So how close were the Dolphins to landing coveted offensive lineman La’el Collins?
Tantalizingly so.
Agent Deryk Gilmore told me that Collins said at one point last week that he thought he would like to be a Dolphin, and that Collins had narrowed his choices to Miami and Dallas.
“I thought I would be coming to Miami for games this season,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said even though no flight was booked, he and Collins intended to fly to Miami at around 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, with "the intent to sign" if he liked it here, before Collins told him at 10:45 a.m. Thursday that Dallas “is where I need to be.”
Among the deciding factors: Collins was immensely impressed with the Cowboys during his visit to Jerry Jones’ home on Wednesday night, and Collins has family in Dallas and Houston.
Before visiting Jones' home for dinner, Collins felt he knew the Cowboys from a football standpoint but needed to get to know them more as people.
So Collins, accompanied by his mother, broke bread with Jones, Jason Garrett, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, three Pro Bowl offensive linemen and Dallas' offensive line coach. Jones had set the stage for the visit by calling Collins directly the previous day.
The call and the visit had a profound effect on Collins.
“Those are guys who have been faced with challenges throughout life,” Collins said of the Cowboys. “I fit right in with those guys. So, when I take the field with those guys and this team, I fit right in."
Gilmore said: "He felt, 'I can win a Super Bowl here, and it could be one of the greatest offensive lines in history.'"
In retrospect, Gilmore said there’s nothing the Dolphins could have done differently.
The Dallas/Miami contracts were identical, and the fact Miami could offer him only a guard spot, not a job at tackle, wasn’t a deciding factor, even though Gilmore said Collins' preference longterm is to play tackle.
Dallas also might play him at guard initially, Gilmore said.
“He felt great about playing between Mike Pouncey and Branden Albert,” Gilmore said. “The Dolphins should be commended for how hard they fought. Miami was pulling out all the stops.”
That included e-mailing a video with Dan Marino and other Dolphins officials making a personal appeal for Collins to sign; a call from Stephen Ross to Collins’ agent; and a visit by four Dolphins players (Jarvis Landry, Kelvin Sheppard, Mike Pouncey and Anthony Johnson) to meet with him on Tuesday in Baton Rouge.
“The players coming was huge,” Gilmore said. “The players chartered the flight on their own.”
Gilmore did an outstanding job making the best of a difficult and unprecedented situation, one in which a projected first-round pick went undrafted because he was loosely linked to a murder investigation, though police always said he wasn't a suspect.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...nba-draft-dolphins-marlins-canes-chatter.html
Tantalizingly so.
Agent Deryk Gilmore told me that Collins said at one point last week that he thought he would like to be a Dolphin, and that Collins had narrowed his choices to Miami and Dallas.
“I thought I would be coming to Miami for games this season,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said even though no flight was booked, he and Collins intended to fly to Miami at around 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, with "the intent to sign" if he liked it here, before Collins told him at 10:45 a.m. Thursday that Dallas “is where I need to be.”
Among the deciding factors: Collins was immensely impressed with the Cowboys during his visit to Jerry Jones’ home on Wednesday night, and Collins has family in Dallas and Houston.
Before visiting Jones' home for dinner, Collins felt he knew the Cowboys from a football standpoint but needed to get to know them more as people.
So Collins, accompanied by his mother, broke bread with Jones, Jason Garrett, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, three Pro Bowl offensive linemen and Dallas' offensive line coach. Jones had set the stage for the visit by calling Collins directly the previous day.
The call and the visit had a profound effect on Collins.
“Those are guys who have been faced with challenges throughout life,” Collins said of the Cowboys. “I fit right in with those guys. So, when I take the field with those guys and this team, I fit right in."
Gilmore said: "He felt, 'I can win a Super Bowl here, and it could be one of the greatest offensive lines in history.'"
In retrospect, Gilmore said there’s nothing the Dolphins could have done differently.
The Dallas/Miami contracts were identical, and the fact Miami could offer him only a guard spot, not a job at tackle, wasn’t a deciding factor, even though Gilmore said Collins' preference longterm is to play tackle.
Dallas also might play him at guard initially, Gilmore said.
“He felt great about playing between Mike Pouncey and Branden Albert,” Gilmore said. “The Dolphins should be commended for how hard they fought. Miami was pulling out all the stops.”
That included e-mailing a video with Dan Marino and other Dolphins officials making a personal appeal for Collins to sign; a call from Stephen Ross to Collins’ agent; and a visit by four Dolphins players (Jarvis Landry, Kelvin Sheppard, Mike Pouncey and Anthony Johnson) to meet with him on Tuesday in Baton Rouge.
“The players coming was huge,” Gilmore said. “The players chartered the flight on their own.”
Gilmore did an outstanding job making the best of a difficult and unprecedented situation, one in which a projected first-round pick went undrafted because he was loosely linked to a murder investigation, though police always said he wasn't a suspect.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...nba-draft-dolphins-marlins-canes-chatter.html
