Besides Shula.... | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Besides Shula....

Who was the 2nd best coach in our History

  • George Wilson

    Votes: 7 8.0%

  • Jimmy Johnson

    Votes: 35 40.2%

  • Dave Wannstedt

    Votes: 21 24.1%

  • Jim Bates

    Votes: 10 11.5%

  • Nick Saban

    Votes: 14 16.1%
  • Total voters
    87
P

phinfan2003

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who would you consider as the best coach we've had? I know there is a huge drop between Shula and #2 but nevertheless, who do you consider to be the 2nd best coach in our history.

Here is how I see it:

6. George Wilson-Only because I never saw him coach

5. Jim Bates-Had a decent run but the body of work wasn't there to include him in the top 3

4. Jimmy Johnson-Good GM but overrated as a coach. He bought the groceries for Wannstedt but couldn't do anything for himself. Our defense was good but our O was woeful. IMO, he couldn't win unless he had vastly superior talent such as in Dallas and at the U.

3. Nick Saban-So overrated and not worth the money we spent on him. Sure he had a couple of impressive wins in his career but there were a lot of lapses and the team was very inconsistent under him. Maybe he didn't have the horses but still he left a lot to be desired as a coach.

2. Dave Wannstedt-Now please don't confuse how inept he was as a personnel guy with his performance as a coach. His first year with us, he established a legit running game w/ a subpar running back (Lamar Smith's game vs. the Colts in the playoffs was classic) an average quarterback (I think had Fiedler not separated his shoulder in that game vs. the Bucs we would have possibly done better), and below average receivers. We won a division with him as our coach which is something we didn't do w/ any of the other coaches. Had the personality of board and did many stupid things to try to motivate the team (the lobster trap was classic Wanny) as well as his teams disappeared down the stretch but our best years as fans were when he was coach.

It's sad to look at how we've been since Shula. After so many years of consistency, we've had a streak we'd soon rather forget about. Let's hope the Sparano years are more like Shula's than the others mentioned. Look forward to hearing your response and don't forget to take part in the poll.
 
i put saban. he was good while he was here. (except for hiring mularkey)
 
This is one of those questions that deserve a "none of the above" option.

Strictly as a coach, I think Saban did the most with what he had to work with. I think his one big mistake was going for Culpepper over Brees, but even then this decision is one that can be viewed as such only using 20/20 hindsight. And that was more a personnel move than a coaching decision.

JJ is probably the most overrated coach in NFL history and the only reason I think people regard him so highly is because he was able to scam the Vikings out of so many picks in the Hershel Walker trade. I'll give him credit that he was able to make good use of them, unlike, say, the Rams after the Dickerson trade or the 'Skins with all the picks they picked up from the Saints when the latter moved up to take Ricky Williams, but he never would have had those extra draft choices if the Vikings organization had a modicum of intelligence and realized how badly they were overpaying. In Miami, I don't think it was so much a matter of having inferior talent, but being too enamored with his own system to change it to fit the personnel (e.g., trying to make a Marino-led offense into a running team, despite not having a RB or OL that fit that style of play). Even at that time, I was strongly supporting that the Dolphins would go with Dungy instead, who has demonstrated in TB (which relied heavily on the running game) and Indy (Peyton Manning, need I say anything else?) that he has the flexibility to
adapt his scheme to the talents of the players. If Dungy could get that much out of Manning, why couldn't he have done the same with Marino?

As for Dave Wannstedt, all one has to see is how badly he bungled the end of the 2002 season to realize he fails to qualify. Needing only one more win in the last 2 (or was it 3?) games, the Dolphins blow a 4th quarter 11 point lead to the Patsies in the last game largely because in the final two minutes, Wanny got cute and decided to go for three straight passes (all incomplete) instead of running the ball and forcing NE to spend some of their TO's. And then there was the home loss to open the next season against the Texans, of all teams. And I don't think he deserves much credit for the 2000 OT playoff win against Indy, as his decision to run Lamar Smith 40 times in that game all but guaranteed the 27-0 'Phins defeat to the Raiders the following week.

I don't think Bates was given enough of a chance to qualify, but I don't think anything that he's done since would incline me to believe he would have done better than any of the above three. And didn't George Wilson keep trying to make his son the QB, which would have been pardonable if the younger Wilson had shown some semblance of talent?
 
Saban was the best coach we had....You can act like children because of the way he
left,but it doesn't change the facts.
 
Its a tossup between Saban and Johnson. Maybe Wilson for putting together the pieces that Shula used to appear in three Super Bowls. Not Wannstedt.
 
Wait, Cam Cameron's not an option?

All kidding aside, this is one of those questions like which do you like more, fingernails on a chalkboard or nails in a blender? They're both excruciating. I'd narrow the choices to JJ and Wannstache, with an edge to Dave. Let's be honest though. Everyone since Shula's been a letdown in one form or another.
 
Easy answer, Nick Saban for sifting thru the scrap heap and building a top 5 defense.
 
Wannstache No Doubt!!

Namor said:
Saban was the best coach we had....You can act like children because of the way he
left,but it doesn't change the facts.
Click to expand...
You have to be kidding me!!! What the hell did he do besides going 15-17?? His drafts sucked, playcalling was horrible,INDECISIVE,Got out coached on a weekly basis then couldn't even decide to throw a challenge flag, No playoffs, then he quit!!! He's our second best coach??? Say what you want about Wannstache, he made the playoffs twice and the defense was the best it ever was(POST SHULA) and that includes the JJ era. The most important thing was under Wannstache they were competative every game until Ricky debacle.
 
NorFlaFin said:
Easy answer, Nick Saban for sifting thru the scrap heap and building a top 5 defense.
Click to expand...


Um, JJ/Pornstache built a defense where every position had a Pro Bowl caliber player. I'd take those golden years than the Saban built defense that fell apart this past season.
 
All I know is that everything went to hell in a handbasket when I left.
 
KippyIA1354 said:
The only thing i can say is........ I MISS YOU MAN!!!!!!:boohoo:
Click to expand...

Well cheer up, because I think we're all going to be pleasantly surprised with the future of the Dolphins. We've got Parcells leading this thing and I believe it's only a matter of time before Miami is leading the pack in the AFC East.


THANK YOU NEW YORK GIANTS! :hi5:
 
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