Is there Significant Dysfunction Within the Team?

[Finland]

I think Hartline is more the "Philbin" type. Gibson as well. Pouncey, Wake, Misi, Ellerbe, Grimes, Patterson, Clemons, Tannehill. I think all those players fit, actually.

And I think you can add players who don't fit, but they need to be added after the culture is established and stable.

It was probably a mistake to leave Incognito on the team while the culture is still developing, in the absence of the balancing and stabilizing influence of Jake Long. If you're going to let Jake Long go, you almost then have to let Incognito go and pave the way for Pouncey to become the offensive line's leader, with his fitting much better with Philbin's approach.

You can add any player you are capable or managing, leading, developing. Miami has been lacking in this area for a long time, likely since Shula or Jimmy Johnson. That's one reason we see x-Miami players "fit" better on other teams and players from other teams not work out in Miami. I know there are many reasons for such things, but I think this would be "on the list of reasons".

 

[Shouright]

You can add any player you are capable or managing, leading, developing. Miami has been lacking in this area for a long time, likely since Shula or Jimmy Johnson. That's one reason we see x-Miami players "fit" better on other teams and players from other teams not work out in Miami. I know there are many reasons for such things, but I think this would be "on the list of reasons".

The team culture is what does the bulk of that managing, leading, and developing, however, and if the team culture under a new head coach isn't yet established, it can't perform that function as effectively. While the culture is being established, players whose behavior runs counter to the culture need to be avoided in my opinion, or they can potentially forestall if not prevent the development of the culture.

For example, you can't have one of your team leaders be Brandon Marshall if you're a new head coach who's trying to establish a team culture centering on selflessness. You have to get rid of the Brandon Marshalls of the world until your culture is well-established and able to, as you said, "manage" that sort of individual so that he doesn't undermine the development of the culture.

Again, this is how the Patriots assimilated players like Randy Moss and Chad Johnson and just kept right on trucking. The Tom Bradys and Tedy Bruschis on that team had already created the Bill Belichick culture and stabilized it over a period of time sufficient to prevent Moss and Johnson from doing any of their customary damage.

 

[Dr. Phin]

So you aren't a Phins fan

Am I a fan of this **** product? No...I am a fan of the product I grew up with. You can congratulate yourself for this ****...

 

[Finland]

The team culture is what does the bulk of that managing, leading, and developing, however, and if the team culture under a new head coach isn't yet established, it can't perform that function as effectively. While the culture is being established, players whose behavior runs counter to the culture need to be avoided in my opinion, or they can potentially forestall if not prevent the development of the culture.

For example, you can't have one of your team leaders be Brandon Marshall if you're a new head coach who's trying to establish a team culture centering on selflessness. You have to get rid of the Brandon Marshalls of the world until your culture is well-established and able to, as you said, "manage" that sort of individual so that he doesn't undermine the development of the culture.

Again, this is how the Patriots assimilated players like Randy Moss and Chad Johnson and just kept right on trucking. The Tom Bradys and Tedy Bruschis on that team had already created the Bill Belichick culture and stabilized it over a period of time sufficient to prevent Moss and Johnson from doing any of their customary damage.

I agree with most of what you are saying in general. I don't see Philbin creating what you are talking about so far though. Are you saying COG needed to be gotten rid of or that he prevented the coaches culture from developing?
To discuss a bit, I am of the thinking that "a members biggest key to their success is their relationship with their immediate supervisor. With the Oline, such relationships must not be working as desired or there would not be turnover in the Oline coaches.

 

[hoops]

There's not dysfunction there's one bad seed that needs to be removed

 

[GoonBoss]

so this situation is not dysfunctional? or it is not significant?
It seems both to me.

I don't think it's either dysfunctional, nor signifigant past what it's being inflated to be.

 

[Shouright]

I agree with most of what you are saying in general. I don't see Philbin creating what you are talking about so far though. Are you saying COG needed to be gotten rid of or that he prevented the coaches culture from developing?
To discuss a bit, I am of the thinking that "a members biggest key to their success is their relationship with their immediate supervisor. With the Oline, such relationships must not be working as desired or there would not be turnover in the Oline coaches.

I'm not sure how much the culture has developed to this point. My point with regard to the culture is that it's more difficult to establish a culture when there are team leaders whose behavior isn't consistent with it. Until the culture is established and stabilized, those sorts of players need to be avoided in my opinion.

 

[Finland]

I'm not sure how much the culture has developed to this point. My point with regard to the culture is that it's more difficult to establish a culture when there are team leaders whose behavior isn't consistent with it. Until the culture is established and stabilized, those sorts of players need to be avoided in my opinion.

I agree with you. often actually.

---------- Post added at 02:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:32 PM ----------

I don't think it's either dysfunctional, nor signifigant past what it's being inflated to be.

I guess it is "to what degree" it is dysfunctional. Something is a bit off, but I understand what you are saying. Time will tell.

 

[Shouright]

I guess it is "to what degree" it is dysfunctional. Something is a bit off, but I understand what you are saying. Time will tell.

I think that "something" is quite possibly the presence of players who are recognized as leaders whose behavior isn't consistent with the culture the coach is trying to develop, with an insufficient degree of balance provided by the leaders whose behavior is consistent with it. Consequently the current culture is "tipped" (think of scales) toward something that isn't what Philbin is trying to establish.

 

[DuderinoN703]

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?

I said no. About the video you posted, I don't see what that has to do with anything. Why not post a video of Belichick's post-game speech where he probably falls asleep halfway through?

 

[Shouright]

I said no. About the video you posted, I don't see what that has to do with anything. Why not post a video of Belichick's post-game speech where he probably falls asleep halfway through?

The video, in my opinion, shows how leaders among the players can exhibit and convey to their teammates the primary characteristics of a team culture that follows from the head coach's philosophy, personality, style, program, etcetera, which is a major component of the original post. The video, in my opinion, shows one kind of team culture in action.

 

[FSU Truth]

I would have voted inconclusive...

Sometimes it take an event to unify a team....look at last year's Colts who rallied around what happen to their coach.....

I could be completely off and I know I have said this already, but I believe that this situation may have been just the thing the Dolphin's needed. Having everyone against you, being bashed constantly in the media and go wonders to unite a group. Leaders will emerge, anger will be felt and they will be looking to take it out on someone. Hell hath no fury like a football team scorned...

 

[Shouright]

James Walker with an article today along these lines:

This is a locker room with no decorum or code of conduct. There are no standards, and Dolphins players went overboard. "I've taken stuff too far," Incognito, one member of the team’s six-player leadership council, admitted Sunday.

Leadership starts at the top, which brings us to Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland and head coach Joe Philbin. They failed to set a tone of what was not acceptable in Miami's locker room.

In fact, I've been at virtually every Dolphins practice and media availability since the start of training camp and cannot recall seeing Ireland or Philbin step into the locker room. Not once.

Ireland is responsible for putting this team together. He spent more than $200 million this offseason alone to acquire talented players. But one thing Ireland didn't account for is leadership. Not only was Incognito a member of the leadership council, he was its most dominant personality. Is it possible Incognito was the leader of the leadership council? Imagine that.

The workplace environment has become a huge issue with the Dolphins. Incognito claimed Sunday that ugly racial slurs are the norm.

http://espn.go.com/blog/miami-dolphins/post/_/id/2807/dolphins-team-culture-is-fractured

 

[finfan54]

And I agree, but is there any more semblance of the professionalism Philbin is trying to implement as a culture? There may be more unification right now (at least temporarily), but is there any more of the establishment and dissemination of the head coach's program via leaders among the players?

I'll say Rome wasn't built in a day.

The one glaring weakness of this team that stands out bigtime is the OL. Philbin allowed the players to vote their leaders it appears. He is giving them power to make team choices, which probably re-inforces his family philosophy. Incogs was voted by them. that backfired. So he has no choice but to cut off the bad apple.

He checked on Martin at the hospital I believe as a family member and not someone who would get fined or suspended because they left. He went because he was concerned. Like a father would. He then made a decision.

I know he has signs up everywhere reminding people of a championship team atmosphere.

He keeps his cool. He doesnt get overecstatic on a win and doesnt lose him mind on losses but does his best to correct and teach.

He believes in working with people he can trust, henceforth his coaching staff.

He was willing to go outside the boundaries of secrecy with letting Hard Knocks come in and dealt with tough situations on camera and made tough decisions while puting trust in HN to put out a good product for fans.

 

[finfan54]

Only Phin-fans would say "No"...ask anyone else in this country....the answer if "Yes"...duh

Please explain this. I have no clue what you said.