After witnessing years of struggle, it’s OK to fall in love with these Dolphins
You’ve been hurt so many times in this relationship you’re scared to open up your heart again.
You swore you wouldn’t let them hurt you anymore.
Anytime you’ve trusted a coach, put your faith in a general manager or become a fan of a player, here comes the same old Miami Dolphins to let you down — again.
Two decades in an unhealthy relationship will do that to anyone.
I know your pain. I know your hurt. But it doesn’t mean you have to give up on love.
It doesn’t mean you should expect the next coach to whisper coachspeak into your ear to eventually show his true self and evolve into an excuse-filled egomaniac.
You deserve to be happy, Dolphins fans. You deserve to live in the moment, bask in the puppy-love euphoria this fivegame winning streak and 6-3 record is providing.
You deserve a healthy relationship with your NFL franchise, not the mostly one-sided, negligent version the Dolphins offered coach after coach and general manager after general manager.
Maybe Chris Grier has learned from those other executives he watched lead you astray and has vowed not to make those same mistakes.
Maybe Brian Flores is different from those other coaches who took your commitment and respect for granted.
Maybe the Dolphins are finally ready to give you a healthy relationship.
Don’t you deserve this for your loyalty, patience and resiliency over the years?
Here is what makes this time
different: Bad teams have no identity, but the 2020 Dolphins are a physical interpretation of who Flores is.
They’re in your face.
They are disciplined.
They are fiery.
And most importantly, they are locked in.
The coach actually practices what he preaches, putting team above himself.
It’s also different becausewe can count on player development because we’ve seen it the past two seasons in youngsters such as Nik Needham and Zach Sieler.
It’s different because thegame plan this season has been unique for each opponent and is custom-fitted for Miami’s personnel. Andmost importantly, everyone takes pride in playing their role and generally minimizes their ego to do it.
This isn’t the same old Dolphins because nowa player’s talent and worth ethic— not his salary or draft status— determines how much he plays on game day. These traits have been consistent for 25 games now, and it’s worthy of admiration.
Last year I found it silly that some people were mentioning Flores, wholed the Dolphins to five wins in 2019, as a coach of the year candidate. Considering very little of what Flores and his staff were trying to do worked in 2019, I had no interest in giving that talent starved team any pity praise.
But itwas obvious the foundation for a disciplined, multifaceted teamwas being laid and a healthy culture was being cultivated. This year the Dolphins have managed to build on whatwas started in 2019, and the result is something about which South Florida can brag. It’s a teamwith which we shouldn’t be scared to fall in love.
These Dolphins aren’t a finished product. They still have plenty of issues to fix, but those shortcomings don’t stop them fromentering this Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos as one of the NFL’s hottest teams, a squad in possession of a postseason berth if the season ended today.
This year’s team possesses the toughness of Dave Wannstedt’s 2000 Dolphins. They have the discipline of Tony Sparano’s 2008 team and are as opportunistic as Adam Gase’s 2016 squad.
But more importantly, unlike those past seasons and coaches that delivered short-term success, Flores’ Dolphins are playing team football.
It is the holy grail of football, the mythological level of a team sport that’s usually only found in coach speak. But the Dolphins have delivered it victory after victory this season, and it is all a credit to Flores and his staff, which got remade this past offseason because of the firing and defections of eight assistants.
“I’m looking forward to what we can be,” offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said Tuesday. “Not what we are at this time.”
Dolphins fans, it’s time to let love bloom.