Eh, I don't know that Philbin is a lame duck. I really don't. This isn't like the Sparano situation where Ross just flat out cut Tony's legs out from under him. It seems clear as day to me that:
1. Steve Ross loves Joe Philbin and absolutely wants to give him every opportunity imaginable to stay the head coach of the Dolphins.
2. By coming out this early and this strongly in favor of Joe, it lends credibility to the idea that the ownership is squarely in the coach's corner.
Again, would have preferred a change, but I appreciate that the way Ross has gone about this means that Joe is NOT going to be a lame duck like Tony was in 2011 or Jim Harbaugh was this year.