Tony Sparano's time in Miami might be down to just days now. He will not be fired this week, and the Miami Herald already has reported this to be the situation. However, after next Sunday against the San Diego Chargers the axe could fall heading into a bye week. Of course if the Dolphins pull off an upset win against the Chargers it will buy Sparano a few more weeks. Either way, at this very moment Meadow is trying to parallel park her car.
I have been thinking lately who would be the best possible fit for this franchise moving forward. Should we go after another star coach to turn things around after the recent failures of other star coaches like Jimmy Johnson, Nick Saban and Bill Parcells? Or should they go the route of bringing in a first time head coach after the recent failure of Cam Cameron?
This team is in a rut and the fans are no longer going to the games. Ross needs to create buzz, get fans back in their seats, and most importantly win games. To do this, in addition to Sparano, Ireland will need to also be relieved of his duties. Though at this very moment, that doesn't appear to be a guarantee.
Unknown guys like Winston Moss, Bill Musgrave and Rob Ryan may turn out to be good NFL head coaches, but not guys that will win the fans back. They are unproven at the head coach level and have the potential to flame out just like Cam Cameron did. Or maybe they make it big like Mike Smith. Though Ross needs to get butts back in the seat right away and needs to win out of the gate. To much of a risk for Ross to go this route.
I think he is going to go the route of a big name coach. He looked at Jim Harbaugh last year as he was the "sexy" name at the current time, before deciding to give Sparano another year. There will be three "big name" guys in my opinion, and has been mentioned here many many times as options. Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, and Jeff Fisher. These are the "Big 3" and I think this is the bunch of coaches Ross will take a stab at. Each will bring their own type of buzz and will bring a background of winning a Super Bowl or coming within inches of winning a Super Bowl. In my opinion, one guy stands out above the rest and you know who I think by reading this threads title, but first lets look at why I don't think the other two are as good of choices.
Jon Gruden, or as many call him "Chucky" is already well known in Florida, and would bring the reputation of a Super Bowl winner and a guy who likes to take chances. However, the only Super Bowl he won was with Tampa Bay and was with the players that were assembled the year before by Tony Dungy. So obviously a red flag immediately goes up. Also, he has only 6 winning seasons in 11 years as a NFL head coach. So almost half the time he had a losing record. He also has the reputation of not being able to develop a quarterback and their were many reports that indicated that his players hated him and did not respect him. Gruden would create a buzz in Miami and I predict that Dolphins Chucky dolls would be huge sellers, but I don't know if he is really what this team needs from a Charlie Sheen "winning" standpoint.
Jeff Fisher was fired at an odd time last offseason and you can bet that if he was fired a few weeks earlier that Ross would have sniffed around him. He was the head coach of the Oilers/Titans for 17 years and regularly had the team in the playoff hunt. However, his playoff appearances were even worse than Gruden only making the playoffs 6 times in 17 seasons. He did come inches away from a possible Super Bowl win and took the Titans to another AFC Championship game. Again, he would create buzz, probably less than Gruden would imo, but again I don't see him as the answer for turning this team around.
So now we get to Bill Cowher, the guy I am supporting as the next head coach of the Dolphins. In 15 years with the Steelers he had 11 winning seasons, in 15 seasons. He also has been to 6 AFC Championship games, 2 Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl win. There are obvious concerns about him though. It did take him 14 years to win a Super Bowl in Pittsburgh, so you have to wonder if Ross and Dolphins fans would be as patient with him as Western PA football fans were. He also hasn't coached in the league for five seasons, and I hate to say this, but is his passion for football there as much after the passing of his wife? I know that would be very hard for me and I can only imagine what he is going through. Cowher would create buzz and I think his history in Pittsburgh does speak volume and if he can be fresh even five years away from the game, he is the guy for Miami. Not only in the buzz department but also in the winning department.
I hope Ross decides to go the route of Bill Cowher, because I believe if they clean house Bill would be very interested in coming here assuming the Giants job does not open up in New York. He is the guy I want as the 10th head coach of the Miami Dolphins(assuming that Mike Nolan will be #9).
