phinsforlife
Active Roster
Many want to lose, with the hope that the Dolphins will blow this thing up and start all over. Blow it up means different things to different people: GM, coach, all of it. I am very sympathetic to the notion. But every time I think about doing it, I need a reality check. Also, if it happens again, this time it will really hurt. All the other times, it seemed obvious, and felt like we were starting fresh. This time, for the first time in 20 plus years, it felt like we were finally headed in the right direction. Heck, the first half of last year, we were the apple of the NFL’s eyes. For the first time in a long time, there were real expectations.
Here is the reality check. Losing and blowing things up does not work. That is what we have done for the last 24 years. Losing begets more losing. That is what loser franchises are. Losing never really solves anything, even when you get lucky. The Colts sucked for Luck, but since they are a loser franchise, they ran a near generational QB right out of the league. It looked good for the Bengals with Burrow for a bit, but they are one more loser franchise with a loser owner that cheaps out on talent, and that thing has already been ruined, despite how awesome Burrow is. The Jaguars got their guy in Trevor Lawrence, and look where they are. Look at the Jets, they always stink, and we saw once again last Sunday that loser teams find ways to lose. Pittsburgh on the other hand, stabile, and almost always good.
I feel like all we have done is blown it up and gone 4-13 in the process, only to be able to go 9-8 for a year or two, and then right back to 4-13, wash rinse repeat. What is even the point of the whole exercise? Not that 9-8 is great, but I would rather go 9-8 all of the time, then go 4-13 just to return to 9-8!
Blowing it up is a bet on Ross. How has that worked out for the last 24 years? I judge owners primarily based on two things: how much money they spend, and how good are the people they hire. Ross very good at the first, very bad at the 2nd. Sure there are other nuances, like do they meddle, for example. But if the owner hires good people, that owner will not be meddling because he doesn’t need to and good people do not tolerate being meddled with in a significant fashion.
If we are forced to blow it up again, why is anyone certain it will turn out better this time around? If Grier goes, but McDaniel stays, are we going to do that whole thing again where we force a coach on a GM? Like or hate McDaniel, it is undeniable that he was very good for Tua. Both in terms of rebuilding his confidence, and designing a system that plays to Tua’s strengths. Are we going to scrap all of that too? And if so, any idea how it might look with an entirely new set of offensive coaches?
Who good would even take the GM job here now? Looking at the age of the roster, and cap situation, it is not a compelling situation to step into. I think any good GM would want a 5-7 year contract, with the full ability to rip the whole thing apart and start over if he wants to. But I doubt Ross would be willing to do that at his age, and go through this all over again, and eat a ton of money in the process to do it. Then, how many good GMs are there? 5-10, at most? And those guys already have jobs. We will have to bet on one more unknown, or one more retread. We probably end up with another mediocre GM in a hybrid compromise situation with the roster (no full tear down and rebuild), likely with an inherited coach as well.
Assuming it ends up here, I guess you could say, what the heck, it is worth a shot, no way it can be any worse than Grier. Probably true, although I wouldn’t underestimate the Dolphins ability to do worse. But is this anything to get really excited about either?
I feel like we are an organization on a hamster wheel. Losing sadly does not solve problems. Only good execution does.
Late edit: Green Bay is another great example of what great execution is. They went from Favre to Rodgers to Jordan Love without skipping a beat (while it took us tanking and 20 years to find one QB). They didn't have to tank to do it either. Competitive and going to the playoffs the whole time, for the most part. Love has the same contract as Tua, but Green Bay still has a ton of cap space and the youngest roster in the league. This is what being well run is.
Here is the reality check. Losing and blowing things up does not work. That is what we have done for the last 24 years. Losing begets more losing. That is what loser franchises are. Losing never really solves anything, even when you get lucky. The Colts sucked for Luck, but since they are a loser franchise, they ran a near generational QB right out of the league. It looked good for the Bengals with Burrow for a bit, but they are one more loser franchise with a loser owner that cheaps out on talent, and that thing has already been ruined, despite how awesome Burrow is. The Jaguars got their guy in Trevor Lawrence, and look where they are. Look at the Jets, they always stink, and we saw once again last Sunday that loser teams find ways to lose. Pittsburgh on the other hand, stabile, and almost always good.
I feel like all we have done is blown it up and gone 4-13 in the process, only to be able to go 9-8 for a year or two, and then right back to 4-13, wash rinse repeat. What is even the point of the whole exercise? Not that 9-8 is great, but I would rather go 9-8 all of the time, then go 4-13 just to return to 9-8!
Blowing it up is a bet on Ross. How has that worked out for the last 24 years? I judge owners primarily based on two things: how much money they spend, and how good are the people they hire. Ross very good at the first, very bad at the 2nd. Sure there are other nuances, like do they meddle, for example. But if the owner hires good people, that owner will not be meddling because he doesn’t need to and good people do not tolerate being meddled with in a significant fashion.
If we are forced to blow it up again, why is anyone certain it will turn out better this time around? If Grier goes, but McDaniel stays, are we going to do that whole thing again where we force a coach on a GM? Like or hate McDaniel, it is undeniable that he was very good for Tua. Both in terms of rebuilding his confidence, and designing a system that plays to Tua’s strengths. Are we going to scrap all of that too? And if so, any idea how it might look with an entirely new set of offensive coaches?
Who good would even take the GM job here now? Looking at the age of the roster, and cap situation, it is not a compelling situation to step into. I think any good GM would want a 5-7 year contract, with the full ability to rip the whole thing apart and start over if he wants to. But I doubt Ross would be willing to do that at his age, and go through this all over again, and eat a ton of money in the process to do it. Then, how many good GMs are there? 5-10, at most? And those guys already have jobs. We will have to bet on one more unknown, or one more retread. We probably end up with another mediocre GM in a hybrid compromise situation with the roster (no full tear down and rebuild), likely with an inherited coach as well.
Assuming it ends up here, I guess you could say, what the heck, it is worth a shot, no way it can be any worse than Grier. Probably true, although I wouldn’t underestimate the Dolphins ability to do worse. But is this anything to get really excited about either?
I feel like we are an organization on a hamster wheel. Losing sadly does not solve problems. Only good execution does.
Late edit: Green Bay is another great example of what great execution is. They went from Favre to Rodgers to Jordan Love without skipping a beat (while it took us tanking and 20 years to find one QB). They didn't have to tank to do it either. Competitive and going to the playoffs the whole time, for the most part. Love has the same contract as Tua, but Green Bay still has a ton of cap space and the youngest roster in the league. This is what being well run is.
Last edited:
