At what point did this franchise go wrong?

[korl68]

Not replacing Bobby Beathard with another strong personnel man to help Shula.

Joe Robbies death and the families fight over who would control the team left the team without direction and/or money.

Selling the team to a passionless Wayne H.

Not properly pre-planning for a true replacment to Shula.

Not having a top FOOTBALL executive to guide the team.

And finally Hiring Dave W and Rick the anchor that finally broke the camels back.

 

[Justasportsfan]

I think it was with the Jimmy Johnson hiring. As Superfin34 said, he forced Dan to play in an offense that wasn't catered to his strengths and when Dan didn't do a good job, instead of catering the offense to the team strengths he quit. The biggest sign of a good coach to me is someone who can design the offense and defense to fit the teams strengths. Jimmy never did that he wanted to do things the way they did things in Dallas but the problem was Miami didn't have the offensive personnel to do that. Jimmy took this team down with that and by bringing Wannstedt in to be his successor.

Obviously Dans way of doing things couldn't get him to win a sb while JJ's way has won him sb's w/ Dallas. I'm almost sure that had JJ stayed as HC during Wanny's term, the Fins could've made it to at LEAST 1 sb.

 

[DolphinzD]

Shula hanging on 2 or 3 years too long.

In Shula's next-to-last year the Dolphins were a missed FG away from the AFC Championship Game. If Shula did indeed hold on too long, it's kind of depressing that the Dolphins haven't gotten near that since he retired (okay, so they've been in the second round a few times, only to get waxed each time.....the 1994 team had a really good chance to get to the Super Bowl; the only Dolphins team in the last 10 years that can be described that way).

 

[DolphinzD]

I'm almost sure that had JJ stayed as HC during Wanny's term, the Fins could've made it to at LEAST 1 sb.

I'm confused as to what you mean by that. What would Wanny have been doing if JJ was still the coach? Be the assistant coach? Defensive Coordinator?

 

[Scrap]

Just wondering. Have you ever checked to see what QB JJ might have passed on that has been successful in the NFL?

Good question. I'll try to research it.If nothing else, a pick could have nbeen used to get a QB via trade.

 

[finsfan4life]

Obviously Dans way of doing things couldn't get him to win a sb while JJ's way has won him sb's w/ Dallas. I'm almost sure that had JJ stayed as HC during Wanny's term, the Fins could've made it to at LEAST 1 sb.

The problem with that though is that this isn't Dallas. Dallas had different circumstances than Miami so you can't expect things to go the same way. You can't change the girl that you go out with now into the spitting image of the girl you went out with in high school. They have different qualities and bring different circumstances to the table. You have to learn to appreciate the things that make the girl you go out with now special instead of living in the past.

 

[muscle979]

Not addressing the QB position before Dan left was a big one. But the offense was allowed to deteriorate in many ways after Shula left.

 

[Roman529]

I don't think there was any particular time or event that caused this team to go into decline. Every organization, no matter how successful, is going to have some lean years....look at how far the San Francisco 49ers have fallen and the Dallas Cowboys...you can't be on top every year. The Phins have rarely had any bad years since they started in the mid 1960's....we may have a few lean years to go but I think we can get back on top within a couple years provided that we make smart player decisions, and have the proper management/coaches in place.

 

[Y-TownPhinVet]

IMHO I believe that the organization as a whole began to struggle when free agency came to be. While the team lost some great talent to other teams (Troy Vincent for example) the Fins never really landed a top free agent that became a difference maker. Although it's not from a lack of trying, the Fins have not made it to the big game since free agency began. Let's hope the new HC has better vision in this area.

 

[unifiedtheory]

All the Jimmy haters seem to forget what this team looked like when he took it over...

They had the slowest defense in football and Jimmy had to act on that first. In my opinion you build on defense first and then work on the offense.

This team was in salary cap hell when he took over. The free agent lunacy of Don Shula's last season and Don Shula's poor drafts left this team old, slow and very expensive.

Jimmy came in and made the tough decisions. He wanted to hold on to Troy Vincent but could not because of the salary cap. Don Shula had a chance to lock up players like Vincent and Marco Coleman but, was looking at one year...not the future.

Saying Jimmy made his reputation from the Hershel Walker trade is short sighted. Yes, he fleeced the Vikings but, he still had to make the selections. The L.A. Rams got a boatload of draft picks for Eric Dickerson and did nothing with them.

Yes, Jimmy made some poor draft picks while he was here but, he also made some brilliant moves.

People point to the fact that he could not find a running back. Well, in four years he drafted the pieces of what may have been a dominant defense for a year or two (when George Hill was the coordinator).

Don Shula could not draft a running back that was worth a damn in 15 years....or a defense for that matter.

The seeds for what we are seeing from this team were sewn long ago.

Don Shula's poor drafting is part of it...

Holding on to Dan for to long is part of it...

Not drafting any Pro Bowl offensive llineman for a decade is a BIG part of it...

Not having a quarterback of the future 5-7 years ago may be the biggest part. Wanny latching on to Jay Fiedler is what has made this team the shambles it is now. How many times in the last 5 years have the Dolphins had a chance to get a competant q.b. but passed on the chance because of Wanny's shot sighted obsession of Fiedler?

There is blame to go around. Shula gets some. Jimmy gets some. Wayne gets some and Wanny gets some.

Blaming one man for this mess is rediculous.

 

[Canadianfishfan]

i would say after the Playoff blowout to the ravens was the beginning of decline...We can talk about players and coaches... but we havent been to the payoffs since. hat game was a defeating mindf**k to this organization

 

[darkoak]

The day we lost Czonka, only had one sniff of a superbowl since.:cry:

 

[FinfanInBuffalo]

Just wondering. Have you ever checked to see what QB JJ might have passed on that has been successful in the NFL?

Here are the QBs drafted from 1996 - 1999. The pickings were pretty slim. The only players that stand out are Aaron Brooks (4th round), Brian Griese (3rd round), Matt Hasselbeck (6th round), Jake Plummer (2nd round).

Here is an interesting note. The Packers drafted a QB all 4 years.

1999
1 1 1 Tim Couch Browns
1 2 2 Donovan McNabb Eagles
1 3 3 Akili Smith Bengals
1 11 11 Daunte Culpepper Vikings
1 12 12 Cade McNown Bears
2 19 50 Shaun King Buccaneers
3 16 77 Brock Huard Seahawks
4 6 101 Joe Germaine Rams
4 36 131 Aaron Brooks Packers
5 18 151 Kevin Daft Oilers
7 21 227 Michael Bishop Patriots
7 33 239 Chris Greisen Cardinals
7 39 245 Scott Covington Bengals
1998
1 1 1 Peyton Manning Colts
1 2 2 Ryan Leaf Chargers
2 30 60 Charlie Batch Lions
3 25 86 Jonathan Quinn Jaguars
3 30 91 Brian Griese Broncos
6 19 172 John Dutton Dolphins
6 34 187 Matt Hasselbeck Packers
7 43 232 Moses Moreno Bears
1997
1 26 26 Jim Druckenmiller 49ers
2 12 42 Jake Plummer Cardinals
4 3 99 Danny Wuerffel Saints
4 14 110 Pat Barnes Chiefs
6 8 171 Mike Cherry Giants
6 28 191 Chuck Clements Jets
7 3 204 Tony Graziani Falcons
7 6 207 Koy Detmer Eagles
7 33 234 Wally Richardson Ravens
7 36 237 Tony Corbin Chargers
7 39 240 Ronnie McAda Packers
1996
2 12 42 Tony Banks Rams
3 24 85 Bobby Hoying Eagles
4 5 100 Jeff Lewis Broncos
4 35 130 Danny Kanell Giants
6 36 203 Spence Fischer Steelers
6 38 205 Mike Cawley Colts
7 29 238 Jon Stark Ravens
7 31 240 Kyle Wachholtz Packers

 

[Superself]

At what point did this franchise go wrong? I think it started before Dave became coach. In Marino's last 2 or 3 seasons, I wanted us to draft a good QB to learn from him. We never did that, and QB is still a question. Imagine if some of Jimmy's wasted picks at RB would have been spent on a future QB.

I disagree. Jimmy helped to steer this team in the right direction. He was trying to HIT on a runner such as Ricky's caliber.

The franchise started heading into the toilet when they hired Wannstedt.
Overall I still blame Wayne for that big mistake. Wanny tore this franchise apart by placing too much loyalty in Fiedler.

Wanny brought in his guys from Chicago who have experience in losing.
Now is the time for a huge change from top to bottom.

Dan Marino is right.