems to have a point on first glance. It did look odd for Gase to keep Parker inactive and enter Sunday’s loss to Detroit with only four receivers. It was a strange move to make running back Kalen Ballage active for special teams (and three offensive plays) rather than your would-be No. 1 receiver.
But that move tells you what Gase thinks of Parker. And, well, who can really argue? If Parker isn’t hurt off the field, he’s disappointing on it. He played all of four plays the previous Sunday against Chicago — and on the only pass thrown his way, he didn’t make a play on the ball that was intercepted.
Some receivers lead the league in touchdowns. Parker must lead it in passes thrown to him that are intercepted.
So follow through with your belief. Release him.
Some will suggest going the mamby-pamby route of keeping Parker out of necessity due to Sunday’s injuries to receivers Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills and Thursday’s game at Houston.
And you get that. By Sunday’s end, the Dolphins had two healthy receivers. Danny Amendola and Jakeem Grant are talented, but niche players. That caused all sorts of problems.
“We had to get creative in the fourth quarter, let’s just put it like that,’’ quarterback Brock Osweiler said. “There was a lot of, in the huddle, rather than calling plays, you would just point at a guy and say, ‘You line up in the slot, you run this route, you run this route.’ There was a little backyard football to it.”
Now comes a quick turnaround to Houston on Thursday night. The Dolphins need a receiver or three. And three are on their practice squad. Bring a couple of them up. None of them have the surface talent of Parker, but then again how often do you actually see that talent put to use? Do you really expect to Thursday?
In three-plus seasons, Parker has eight touchdowns while occupying the top receiver’s spot. That’s not much to miss, really. It’s certainly not worth bending your principles over.
The only fear in releasing Parker would be a that’s-so-Dolphins boomerang effect. Parker could sign with the Jets or Bills, both of whom are desperate for receivers, and return to haunt the Dolphins this season. Which, let’s face it, could happen if you follow this franchise’s arc of despair this millennium.
But when has Parker haunted anyone, except the Dolphins’ front office for drafting him? He’s not going to be re-signed after this season. His health is a constant question. He missed the start of the season with a broken finger, then missed more time with a quadriceps injury before playing against the Bears.
“He’s not completely healthy yet but we’re still working through some things,’’ Gase said after Sunday’s game.
It was before Sunday’s game that Gould first went off to The Palm Beach Post with the kind of furnace blast agents never do. Can you imagine an agent charging New England coach Bill Belichick for “incompetence,” for benching a player who doesn’t produce?
You can say the Dolphins need Parker on Thursday. You can say the injuries put them in a bad spot. You can say Parker will be motivated like never before. But the quick answer is they’ve needed him for more than three years and he’s only produced in rare flashes.
And it’s the coach labeled with, “incompetence?”