Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Kelly: Dolphins need overhaul
Whoever the team’s next coach is will need to rebuild the roster.
Selling South Florida shouldn’t be hard.
There are the beaches, the weather, the melting pot of cultures, beautiful people, and the amazing food and scenery that serves as a backdrop to paradise.
I’d estimate that more than one-third of the NFL already lives in Florida during the offseason, calling this tax-free state home because of the aforementioned benefits we fulltime residents either enjoy, or take for granted.
You’d know what I’m talking about if you’ve recently visited Cleveland, Cincinnati, Arizona and Green Bay, homes of some of the franchises that are also shopping for head coaches. Now, selling the Miami Dolphins? That might not be so easy. Let us examine exactly what the next Dolphins coach is inheriting with this once-proud franchise, which has fallen on a couple rough decades, with the most recent playoff victory coming more than 18 years ago.
Can we take a thorough and honest examination of this rebuilding job? And that’s exactly what it is even though nobody wants to label it that.
Can we start with owner Steve Ross, who has super deep pockets, and has a history of putting his resources and money where his heart is, which is elevating South Florida on the world-wide sports scene, and making the Dolphins a perennial title contender?
Why hasn’t it worked, the contender part? Because Ross has not gotten the best guidance this decade. It also hasn’t worked because of the long-term commitments this franchise has made in mediocre quarterbacks such as Chad Henne and Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill, a player this organization’s fan base and players (not all, but most) no longer believe in, will be the toughest decision the new head coach makes.
There is a long list of individuals who have lost their jobs because of loyalty to
Tannehill. And not having a franchise quarterback is the No. 1 reason coaches get fired in today’s NFL.
And at this point, anyone who views Tannehill as anything but a bridge quarterback must have their heads examined because he has had the job for seven wasted years.
Too many Dolphins players have privately made it clear they don’t feel the franchise is going anywhere with Tannehill as the starting quarterback, and would prefer that he be forced to compete for a starting spot with either a rookie drafted early, or an established veteran quarterback.
But the problems on offense don’t just end with removing Tannehill. Plenty more has spoiled, or gotten stale.
The Dolphins don’t have a featured back or receiver under contract. Albert Wilson’s a nice piece, but not a player an offense is built around, and DeVante Parker’s on his way out because of his expensive $9.4 million fifth-year option Miami would be dumb to honor.
There also are many coaches who didn’t believe Kenyan Drake could handle being a featured weapon, or carry the responsibility of having the franchise’s expectations on his shoulders.
For his part Drake, who produced 1,012 yards of offense and led the team with nine touchdowns, wanted to be traded if Adam Gase had returned as coach. Drake might still want that trade, but the Dolphins hold all the leverage in this stare-down.
And considering how easy starting tailbacks are to find, this is probably the position that should concern Miami the least.
It is certainly not as concerning as the Dolphins’ offensive and defensive lines, the trenches, which is where football games are won and lost on all levels.
It is where the Dolphins got bullied all season.
Miami’s offensive line has two solid pieces in left tackle Laremy Tunsil, an All-Pro talent, and Jesse Davis, who played every offensive snap at right guard last season, and is locked up at a bargain basement price for the next two years because he’s an exclusive rights free agent.
The rest of that unit, which allowed 52 sacks and paved the way for the NFL’s 18th-most productive rushing attack, is either a free agent looking to break the bank (Ja’Wuan James), injured (Daniel Kilgore), or aged (Josh Sitton and Ted Larsen).
However, that unit is easier to address than the defensive line.
Fixing the Dolphins defensive line might require a seance because the Miami defense was the NFL’s second-worst against the run (145.3 rushing yards allowed), and fourth-worst rushing the passer (31 sacks) last season. And it would be irresponsible to blame scheme because talent was the issue.
Cameron Wake was the top performer on that unit, and this was his worst season as a pro.
Wake turns 37 at the end of this month, and is a situational pass rusher at this point. Wake is an unrestricted free agent and it is undetermined if he wants to be part of a fourth Dolphins restart, or if he’ll chase a championship in his final NFL seasons.
The rest of the defensive line can be purged, clearing $22.4 million in cap space. And that might be the best route to take unless Miami’s thinking about switching to a 3-4 scheme.
Then, and only then, maybe there are some salvageable pieces if Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor can be used as 3-4 ends, and 2017 first-round pick Charles Harris moves to outside linebacker.
There are a couple of promising pieces on defense that are workable.
Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker had rough seasons as first-year starters, but both should grow from this experience.
Outside linebacker Kiko Alonso had his best season as an NFL pro last year, cornerback Xavien Howard had a dynamic season when healthy, establishing himself as a Pro Bowl selection, and 2018 firstround pick defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick delivered on the hype that followed him from the University of Alabama.
But the Dolphins are stockpiled with good safeties, and one of them – either Reshad Jones or T.J. McDonald – has to be moved to make a Fitzpatrick-led secondary work. Cornerbacks are also needed, especially if Howard becomes a chip this franchise uses to move up the draft, which is being discussed.
This riddle won’t be easy to solve, but Ross is finally giving the franchise time and patience to build a better foundation. And that should be Miami’s biggest selling point considering every coach has gotten at least three years from Ross.
Next season will be about planting seeds that will hopefully blossom into a solid foundation.