Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dolphins should learn from past
Kelly: In search for new coach, remember previous blunders.
While the Miami Dolphins clearly haven’t perfected their head coaching searches, at this point Steve Ross is pushing for expert-level credentials at what might be his least favorite task that comes with being an NFL owner.
The reason Ross keeps having to pick a new head coach is because he and his decisions makers keep making the wrong hire.
My guess is that has a lot to do with Miami not picking up on the lessons it should have learned from the organization’s past coaching hires.
And it’s a pretty extensive list.
At the top, make sure the new coach wants to deal with professional athletes, and wouldn’t prefer molding college players. Nick Saban was never comfortable with his players making so much money, and not being able to yell at them without consequences.
Hopefully Ross makes sure that the next coach was the play-caller for whatever side of the ball he specializes in. Joe Philbin, Ross’ first coaching hire as Dolphins owner, had never called a game in the pros before Ross handed him the keys to the franchise in 2012.
Speaking of Philbin, don’t let “Hard Knocks” in. Being part of that HBO reality program exposed how much Philbin was in over his head.
The Dolphins better be wary of “offensive gurus” who established their reputation working with Hall of Fame quarterbacks because the offense might not look the same without that player destined to wear a gold jacket.
Cam Cameron lost his “genius” label when he couldn’t bring Philip Rivers with him from San Diego to Miami. Both Philbin and Adam Gase’s offenses suffered huge drop-offs from their time in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers and Denver with Peyton Manning, respectfully, with Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill running them.
While we’re on the subject of quarterbacks, the next coach shouldn’t make major commitments to aged and/or injury-prone QBs. That led to Saban (Daunte Culpepper), Cameron (Trent Green) and Tony Sparano’s (Chad Pennington) eventual demise.
You better get the quarterback right, or South Florida will only be a pit stop, which every Dolphins coach since Jimmy Johnson has learned.
It would be wise to make sure the next coach’s ego isn’t bigger than the team’s biggest star. Gase struggled with that one.
And they can’t make it a habit of banishing players with strong and sometimes complicated personalities, like Philbin did. That’s the quickest way to lose — not build — a locker room.
A coach has to be able to inspire a room full of the aggressive, competitive men playing America’s most physical sport. Cameron and Philbin couldn’t do that, but the late Sparano sure could.
And make sure they know how to treat people in the organization right. Being a good human is half the battle, which Saban eventually learned.
Miami’s next coach needs to be able to put together a quality staff, and not just piece together the best of who is unemployed, which is how it seemed Cameron and Philbin went about their initial hires. People need to want to work with them.
However, retaining good assistants isn’t always a bad idea.
Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi has been a pillar of stability in this organization for a decade, working for three head coaches.
Philbin inherited former Dolphins assistant Kacy Rodgers, and he was the main reason Miami had a respectable defensive line early in Philbin’s tenure.
Always needing familiarity — players and coaches who have been with you — doesn’t guarantee success. It worked for Sparano, but plenty of Gase’s guys were colossal disappointments.
And finally, the first year doesn’t mean as much as you think. Both Sparano and Gase transformed bad teams into 10-game winners and made the playoffs in their first season. But neither could continue that early success.
And that is where Miami’s next hire needs to separate himself from the pack of past failures.
This will be the third coach Ross has hired in his decade of owning the Dolphins, and the sixth coach general manager Chris Grier will be working with considering he’s been a scout or executive in this franchise since 2000.
The hope is that the more you do something the better at it you become. That’s the only way to paint a pretty picture for Miami’s struggles making this critical hire.
It’s time this franchise gets it right, and the best way to ensure that is to learn from the previous blunders.