Looking ahead to 2016 & beyond...

[Driven_Phinsane!]

Like most here i'd imagine this trainwreck of a season couldn't finish soon enough...Well, look at the bright side, at least the Fins didn't wait 'til the last two weeks of the season to shit the bed, miss a great chance at the playoffs & rip our collective hearts out yet again,, Why put off 'til tomorrow what you can do today, right?!!...

As this burning dumpster fire is mercifully reducing itself to residual black smoke & ashes, we're only left with looking forward...While 2015 should have been a great year for this organization; 50 year golden anniversary (guess it's pretty appropriate that we came into the league 50 years ago as an expansion team and closed the half-century mark looking like one!) playoffs in our sights & even early talk of a run at the Pats & a division title left us all chomping at the bit for the season to start..Unfortunately, right out of the gates we were stone-cold slapped down by reality and quickly came to realize that this team had neither the coaching staff (Most of us knew this years ago) nor the talent (Here, most of us were fooled) nor the capability of properly using the talent we did have to have any chance of succeeding...Worse yet, i for one don't see much reason for optimism or hope of this turning around in the near future...

All that being said, 2016 will perhaps be the most pivotal year this franchise has faced in many, many years..There are going to be some key decisions made that will be ABSOLUTELY HUGE in determining whether this team has any realistic hope of making a complete 180 or whether we're going to continue to be the laughingstock of the league for the next decade or so...This team NEEDS a COMPLETE ENEMA from top to bottom with very few exceptions..Obviously Ross isn't going anywhere after dumping a ton of his money into stadium upgrades, so we can only hope that his decision to put Tannenbaum in charge turns out to be the right one (His track record in decision making thus far doesn't make me feel all warm & fuzzy about it, but it is what it is)

First & foremost we need to decide what's going on with Hickey (Seems you never even hear his name mentioned anymore..He is still part of our F.O. right??) Are we going to be in the market for a new GM, and if so what will his role & responsibility be?? This decision can't be overstated as it basically sets up everything else; whoever fills this role will have to have major input in many key areas including the search for a new HC; most importantly we have to hit on a guy who has a keen eye for spotting talent - THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST!!!!!...

This brings us to our next HUGE decision; finding an up & coming competent guy to be our next HC, who not only has the ability but the desire to come to Miami and work in this dysfunctional environment..Not sure just how attractive this job vacancy is these days, might be sort of like asking someone to be blindfolded & walk the plank over shark infested waters; "TRUST ME!!!"..Matt could very well be right when he says DC will be our next HC because no one else will want the job - If that's the case, we're DOOMED!!! And i don't say this because i think DC hasn't any coaching skills but that if we're no longer an org. that can attract good people, DC will never be able to build a competent staff..Our only hope is to get a great mind in here, a guy who can build a quality staff and is willing to embrace the challenge of righting this ship...

If (BIG IF HERE!!!) this decision hits the mark, we'll move on towards the HUGE decisions regarding the roster..This roster seems to be pretty void of any eye-popping talent outside of one or two players and has close to zero depth at every position..There are only a handful of players who we should keep and unfortunately a few we probably should keep who will elect to leave via free agency (Lamar Miller, Rishard Matthews, Shelby & even OV) Even if we land an absolute stud GM & HC & Staff, IMO there are way, way, way too many holes to fill on the roster for this team to make a realistic one offseason makeover to put them back on track for even a hope of fielding a half-decent team in 2016..But IF we are finally able to make a few 'right' decisions and actually get some competent guys in the jobs that matter, maybe, just maybe we will at least have some little speck of hope that we can one day come close to sniffing what we once used to take for granted..along time ago in a galaxy far, far away.........

[Seadog]

Needs to start at the top, not Ross, but right below all the way down...Ross owns the team, he isn't going anywhere nor should he...

We actually need people that recognize real talent, not the talent that is lacking from 46 players on this team.

If, we keep DC as HC, we are going to have many 1st overall picks in the near future....Like the guy, but he has no idea what he's doing, he needs to move to a OC or DC job under a well qualified coach and learn, Very much like Mike Shula, who I would love to see here as HC...

[Seadog]

You can disagree, all good, but Ross owns the team, that's it....

He isn't going anywhere and I highly doubt with the money he put out of his own pocket for the stadium upgrades he's selling the team...

That said, he just needs to hire better at the top, when you have made the type of money he has, you're not looking at a fool, just not sure he knows what he's completely doing at the football level, I bet he's learning, everyday and every year....

Any owner of a football team has made their money elsewhere, so there is NOBODY that's going to put the Dolphins first, not one person started off buying a team for $10 and then built it up to a Billion....

I only blame Ross for the top people he hires, which need to change, my bet is Ross is learning what to do, he throws loads of money out of his pocket and isn't afraid to spend, and he has spent...

Sorry... Ross is here to stay, so we better hope he makes better decisions at the top of the Dolphin organization than dream about him leaving, cause it ain't happening....

[Driven_Phinsane!]

The fact of the matter is that you luck into whether your favorite team ends up with a good owner or not, i mean when the biggest part of the criteria is that they have billions of dollars to throw around on what pretty amounts to a side-project or hobby, it pretty much narrows your chances of getting a perfect owner considerably..I think we're very lucky to have an owner willing to reach into his deep pockets & spend whatever's necessary but conversely i think we're unfortunately stuck with an owner who has pretty much made nothing but bad decisions since he bought into this mess...

[Seadog]

Agreed Driven, but after the changes brought on this year, I would have to think he's learning, I just hope he rethinks his top positions and makes some changes for the good. This guy didn't make money by hiring idiots his whole life...yet football is different, as you look at sports casters night after night tell you how this player or that coach is the best that's ever played, when in reality they just plain suck....Owners take this idiotic information and believe it instead of trusting their gut, which at this point hasn't let Ross down....He needs to just hire, like he's hiring at his business, that's who these top guys are, not football but business, failure isn't an option in the business world, but somehow is in the football world...

[cuchulainn]

Good write up. I appreciate the thought and time you put into this, as well as the humor.

It does seem that every time we're (supposedly) poised to have a good season, the wheels fall off early. Each of the past 2 seasons we've seen injuries and suspensions wreck an early season start before we played the first game. Pouncey, Delmas, Jones, etc... and it seems our depth evaluation is always poor from the FO and coaches making these decisions.

Hickey-baum had a solid draft in 2015. Tbaum is the VPO in title, but acts as the defacto GM. Hickey is more of a Sr VP of Scouting. If these two are working well together, and I've read nothing suggesting that they aren't, or that there is any FO tension, then I doubt Hickey is canned unless Tbaum just wants to shake up the scouting dept.

Interesting take on whether we can attract other coaches. Dan Campbell probably shouldn't be the head coach next year, but that doesn't mean he won't be if Tbaum thinks Dan has shown enough promise.

As for the roster. We're lacking both talent and depth. On defense, where most of the holes are, it's a possibility we're running a 3-4 next season. Jelani Jenkins and Neville Hewitt project at Will. Misi and Vigil to the Mike. Cam Wake (if he returns), Dion Jordan (if he returns), Chris McCain, Damontre Moore and at least one draft pick at OLB.

Fede, Coples (if retained), and a draft pick like Bronson Kaufusi would project as 5-7 techniques along with Suh. An interesting experiment would be moving Fede to LB if he got himself into outstanding shape. Kaufusi is a freak of nature and could also play OLB in a 3-4.

I really want a 1st round LB and have for years, but from my POV, we desperately need to draft a CB in the 1st round, then go LB in the 2nd as this is a deep LB draft. I see no alternatives to CB giving the poor defensive play this season and looking at our roster with an old Grimes on one side who has slowed with injuries the past 2 seasons and not enough on the other side. We basically have Jack and Shit at CB and Jack Grimes is too pricey while Shit Taylor needs to be flushed. Good free agent corners are just way too expensive and risky. I like Bobby McCain, but he's small and better suited to the slot/nickel. My priorities are CB, LB, FS.

Of the players mentioned as FAs, I prioritize Miller first and foremost and Shelby, who is versatile and under rated, then offer take it or leave it contracts to Matthews and OV.

Agree with you on hoping for competence across all facets of the team. Would be nice to see that happening these next few games as I'm sick of this team killing drives with poor play, poor O and D coaching decisions, player concentration issues, and penalties such as stupid, childish, personal fouls. To me this is where Dan is failing the most.

YMMV.

[Driven_Phinsane!]

Thanks cuch, while i know we don't always agree, you can rest assured that i value your opinion & 'preesh the props! I kind of laughed to myself after i hit 'submit' because the thought hit me that it took me longer to type out this post than it took for our season to go shitty...

[cuchulainn]

Lol... no worries, my friend. It'd be a boring world if did all agree. ;-)

And yeah, the season went to hell in a hurry. BUT, just you wait till NEXT season!!! lol...

[AquaXI]

It's gonna be who Tannenbaum is comfortable with. Thus I don't see Mike Shanahan, Josh Mcdaniels,Payton,or any guys who want power. I don't know if Hickey will be there. Maybe Tannenbaum anoints himself GM but we do know it's a Coach that will Yes sir to him.

[DolphinsFreak]

If Tannenbaum thinks that Campbell is the best man for the head coaching job then I am convinced he is just out for control or NOBODY wanted to come in and try and fix this mess. I disagree that a lot of up and coming coaches wouldn't want to come to Miami. The mess this organization is in wouldn't be the reason why coaches avoid Miami, Tannenbaum would be that reason. If he can take a step back and just be a VP, rather then second guessing draft decisions like we heard he did, especially in the 2nd round, then I think coaches will want to come. Ross needs to stay completely away from ALL coaches and personnel decisions and Tannenbaum just needs to be a babysitter and not get too involved himself. THAT will attract more coaches. Most coaches would want the job if Tannenbaum were fired or stepped down, but if he is going to remain in Miami, like we know he will, then he needs to take a step back. THEN, the Dolphins can pursue real head coaching candidates and not be stuck with a guy who had the job fall into his lap, like Sparano and Philbin. We don't need another coach like those guys, which is exactly what Campbell would be if that were to happen. Campbell is a great coach but he is not ready for a head coaching job. His day will come more than likely but that day isn't now. The Dolphins need to do the right thing and hire someone with more experience. I am not sure Mike Shula would have success in Miami but I have to guess the Dolphins head coaching job must have been a dream of his since he was a kid, after he played for them of course. Well, since one dream didn't pan out maybe he would want the other one to? I think other coaches should be available but I think the next Shula might just be the head coach of our beloved Miami Dolphins.

[HndRkyaBong34]

until Ross cuts ALL ties with all this Stinky Tuna/ New York connections we will remain mediocre.... If I'm Ross I would covet Mike Shula and find a GM connection between the two. Bring in Shula and with all the connections MS brings to the table there will be a flurry of excitement amongst OC's and DC's to want to be a part of this Shula connection in Miami. Shula would breathe new life into this Organization, a story of dreams, the epitome of a football life.. Mike Shula has proved he can handle the job and is undefeated as a OC who started the season with a WR deficient Offense.. Did I say he's undefeated.. If I owned the team that I've loved since 1971, The Miami Dolphins! There would be nothing that would get in the way of me bringing the son of the most winningest coach of all times, a offensive mind that is currently undefeated, a family tradition of winning, a football family... Who would not want to be a part of this story.... Just the thought of it motivates me, it would be a sold out show and it would resonate throughout the league and it would open up the flood gates for quality talent and quality football minds.... Not gonna happen... Ross is a New York junkie.......Mediocre it is......

[Dolfan1]

I'm actually NOT looking forward to next year since I'm sure we need to set fire to this team and I don't look forward to another 3 years stretch or longer to get back on track. I've grown tired of this wait another year Bullshit. I still love the Dolphins but I now believe I've seen the last of them ever being great.

[VAIDER5120]

Great post DP, HEAR, HEAR!

[Driven_Phinsane!]

I appreciate it Darth! Sucks to think your favorite team has become the dregs of the league with no real hope in sight,, sucks worse when you take the time to put all these thoughts down in black & white and have to confront the truth..But it's the life of the Fins fan, what're you gonna do???, sigh-h-h...