Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Downfall of a Dolphins coach
Team reels after video of Foerster snorting powder
DAVIE — A video of Chris Foerster snorting a white, powdery substance has cost the Miami Dolphins offensive line coach his job and brought more embarrassment to a team that has been in the national headlines for odd reasons this season.
The video, which a source told the Sun Sentinel was taken in the Dolphins’ Davie offices, shows Foerster (pronounced FURR-stir), snorting three lines with a $20 bill. It was posted Sunday night on the Facebook page of a Las Vegas woman named Kijuana Nige Sherrod, a self-proclaimed model who later suggested on social media that she was exposing the coach in a manner of protest for how NFL players kneeling for the national anthem are being treated.
On Monday, the Dolphins accepted Foerster’s resignation and expressed surprise about the situation
involving a coach who had been in his 25th season working in the league. The episode came just weeks after the Dolphins dealt with linebacker Lawrence Timmons going AWOL before the first game of the season.
“I want to apologize to the organization and my sole focus is on getting the help that I need with the support of family and medical professionals,” Foerster, who turns 56 on Thursday, said in a statement released by the Dolphins.
The video released Sunday night lasts about 52 seconds and seems to be intended as a personal message from Foerster to someone.
“How about me going to a meeting and doing this before I go,” Foerster says on the video before snorting up a line with a rolled up $20 bill.
“It’ll be a while before we can do this again because I know you’re going to keep that baby,” Foerster says while doing another line. “But I think about you when I do it. I think about how much I miss you. How high we got together. How much fun it was.”
Sherrod, whose social media presence features a number of provocative pictures, said on Facebook that she released the video because of the treatment of players who have kneeled during the anthem.
“The white people mad at me like I forced blow down this mans nose and like I recorded it on tha low,” a post on Sherrod’s Facebook account says. “So quick to make excuses for him but will roast a minority player over an athem, dog fights, weed, domestic issues etc.”
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, who has known Foerster since both were assistants with the San Francisco 49ers in 2008, said Monday that he found out about the video at about 10:45 p.m. Sunday in a call from general manager Chris Grier.
“I don’t know details,” Gase said of the video. “This is not a good situation. It’s not something you expect. Things happen sometimes that you don’t anticipate; it’s not fun.”
The team released a statement saying: “We were made aware of the video late last night and have no tolerance for this behavior. After speaking with Chris this morning, he accepted full responsibility and we accepted his resignation effective immediately. Although Chris is no longer with the organization, we will work with him to get the help he needs during this time.”
Gase said that Foerster, who is married and has three children, is “disappointed, upset, mad at himself.”
Foerster and his wife Michelle, who is a pediatric nurse and studied addiction at St. Petersburg College according to her LinkedIn profile, have been married since 1985.
According to documents from the Internal Revenue Service, Foerster and his wife, who filed their taxes jointly last year, owe the IRS $591,397.51 in unpaid taxes going back to 2012.
Foerster was in the second year of his second stint with the Dolphins. He served as offensive coordinator for then-Miami coach Dave Wannstedt in 2004, and rejoined the Dolphins shortly after Gase became head coach in 2016. He was named Miami’s offensive line coach on Jan. 12, 2016, and promoted to run-game coordinator/offensive line coach on Feb. 10.
Gase hasn’t said yet what he will do as far as replacing Foerster, who was highly regarded as an offensive line coach and one of the highest-paid assistant coaches in the NFL making between $2.5 million and $3 million, according to ESPN.
Chris Kuper, the Dolphins’ assistant offensive line coach, could be elevated to that position, or the team could opt to hire someone from outside the organization.
This is the second time this decade the Dolphins’ offensive line is at the center of controversy.
Miami’s offensive line was also the focal point of the bullying scandal that sideswiped the 2013 season after Jonathan Martin accused Richie Incognito of bullying him, and said the Dolphins created a hostile working environment.
That scandal led to the firing of offensive line coach Jim Turner and trainer Kevin O’Neill. Incognito was suspended for eight games, and spent the following season out of the NFL before the Buffalo Bills signed him in 2015. He’s since become a Pro Bowler and Martin, who was traded to the San Francisco 49ers the next offseason, played one more season in the NFL before retiring.
Numerous offensive linemen declined to comment about Foerster on Monday, and many refrained from entering the locker room while the media was there.
“I’ve been here since May so I haven’t had as much experience with Foerster as most guys on the offensive line, but since I’ve been here he’s been nothing but a players coach,” said offensive lineman Eric Smith, who made the team as an undrafted rookie out of Virginia this summer, and was placed on injury reserve last week because of a knee injury. “I have nothing negative to say about coach Foerster. It’s an unfortunate situation and I hate to see it happen to him, but I [saw] no signs of this happening. I’m still shocked by it to be honest.”
The Dolphins who did speak on the team’s latest distraction reiterated Smith’s comment, which is that “it’s a lot to take in.”
According to a team source, players began passing around the video in their group chats, and everyone was “shocked and puzzled.”
“Everybody has their problems,” rookie defensive lineman Davon Godchaux said.
“The team is doing what they can to get him help,” said safety Michael Thomas, a team captain. “I’m praying for him.”
Gase said he feels the team will be able to deal with the situation.
“That’s the NFL, man,” said Gase, whose team has endured numerous distractions since the season started, including losing quarterback Ryan Tannehill, middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan and cornerback Tony Lippett to season-ending injuries during training camp and the preseason, being displaced by Hurricane Irma in Week 1 of the season, Timmons going AWOL before the season opener, and not playing a game at home until this past Sunday. “This is a league of distractions. We’ll move on.”
The offensive line has struggled throughout the first four games of the season. The Dolphins are averaging just 10.2 points per game, and six of the team’s 41 points have been scored by the defense.
The Dolphins are struggling to run the ball, averaging 3.2 yards per carry and 74.8 rushing yards per game. And Miami’s offensive line has allowed 10 sacks this season. The pressure Jay Cutler has been under because of the offensive line’s struggles has forced Miami’s quarterback to get rid of the ball quickly, and throw short passes the past few games.
Sporting News is reporting that Dave Magazu, who worked with Gase in Denver and Chicago, could be hired by Miami to coach the offensive line if Kuper isn’t promoted. Magazu was fired by the Bears in January and hasn’t found another job.
Kuper played offensive guard for eight years with the Denver Broncos, and Gase added him to the staff in 2016 as Miami’s offensive quality control coach. He was promoted to assistant offensive line coach last season when Jeremiah Washburn, who served in that capacity, was hired by the Bears to replace Magazu.