Philbin was stuck. He wanted throw the ball 40+ times per game. Coming from Green Bay that wasn't a difficult guess. It was my primary knock against Philbin when we made that hire, the certainty that he'd wing it all over the place with no comprehension that your game plan should differ drastically with a mediocre quarterback as opposed to an elite one.
Let's say Joe Philbin has his doubts about Ryan Tannehill during the interview process. That's not a bad guess. But he knows he'll never get the job if he expresses those doubts. He probably would have been escorted out of the room within 5 minutes, and with negative whispers regarding how he fared, lessening the prospect of another team bringing him in. So he goes along with everything, the upward adjustments and patience, even if he recognizes the low percentages.
Then a year later he sees his career on that level -- that high paid well respected coveted level occupied by only 31 others -- jeopardized by his low percentage quarterback. He realizes this is NFL 2014 and not 1974, when you might get 5 years or more, and room to forge entirely your own roster. Damn straight he wants to pick his own guy. Are we actually faulting him for that? He knows that first round quarterbacks are the ticket, far more often than not, far more likely than lottery grabs further down.
You can't speak out against the owner or the personnel, not on this level and if you want to retain your job. It's silly to suggest Philbin should have said everything the column depicts as his actual views. He had no foundation, no benefit of a doubt.
Charlie Weis panicked and ruined his career by taking a low percentage job in the talent wasteland of Kansas instead of sitting out a season and finding a better job. Other guys have no say in the matter and have to take anything offered. That's where Philbin fit in. We had Tannehill, so he's gone.
I admire Philbin for wanting to reach higher in that 2014 draft. Ju'Waun James does nothing to advance the fortunes of this team. I posted at the time that you are losing ground to the league when you make a choice like that. Even if he pans out fully you'll be leapfrogged by teams who invariably make bolder choices and connect. I watched the tape of Indiana/Duke from the recent bowl game a few nights ago. The Hoosier left tackle is a far superior prospect to Ju'Waun James and I understand he might not be a first round pick.
In 2014 I might have picked Johnny Manziel, given our roster predicament. Even if that flopped it would be surrounded by aggressive picks who do pan out. The aggressive choices in preceding years might have precluded any necessity to take a quarterback. We've made the dullard moves so long we've been defined by them. At least with Adam Gase there is legit prospect of sharp bold moves. I won't be annoyed if high profile competition for Ryan Tannehill is one of them, regardless of what is said behind closed doors.
I would actually say that is a bad guess, since Tannehill was drafted after Philbin was hired.