Does Steven Ross Have The Stones To Do What’s Right?

Will any of this Phins regime survive?


Gase didn’t make a case to stay by losing 42-17

(Article will be updated below… things are moving fast it seems)

It was another ugly end to another ugly year for the Phins. This Miami defeat to the Bills mirrored last year’s Week 17 loss: a prominent Phin ejected and a bitter send-off into the offseason for the team and fans.

What’s worse this year, the game wasn’t even a close game… this was a complete shellacking.

Today begins the Dolphins offseason… and the clock has already started on the ‘wait and see show‘ of who’s getting fired.

Someone is getting the ax for certain. The only question now is who or ‘whos’.

Ryan Tannehill’s fate is on hold for a few months… stay tuned for how that pink slip unfold. But Mike Tannenbaum, Chris Grier, and Adam Gase are only hours or days away from receiving their judgment.

None of this team’s architects are above reproach

Personally, I say they should all go. Given the state of the team after three years in their hands, and the beatdown to close the season, how can Ross bring any of them back? It would be shameless of Ross to see any of them back in 2019.

I don’t enjoy saying this because I saw promise in Gase and Grier, but the time has come for them to work on their flaws elsewhere. The Phins are a complete mess… and Tannenbaum, Grier, and Gase made it.

This is what all three of them have built:

The 2018 Defense is the worst in Dolphins history… and that isn’t all on Matt Burke. This ‘D’ was nearly as bad in 2016 under Vance Joseph. A wasteful 2017 defensive draft and poor scheme is more culpable in my eyes. There’s no sure solution at Quarterback, despite the Head Coach resting the entire franchise’s fortunes on his evaluation. And multiple positions need dramatic help with CAP that isn’t pretty.

Who wants more of this? Let’s hope Steven Ross has what it takes to do what’s right.

All three men have had their hand in erecting this monument of terrible.

All the pay per head services like AcePerHead.com have Mike Tannenbaum pegged as a disaster, so we can all agree he’s 100% out the door.

Chris Grier though is a little more complicated. Grier has found some nice players at the back of the draft and off the scrap heap. But too many blue chip picks and big money Free Agents have panned out to be fools gold.

Also, Grier has been part of the draft equation for quite some time as a Miami scout before being GM ... So across multiple regimes, Grier has had his hand in Miami’s poor talent acquisition.                                    

Ross needs to have the guts and wisdom to do what’s right

Then there’s Gase. I liked Gase a lot in 2016. But let’s remember Gase is the Head Coach… not just the Offensive Coordinator. Gase is the guy that called just about all the shots! He decided the skimp on the interior O-line, bet everything on Tannehill, run the Wide 9 scheme, bring in Cutler, and has been mostly a bust when it comes to evaluating talent. Gase had a big hand i picking the players, so the excuse of ‘he didn’t get enough to work with’ doesn’t float.

Either Gase can’t evaluate talent well enough, or he doesn’t know how to use his talent

Gase has final say on the 53 man roster… so isn’t he ultimately the guy responsible for the team? Lately, it seems like according to him that it’s everyone and everything’s fault but his. This type of leadership is what ultimately turned me off to him.

I get Jimmy’s viewpoint and like-minded fans: Gase hasn’t been the worst HC we’ve had. His team’s play hard and have some spectacular plays… But the bar needs to be set higher than this. That’s why I hope Steven Ross decides to ‘Go Phish’ and find a replacement for all three. Go Phins!!!

Promising Update as of 10:00 EST:

PPH Articles:

14 comments

  • Steve

    Here’s a small list of prior head coaches and Irving Meyers 1st picked, McCarthy may just want to make statement this season and Dan Campbell is down right hungry.
    Lincoln Riley man would really be a great for the Dolphins and Caldwell man he got to the playoff 4 times and crash and burned?

    McCarthy is one of the few candidates available to have a Super Bowl win on his resume. The veteran head coach led Green Bay to eight straight playoff appearances from 2009 to 2016
    Chuck Pagano, former head coach, Indianapolis Colts
    Pagano got off to a hot start in Indiana, leading the Colts to three straight 11-win seasons behind a debuting Andrew Luck and advancing all the way to the 2014 AFC title game

    Dan Campbell, tight ends coach, New Orleans Saints
    Campbell has experience as a head coach, through it was just a 12-game interim position with the Dolphins in 2015. The former tight end went 5-7 in Miami that fall, an improvement on the 1-3 start that got Joe Philbin fired. He’s spent the three seasons since helping revamp the New Orleans offense, transforming Drew Brees’ aerial attack into a more sustainable unit and pushing the club to back-to-back playoff appearances, including the NFC’s top seed in 2018.

    Lincoln Riley, head coach, Oklahoma
    Riley has spent the last three-plus seasons at Oklahoma, spending two as the team’s offensive coordinator before taking over for a retiring Bob Stoops in 2017. In that span he developed Baker Mayfield from neglected Texas Tech transfer into a Heisman Trophy winner. Now Mayfield’s looking for a full-time coach, and Riley could be Cleveland’s guy. He’s led the Sooners to College Football Playoff in each of his two seasons as Oklahoma’s head coach,

    Jim Caldwell, former head coach, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions
    Caldwell is a veteran option with plenty of regular season success; five of his seven seasons as a head coach ended with winning records. His playoff record is a different story, though. He couldn’t push a 14-2 Peyton Manning-led Colts team to a Super Bowl title in 2009 and is currently riding a four-game postseason losing streak.

    We want Grier to succeed but he best be careful experimenting with unproven coaches.

    I think Todd Bowles would be excellent back with the Dolphins as Defensive Coordinator at least we don’t have to worry about the defense. Once again this is a no brainier.

    • admin

      Of the above Bowles and Campbell, I like the best. Bowles runs a D that I really like and think would work well with this personnel. I’d at least love to see him as the Dolphins DC. I like Campbell, but not sure he is brainy enough. We need smart and charismatic. Bowles I like best of the two. Looking into the Pats DC and Minchiak.

  • Steve

    I’m shock that Grier is still here? My opinion he is suspect!

    We all know the drill on the last coaches that were fired etc. But I understand where we are making our mistakes with the hiring process. We are failing to bring in A coach that has had a successful football program i.e NFL or College. Such as Irving Myers Will Grier even try to recruit him (he would be my picked bottom line) and Harbaugh has yet to beat Myers at his game.

    We continue to gamble with Coordinator special teams coaches etc. Here’s the Proof below.

    a Wannstedt was fired 9 games into the 2004 season. Bates served as interim head coach for the remaining 7 games.b Sparano was fired 13 games into the 2011 season. Bowles served as interim head coach for the remaining 3 games.c Philbin was fired 4 games into the 2015 season.[6] Campbell served as interim head coach for the remaining 12 games.

    Nick Saban was the only head coach who we let get away. That was Gase problem,motivating a team to win each week is a lot different than concerned only about the defense or offense or special teams or the press etc. Everyone coach is not ready for this.

    • admin

      Saban isn’t human enough for the NFL. He is a bit wormy. I’m 50/ 50 or so on Grier… but at least Ross is headed in the right direction with his hands-off approach. The 2017 defense draft is what worries me… it was bad for so many reasons… But we don’t know who was in charge of what… we’ll find out quick what Grier is made of this draft…

  • Steve

    Hello Dol-Fans

    Sad for any one to lose a job. But this is not little league where everyone gets a trophy. Coach Gase I hear that the Brown and Jets have interest in him.

    But this needed to happen and there should have been more out the door with him. I wrote on this forum earlier in the season that If Gase banks on Tannehill that he would be out of a job. We have Witness a new 53 man roster that never replaced the quarterback Tannehill. But everyone else positions including three coaches Joe Philbin, Dan Campbell and Coach Gase were expendable.

    • admin

      Gase and Tannehill both regressed hard… both underachieved their potential, in my opinion. With Gase it was more about him. Those injuries really took the edge of Tannehill… and he wa sort of dull to start with. Both are gone by the beginning of the 2019 Season… so let’s see what we have coming this time….

  • Fritz

    After the loss to the Jags, I felt Gase should probably go. But after the drubbing at Buffalo, I was convinced that he and Tannenbaum had to go. I’m okay with Grier being kept on since I don’t think that he was responsible for the personnel decisions since Gase had final say over the 53. Who knows if Grier got vetoed on free agents, draft picks etc. From what I’ve read, it seems like he did not have too much say. He probably convinced Steve Ross that if he had had the final decisions on players, maybe they don’t sign or draft some of the players they did. Now that he has been given full control, we shall see just how competent he is. To his credit, he has found some very good late round draft picks that seem to be working out. I kind of like Grier and I think MJ, you’re coming down too hard on him. He deserves this chance to prove himself.

    Gase on the other hand, was just too stubborn to make changes. He had a few talented players (especially a good stable of running backs, in particular Drake) yet refused to use them or did not know how to use them effectively. He essentially lost the team in Minnesota and began losing what little faith I had left in him. He was responsible for his own undoing. I think he had some problems identifying talent and made some major errors in who he brought in. Yet, word out there is that he is already going to get interviews for another head coaching job.

    I am relieved that Tannenbaum is out. Never liked the guy from day one. He did to the Dolphins pretty much what he did to the Jets.

    As far as who I like for a new hire, top of my list is Josh McDaniel.

    I now have renewed optimism. We’ll see how it goes. Love my Dolphins!

    • Fritz

      BTW Happy New Year everyone!

    • admin

      Happy New Year, Fritz!!!

      I’m mostly happy with the situation. I like Grier as a person, but I have reservations about his ability. You may be right that I’m being hard on him… the 2017 Draft with this D scheme is what bothers me about his ability. None of the top 3 picks were of value in my opinion. Some will say McMillan had 100 plus tackles… but the quality of most of them and his flaws adds a ton of context for me. Who picked who? Who knows. Grier will get a chance for sure and he nice part is this won’t be a convoluted situation and fans will know exactly who is responsible. The person I’m most impressed with is Ross. He took ownership of the situation and changed his MOP… for him to go hands off was a good sign for sure. The framework is now correct and I think that this will lead to success. Gase had to go… he became a prideful and stubborn fool by the end. A shame, he has quality but I think he’s his own worst enemy. I hope they get a Defensive coach or the Ol coach for Pits. We need toughness and consistency. This is just reflex opinion… I’m going to start looking into each of them. The DC from Pats would be nice I like the defense… but doubt he comes. Overall, we are in a better place… a long way off from success, but a good plan must happen before he first step…

  • Brandon

    According to ESPN this morning:
    -Gase is fired
    -Tannebaum has been reassigned
    -Grier now oversees all football operations
    http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25653673/miami-dolphins-fire-coach-adam-gase

    • admin

      Thanks, brother… yeah, I posted the article and 10 mins later the news was flowing. Added some updates at the end. Been watching the news all day… what do you think? As for me, not sure how Grier will do, but Ross finally has the right system in place. It took a lot for him to own up and take his hands off… I was impressed and encouraged by that.

    • admin

      BTW, brother.. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

  • MiamiYankee

    Start to wonder if they will ever turn this around. After Jimmy left we were a qb short. Been all down hill since.

    • admin

      Yeah, brother. The HC hire will be big, but it’s all about Grier now. Ross finally has the right system though. He HAD to let a football guy run things. I really am hopefully now that the right system is installed… will Grier be good enough? I’m 50 /50 on it. Have a Happy New Year.