Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
There’s still a way to go, says Dave Hyde.
Fans should know success doesn’t always beget success
If you’re a Dolphins fan, you’re confident of one thing today:
Adam Gase can coach.
After that, there are two camps Dolphins fans have set in right now: Those who think this first season under Gase marks the elevator going straight up. And those who applaud this good year, but know the jump from first-time playoff participant to ordering Super Bowl rings is a daunting hurdle.
You have the true believers and the scarred hopefuls. For the record, I’m in the second group. And while the first group gets understandably carried away with the idea of the Dolphins becoming a contender next year and for the next 10 years, here’s something that might give that pause: The 2008 Dolphins. You remember them. After years of struggles, Bill Parcells inherited a 1-15 team and won the AFC East. Everyone shrugged when Baltimore ran them off the field in the playoffs. They had
Parcells. They had a coach (Tony Sparano was cheated out of Coach of the Year that season). They were on the way up.
You remember what happened in 2009. They collapsed. Parcells soon high-tailed it out of town. Sparano and General Manager Jeff Ireland split like an atom. The drafts underachieved. The Dolphins caromed between irrelevant and embarrassing until this season.
There are notable differences between the Dolphins of 2008 and 2016. Primarily, Gase has rehabilitated Ryan Tannehill to the point he’s a quarterback to build around. So you dismiss those 2008 comparisons, if you want.
Think of the 2005-06 Heat. They were champs. They had an ascending Dwyane Wade and the legends of Shaquille O’Neal and Pat Riley. But rather than be emboldened by that great run, veterans like O’Neal coasted off it.
You remember what happened in 2006-07. They collapsed. They were swept out of the playoffs’ first round by Chicago. That led to a rebuilding project for a few years. But maybe you don’t fear the Dolphins being bloated by success like that championship Heat team. They’re younger and hungrier, after all.
So take the 2015-16 Panthers. They set a franchise record for points. They won the Atlantic Division. They lost a hard-luck series in the first round to the New York Islanders. But they were young, talented and everyone said they were on the way up.
You see what’s happening to the Panthers halfway through this next season? They’re collapsing. Changes in the front office led to changes on the roster and, after a slow start, a coaching change. The title contender everyone foresaw hasn’t materialized. They’re closer to last place than the playoffs right now.
None of this has to befall the Dolphins coming up. They had several things go against them, from a slow start to a series of injuries. They still maximized this season by making the playoffs.
They also were run off the field by Baltimore, New England and Pittsburgh in the last month by an average 27 points. All AFC teams. So there’s work to be done. And it’s not Gase’s line of work now.
Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum and General Manager Chris Grier take the stage now. They need to do Gase-like work at finding players and making roster-building decisions.
That’s not breaking news. Everyone around the Dolphins sees a defense needing to be rebuilt, an offensive line that weakened as the year went on and a roster that’s too thin and fragile.
That’s not a slap at them. They’re just one year into this regime — one successful year, too. All the players talked about a lesson learned from the way they didn’t compete against Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
Here’s the real lesson: The 2008 Dolphins said the same thing after their magical season. They talked of coming back stronger. Everyone thought they were on their way.
But one year’s success does not guarantee the next year’s success in pro sports. South Florida is littered with examples. Let’s see if these Dolphins studied that lesson.