Putting the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito thing aside for a minute, it occurred to me that it's possible there is significant dysfunction going on within the locker room of the Miami Dolphins.
It's just my personal opinion, but I believe teams that compete at a high level, especially those that do so for extended periods of time (i.e., dynasties) have a very strong team culture that's established and maintained by leaders among the players, and is an offshoot or dissemination if you will of the head coach's philosophy or program.
The leaders among the players "buy in" to the head coach's philosophy or program, exhibit it through their own behavior (i.e., leading by example), and disseminate it to their teammates through vocal persuasion (i.e., vocal leadership).
This is what we see when Tom Brady and Tedy Bruschi tell their teammates to "just do your job," which is something Bill Belichick preaches. It's what we saw when Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith led with brash, outspoken personality styles very similar to their head coach, Jimmy Johnson. It's what we saw when the more cerebral Joe Montana led the 49ers in the way the very cerebral Bill Walsh coached them.
This is the stuff of champions in my opinion. It's a team program head to toe -- a culture -- established by a head coach, and fueled and maintained by leaders among the players.
Watch this example in living color, as Joey Porter and Jerome Bettis convey the tough, hard-nosed style of Bill Cowher on the way to that team's Super Bowl championship years ago:
[video=youtube;gpOG9K02F_g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpOG9K02F_g[/video]
Now, what we have with the 2013 Miami Dolphins is a head coach who preaches professionalism. He believes that a poised, professional, attention-to-detail approach is what wins in the NFL. This is his personality, and his style.
To win big, this team is going to need leaders among the players who buy in to that approach, exemplify it in their own behavior, and vocally persuade their teammates to follow suit.
So I'll ask the forum: in what state are the 2013 Miami Dolphins under Joe Philbin when the current Martin/Incognito situation -- and the unprofessionalism it can suggest -- can dominate the team's landscape amidst such a diametrically opposed head coaching style and philosophy?
It's just my personal opinion, but I believe teams that compete at a high level, especially those that do so for extended periods of time (i.e., dynasties) have a very strong team culture that's established and maintained by leaders among the players, and is an offshoot or dissemination if you will of the head coach's philosophy or program.
The leaders among the players "buy in" to the head coach's philosophy or program, exhibit it through their own behavior (i.e., leading by example), and disseminate it to their teammates through vocal persuasion (i.e., vocal leadership).
This is what we see when Tom Brady and Tedy Bruschi tell their teammates to "just do your job," which is something Bill Belichick preaches. It's what we saw when Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith led with brash, outspoken personality styles very similar to their head coach, Jimmy Johnson. It's what we saw when the more cerebral Joe Montana led the 49ers in the way the very cerebral Bill Walsh coached them.
This is the stuff of champions in my opinion. It's a team program head to toe -- a culture -- established by a head coach, and fueled and maintained by leaders among the players.
Watch this example in living color, as Joey Porter and Jerome Bettis convey the tough, hard-nosed style of Bill Cowher on the way to that team's Super Bowl championship years ago:
[video=youtube;gpOG9K02F_g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpOG9K02F_g[/video]
Now, what we have with the 2013 Miami Dolphins is a head coach who preaches professionalism. He believes that a poised, professional, attention-to-detail approach is what wins in the NFL. This is his personality, and his style.
To win big, this team is going to need leaders among the players who buy in to that approach, exemplify it in their own behavior, and vocally persuade their teammates to follow suit.
So I'll ask the forum: in what state are the 2013 Miami Dolphins under Joe Philbin when the current Martin/Incognito situation -- and the unprofessionalism it can suggest -- can dominate the team's landscape amidst such a diametrically opposed head coaching style and philosophy?
