phinsforlife
Active Roster
This notion has been in the back of my mind for a while, and it cropped back up watching UM play Duke a few weeks ago.
Duke is coached by Manny Diaz, who used to coach UM. UM perennially underachieved with Diaz, like it has with every coach in recent years. They were also an undisciplined penalty laden mess. Duke under Diaz, different deal. They played UM tough for 3 quarters, did nothing stupid, and even though much less talented, if not for Cam Ward, Duke wins that game. Same coach, the product at Duke was much different than the product in Miami. The difference likely is the attitude and professionalism of the kids that played for each team.
For 15-20 years, UM has had these pretty good recruiting classes on paper (3, 4 and occasional 5 star players), that all go on to stink. My suspicion has been that the players that decided to come here do it for social/Miami reasons, as opposed to football reasons. Then once in Miami, the focus tends to be on the extra-curriculars, as opposed to football. So it is a double whammy.
Is it any different for the Dolphins? Well, how different are many of the free agents that come here from the recruits that choose to go to UM? Byron Jones, OBJ, Will Fuller, and others seem to have come here for vacation.
For everyone else, the town is full of distractions. It is a lot different than being in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Buffalo or Baltimore, where it is cold, dark and miserable all of the time and the only thing you have is football. Those towns are also tough.
Miami, not a tough place. When the Dolphins and Hurricanes used to be good, coincidentally Miami was a really tough place. Anyone that grew up here in the 1970's and early 80's knows what I am talking about. Miami is 180 degrees the opposite now. We had a tough stadium back then too, now we have Hard Rock built on an Indian burial ground.
Making it worse, is the organizational culture is also the opposite of tough. Not sure if the culture is an outgrowth of what Miami became, or who bought the team. But right from the get go, Ross put a nightclub in the stadium (LIV or whatever it was), and courted celebrity investors. It seems to be as much or more about the glamor than the winning.
McDaniel also blends right in with the whole atmosphere in Miami. The way he runs things, with all the attendant challenges of being in Miami, may make a tough situation even worse. It may be the head coach in this market has to be a total hard-ass, because there are just too many distractions in this town.
Here is what DeShon Elliot had to say about Miami itself, and I do not think he is wrong:
“Miami, it’s a distraction,” Elliott said. “I would say that we already didn’t hang out much as a team, because there’s so much to do in Miami. So guys are dispersed so much, and everyone thought they were somebody because of the mind-set of, ‘Oh, I’m In Miami, I can be somebody different,’ you know? And then we go into that city, and I felt like we were a really good team.” Elliott then said that “the heart and soul for that team disappeared” once the “injury bug hit us.” “You could just tell like the Miami culture is the reason why Miami will never be good,” Elliott continued. “Like Miami will never be a good football team. I don’t care. They will never be good because of the Miami culture. I think they have great players. The culture is not going to be there. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s true.”
At any rate Miami alone is not the whole problem. But combine Miami with a soft coach, a soft GM, and a soft owner, you have a problem.
Duke is coached by Manny Diaz, who used to coach UM. UM perennially underachieved with Diaz, like it has with every coach in recent years. They were also an undisciplined penalty laden mess. Duke under Diaz, different deal. They played UM tough for 3 quarters, did nothing stupid, and even though much less talented, if not for Cam Ward, Duke wins that game. Same coach, the product at Duke was much different than the product in Miami. The difference likely is the attitude and professionalism of the kids that played for each team.
For 15-20 years, UM has had these pretty good recruiting classes on paper (3, 4 and occasional 5 star players), that all go on to stink. My suspicion has been that the players that decided to come here do it for social/Miami reasons, as opposed to football reasons. Then once in Miami, the focus tends to be on the extra-curriculars, as opposed to football. So it is a double whammy.
Is it any different for the Dolphins? Well, how different are many of the free agents that come here from the recruits that choose to go to UM? Byron Jones, OBJ, Will Fuller, and others seem to have come here for vacation.
For everyone else, the town is full of distractions. It is a lot different than being in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Buffalo or Baltimore, where it is cold, dark and miserable all of the time and the only thing you have is football. Those towns are also tough.
Miami, not a tough place. When the Dolphins and Hurricanes used to be good, coincidentally Miami was a really tough place. Anyone that grew up here in the 1970's and early 80's knows what I am talking about. Miami is 180 degrees the opposite now. We had a tough stadium back then too, now we have Hard Rock built on an Indian burial ground.
Making it worse, is the organizational culture is also the opposite of tough. Not sure if the culture is an outgrowth of what Miami became, or who bought the team. But right from the get go, Ross put a nightclub in the stadium (LIV or whatever it was), and courted celebrity investors. It seems to be as much or more about the glamor than the winning.
McDaniel also blends right in with the whole atmosphere in Miami. The way he runs things, with all the attendant challenges of being in Miami, may make a tough situation even worse. It may be the head coach in this market has to be a total hard-ass, because there are just too many distractions in this town.
Here is what DeShon Elliot had to say about Miami itself, and I do not think he is wrong:
“Miami, it’s a distraction,” Elliott said. “I would say that we already didn’t hang out much as a team, because there’s so much to do in Miami. So guys are dispersed so much, and everyone thought they were somebody because of the mind-set of, ‘Oh, I’m In Miami, I can be somebody different,’ you know? And then we go into that city, and I felt like we were a really good team.” Elliott then said that “the heart and soul for that team disappeared” once the “injury bug hit us.” “You could just tell like the Miami culture is the reason why Miami will never be good,” Elliott continued. “Like Miami will never be a good football team. I don’t care. They will never be good because of the Miami culture. I think they have great players. The culture is not going to be there. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s true.”
At any rate Miami alone is not the whole problem. But combine Miami with a soft coach, a soft GM, and a soft owner, you have a problem.
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