Jeff Ireland, aka "Fireland,'' puts his career on the line with an Aggie. | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Jeff Ireland, aka "Fireland,'' puts his career on the line with an Aggie.

DKphin

DKphin

Active Roster
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
14,535
Reaction score
6,353
Location
Pattaya, Thailand
I first met Jeff Ireland 10 years ago this month, working on a Dallas Cowboys draft story. Owner Jerry Jones opened the process for me, and I was able to watch the Cowboys prepare for the 2002 draft on the inside, in the meetings of scouts, coaches and the front office. In so doing, I saw the respect afforded national scout Jeff Ireland. When he spoke, the room listened. So when I went to Davie, Fla., to report on the Tannehill pick, I wanted to hear the story of how Ireland got to the point where the Dolphins had only passing interest in Matt Flynn and never were a real competitor to trade up for the second pick in the draft and the chance to pick Robert Griffin III. It's because, as he explained, they liked Tannehill so much.

"I got enamored last August,'' he said, sitting in his office, the one with the framed photo of Walter Payton with his arm around Ireland the kid at a Bears training camp long ago.
But first, the elephant in the room. The fact that Ireland is public enemy No. 1 in south Florida. Ireland doesn't shy away from it. Fans flew a plane at the final home game of the 2011 season begging owner Stephen Ross to fire Ireland. There was a protest of about 30 fans outside the team's headquarters in March asking Ross to fire Ireland. But Ross, to me, was resolute about Ireland's future. "I wouldn't keep him here if I didn't think he had a good long-term future. Our draft last year was a darned good class. We have confidence this year it'll be good as well. I've got faith in Jeff.''
Said Ireland: "This too shall pass.''
I doubt that. But he went on.
"It's a little strange,'' he said of intense heat, and I didn't mean the weather. "It is what it is. I love the fact that the fans are passionate, and they want what I want -- to win. I believe what I do. I have a strong conviction in what I'm doing. I'm a meat-and-potatoes football guy, and I can handle the heat.''
Tannehill and the rest of the players, and the scouts and coaches, will see the heat. They'll feel it. As I write in the magazine this week, the new quarterback will be paying for the sins of people he doesn't know or has only recently met.
One of Ireland's points to me about Tannehill, and why he feels so good about the pick, is he put a grade on the quarterback in December and it never changed, all the way up to draft day. His scouts understood the implication. Tannehill was not only going to have to be good enough. He was going to have to be mentally tough enough to handle what was going on outside the building -- the negativity built up from a decade of chasing the Patriots and some of that time chasing the Jets, with so many draft picks blown, with the quarterback position a revolving door of (mostly) incompetence.
"They see the protesters, the negative stuff going on outside the building,'' Ireland said. "They know what's going on. It's a tough business, and the expectations never change.''
Ireland and coach Joe Philbin spoke of the plan for Tannehill, a plan no one knows exactly right now. In his office Friday afternoon, Philbin pointed to the practice fields outside and said: "Out there is where we're going to find out about Ryan Tannehill, Matt Moore and David Garrard. I don't remember a master plan that said, 'Here's when Ryan's going to play.' If there is one, I was never told about it. We'll let them come to work, and the best man will win.''
The best man had better be Tannehill by sometime late this season, at the latest, unless Moore keeps riding the magic carpet he found late last season in Miami's 6-3 finish. Ireland's handling the heat well enough, but he won't be able to survive if Tannehill's not the guy.
Click to expand...
 
"Out there is where we're going to find out about Ryan Tannehill, Matt Moore and David Garrard. I don't remember a master plan that said, 'Here's when Ryan's going to play.' If there is one, I was never told about it. We'll let them come to work, and the best man will win.''
Click to expand...

Philbin has been brutally honest about some other stuff (i.e. about not developing Aaron Rodgers), so I see no reason not to take this one at face value. I think he is going to start whoever plays the best in camp, even if it means sending Tannehill out there to the wolves early.
 
It may be parsing semantics but IMO, Rick Spielman who's been getting kudos lately for wheeling and dealing, and even to some extent, Randy Mueller (recently strongly on the Colts radar) would argue that Ireland may indeed be putting his "job" on the line but not necessarily his "career".
 
LarryFinFan said:
And how did you come up with that title to your post ?? The article says or intimates nothing about 'fireland' or him putting his job on the line for an Aggie...


You don't like Ireland, that's fine but this article is a pro-Ireland article ??
Click to expand...

The thread title is the bolded title within the article word for word..
 
Vaark said:
It may be parsing semantics but IMO, Rick Spielman who's been getting kudos lately for wheeling and dealing, and even to some extent, Randy Mueller (recently strongly on the Colts radar) would argue that Ireland may indeed be putting his "job" on the line but not necessarily his "career".
Click to expand...

It was kind of stunning to see the Vikings snooker the Browns out of like three or four draft picks just to swap #3/#4. Is this the same Rick Spielman?
 
Whoa! Fireland. So funny... Or not. Really poor attempt at bashing Ireland and at a thread title
 
LarryFinFan said:
I only read the pasted portion...still don't see how the article corresponds to that as a title.. ??
Click to expand...

The author of the article (Peter King) used that as the header for that segment of the article. The OP just used the same title that Peter King did.

---------- Post added at 05:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:51 PM ----------
J Tes said:
Whoa! Fireland. So funny... Or not. Really poor attempt at bashing Ireland and at a thread title
Click to expand...

Blame Peter King, not the OP. Those are Peter King's words...
 
It makes sense why they never seriously pursued Flynn.
 
SkapePhin said:
The author of the article (Peter King) used that as the header for that segment of the article. The OP just used the same title that Peter King did.

---------- Post added at 05:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:51 PM ----------



Blame Peter King, not the OP. Those are Peter King's words...
Click to expand...

Mmkay. Peter King is a goddamn idiot then.
 
Lol I could write that story....

<words> fans hate ireland for losing seasons and ties to bill parcels who promised much and didn't deliever <words> just like cam cameron <words> just like Nick Saban <words> just like Wanny <words> just like JJ <words> Jeff has ties his horse to the Tannehill post, good or bad <words> if it doesn't work everyone is fired <words>
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom