What If The Miami Dolphins Had Moved To The Afc South? | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

What If The Miami Dolphins Had Moved To The Afc South?

DKphin

DKphin

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I know we have long standing rivalries with NE, Jets, Bills, but traveling 1500 miles to play away games against our division rivals is a bit ridiculous. I always thought we should've been in the AFC South.

For many fans, there has always been only four teams in the AFC East but that wasn’t always the case and the Miami Dolphins almost moved out of it.

In 2002, the NFL added a 32nd team to the league. When the Houston Texans joined, the league realigned and the Miami Dolphins almost became a member of the AFC South. It would have made sense but what would history have looked like if they had?
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https://phinphanatic.com/2019/08/08/miami-dolphins-looked-like-moved-afc-south/
 
I always wanted to move. I remember coming here and talking about it when realignment was being discussed prior to 2002. Most seemed opposed to it as it would have given us Jax, Houston and Tennessee as rivals who we had no history with - all were too new to the league. Whereas everyone seemed to want to keep playing Buffalo and the Jets as we had too many memorable games with them at the time. I still wish we had a southern schedule more than what we currently have, but that opportunity seems gone for good.

On the other side of things, had the Colts stayed in the AFC East and Miami moved, the league would have had TWO Brady/Manning games in the division every year instead of the one that pretty much always got played as they both finished 1st just about every year from 2002-2011 which was when Manning then left the Colts. That would have been a short term bounty for the league but in the long term, it was decided that Indy was the squad that probably belonged in another division.
 
It would have saved this franchise IF they had moved out of the East. #1) New rivals would be great for the fanbase to get into #2) NE would have inherited a stronger rival to challenge them over the last 20 seasons and #3) Miami is as far South as you can go so it only made sense.

As it is the franchise is about as low as it can get and buried behind two other very hungry teams when and if NE ever decides to falter
 
Moving to another division wouldn’t have saved this franchise from its decade and a half of mediocrity. Blame the Patriots all you want, but the wounds have been largely self-inflicted.
 
Location wise it would of made sense.
Kind of weird a team in Jacksonville plays in the AFCS but a Miami team plays in the AFCE.



Same for Dallas, who geographically isn't in the east at all. But their rivalries were long lasting.
 
I remember Stephen A Smith going off about this a year ago, saying the Dolphins should petition the last 20 years of the NFL.

There's not reason the AFC East shouldn't be the Patriots, Jets, Bills and either Baltimore or Pittsburgh. No way the NFL would split those teams up though. I guess you could have said the same about the Colts though.

Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Houston, Atlanta, Carolina and Dallas should be the 2 south divisions (however you want to split it)
 
I always wanted them to make that move.

Not to avoid NE but to avoid late season cold weather games no other warm weather team has to play.

The Fins are in a unique position being a warm weather team in a cold weather division.The only close comp is Dallas and they are not as tropical as Miami so it is not as big an adjustment for them. And all three of their NE rivals are South of NE/Buff.

It is unfair to make Miami have to travel to NE/NJ/Buff late when no other team faces such circumstances.
 
Not a big deal. It’s the same in baseball with Tampa being in the AL east with all the Northeast deals. Divisions don’t have to be perfect geographically.

I mean we would all love losing to Houston twice a year. If Miami was dominating the division like New England, this is a non topic. Were people complaining about Miami being in the east when they were an expansion team or when they were winning the division seemingly every other year in the 70s and 80s?
 
jimthefin said:
I always wanted them to make that move.

Not to avoid NE but to avoid late season cold weather games no other warm weather team has to play.

The Fins are in a unique position being a warm weather team in a cold weather division.The only close comp is Dallas and they are not as tropical as Miami so it is not as big an adjustment for them. And all three of their NE rivals are South of NE/Buff.

It is unfair to make Miami have to travel to NE/NJ/Buff late when no other team faces such circumstances.
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It’s no different than the chargers going to Kansas City and Denver late in the year.
 
Dolph N.Fan said:
It’s no different than the chargers going to Kansas City and Denver late in the year.
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Yep, and Miami doesn't have to deal with a time change either. Hell even San Diego to Oakland is probably what, an hour less plane flight than Miami to Foxborough? Not that big of a deal. Only thing it may benefit is fans may travel more but there really isn't a reasonable travel opponent for Miami outside of Jacksonville.
 
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