Head Coach search/Dan Campbell CATCH-22

[Driven_Phinsane!]

We have a bit of a CATCH-22 going on with our Head Coach search; when Philbin was finally removed from power (better late than never i guess) 4 weeks into the season it gave us what we thought was a bit of a jump on other teams who will ultimately searching for a new Head Coach this offseason..It's almost a dead cert that Pagano will be fired this season and with the Titans firing Ken Whisenhunt earlier today that's at least two more teams that'll be looking to fill HC vacancies, will more sure to follow...

For a couple of weeks after the Queasy Joe & Clueless Coyle mercy killing (putting 'em outta OUR misery!) we were treated to the possibility that maybe the next great young NFL HC was already on-staff, as Dan CAMBO got all of our juices flowing once again and once again reminded us all that football can & should be FUN!!! Well, we rode into Foxboro feeling like we haven't felt in a long time when we were dealt a primetime dose of reality and harshly awoken from our fantasy-like dream...Truth is DC had this team riding high on emotion for two weeks but that will only get you so far; whether a guy with absolutely no high level coaching experience other than a few years as a TE's coach, a guy with no idea how to build a staff or for that matter a guy who might not even have the influence to build a quality staff deserves first crack at the opening is up for debate...

This brings up the CATCH-22; where it looked like we might have the inside-track headstart on our HC search, the more success DC has will kind of make looking or thinking ahead more difficult, will we be fooled into not exhausting all outside possibilities and just handing him the job outright or will be fools and not even consider him no matter how he finishes...This should get interesting....

[Finatic]

I think it has everything to do with how Campbell and the team play and finish. If we play well enough that he keeps the job, well then he should keep it. Guys like Wisenhut won't be a head coach again so maybe we get some good coordinators back on the market. I also think the team will explore every option out there, interview everyone and THEN compare them to what they have in Dan Campbell. If Cambo is the best candidate then he gets the job.

[Driven_Phinsane!]

I think it has everything to do with how Campbell and the team play and finish. If we play well enough that he keeps the job, well then he should keep it. Guys like Wisenhut won't be a head coach again so maybe we get some good coordinators back on the market. I also think the team will explore every option out there, interview everyone and THEN compare them to what they have in Dan Campbell. If Cambo is the best candidate then he gets the job.

I get what you're saying, but don't you think we can get swept away on the crest of a tidal wave if Cambo finishes strong?? We just experienced two weeks of it straight outta the bye..I mean really, if we would've somehow beaten the Pats in Foxboro they might've given him the job right there on the spot (i say this half-kiddingly, but you know what i'm saying) I just wonder if the Fins finish on a bit of a high, we might go into the whole 'HC search' with tunnel-vision and go for what might be fool's gold without doing our total due diligence...

[DolphinsFreak]

I don't see a Catch-22 here. It's only one if the owner if fool enough to allow it. I am not on the Campbell bandwagon. I don't think he is qualified enough to be a head coach and I certainly don't think he has enough NFL connections to build a team that will get the Dolphins into the playoffs anytime in the near future. I like the "type" of coach he wants to be but I am just not sure the timing is right for him. He is getting great on the job training but I really think he should make this a learning experience and go back to being what he is, a tight ends coach. Yes, he has a few friends in the NFL like Parcells but Ross is already friends with Parcells and that guy has done NOTHING to help make the Dolphins any better. All Parcells has done for the Dolphins is set this team back a decade. It's time for Ross to do what this team has needed for YEARS and that is to do a COMPLETE REBUILD, not a partial one. He can't keep hiring X, but keeping Y. He needs to fire everybody and start from scratch. Ever since Ross bought this team the Dolphins have been a mixed bag and they need to be complete. Ross needs to hire a new head coach, with NFL head coaching experience, and he needs to allow them to bring in their staff of NFL caliber coaches. These Sherman college coaches need to go and all of Parcells friends need to be shown the door. The Dolphins need a new attitude, I agree with Campbell, but unfortunately this job fell into his lap not because he is qualified for the job, it's because there have been so many coaching mistakes done over the year in the Dolphins organization that he was appointed the interim head coach by default, there was nobody worthy of the job including himself. So, in my opinion it's a no-brainer, gut this fish and start from scratch for the first time in many years.

[cuchulainn]

So what are our options and what happens if we let Campbell walk and he becomes the next Todd Bowles?

I think Dan can grow into the job and keep it. He's already better than Joe IMO in passion, motivation, and being a leader. He sticks to what he knows, admits what he doesn't, asks others for help, and is straight up with fans and the team. He's learning still, but is no worse than many other HCs out there.

I say give him the reins for the next 2 years, let him make staff changes, then draft him some studs on defense, and the OL and let's see how he does. I think we're a better team already, just over coming some injuries and depth issues.

YMMV.

[AquaXI]

We got competition now. Whisenhunt fired ! Titans be looking for the same thing we are.

[kelbail21]

If Tannenbaum were to hire OC Ken Whisenhunt and DC Chuck Pagano next year and we could hit on draft picks 1-3, Dan Campbell would look a million times smarter real fast. That's the bottom line. The HC has to demand results from his players and his staff. He must instill discipline and be an unquestioned General leading you into battle. He MUST force changes when things aren't working. The coordinators make it happen on the field. It's game plan. It's strategy and methods of attack. The HC can say this is what I see. This is what I expect. But it's your coordinators that orchestrate the attack. In other words, don't let the HC choose his coordinators. Let's leave old ties and friendship behind and appoint men based on their track record.

[AquaXI]

Good idea. Too many times they choose on loyalty instead of competency?

[Daytona Dolfan]

If Campbell can finish the season winning the games we should and keeping the losses close AND the team responds to him with the energy shown in the first two games, then I believe he should be given serious consideration for the job. I don't want him handed the job nor do I want some other guy, who has already proven that he can lose as an NFL head coach, just because he has been a head coach.

Campbell appears to be smart enough to know that "he don't know nuttin". After 11 years in the league I have to believe that he has made some contacts of his own. He's been in both winning and losing programs and I'm sure that he noticed the difference in them.

[VAIDER5120]

If he wins with what we have then that's pretty good and deserves the job.

[Dolfan1]

Two wins and one loss isn't enough to tell us anything regardless what the scores were in any of the games. We'll know a lot more at the end of the season so I'm withholding any opinions I have until then.

[phinfanfrom70s]

don't agree,for me it's Dan Campbells job to lose,that's how I see it!
ross gave him the job,so it's his to lose!!!!!
don't believe in the crap about knowing people and junk like that ,coaches are coaches.
if you have the football knowledge and have the common smarts and deal with people well,you can be a head coach.
Oh by the way every successful head coach has smart football people under him they don't do it by themselves!!!!!

[So Be]

I don't even know who is searching for the new HC, let alone having a conflict o who it may be. Is Hickey going to be here? If Tannenbaum is calling the shots, what does he do?

this is as dysfunctional as I have seen our team, and that is saying a lot. Philbin fired, OK. Campbell hired, OK I guess. Our problem with Philbin was with emotion and clock management. Dan got emotion down but, we promote our special teams coach (whose teams have not been special) to deal with the clock management as that is something Dan does not know.

We fire Coyle, OK. The guy taking his place says we do not play a 2 gap which players and fans are upset about. Problem solved?

Phans have problems with Lazor now, not to be confused with last year when he was VG. He has to go.

Add Ross to the equation, in addition to a handful of players to build on, and there is no catch 22. Should just be Phinatics looking for another kind of 22 to solve all our problems. JK.

[Wulf]

Two wins and one loss isn't enough to tell us anything regardless what the scores were in any of the games. We'll know a lot more at the end of the season so I'm withholding any opinions I have until then.

I truly believe that we are within a game of .500 BECAUSE of Dan Campbell. He took a staff, roster, and basic game plan that had FAILED under those who implemented it, and won two games we might have easily lost with Philbin and Coyle/ Like it or not, we will continue to run the same basic scheme they set for this season.

Only 2 of the remaining 9 teams on our schedule have winning records right now, so it seems that we are still very much alive, even though many people wrote us off after getting blown away by the Bills, and most of the rest followed suit the following week. Our destiny is still very much in our own hands, and if Campbell manages to get us there, I think he deserves a shot.

[cuchulainn]

Completely agree.

[cuchulainn]

I don't even know who is searching for the new HC, let alone having a conflict o who it may be. Is Hickey going to be here? If Tannenbaum is calling the shots, what does he do?

this is as dysfunctional as I have seen our team, and that is saying a lot. Philbin fired, OK. Campbell hired, OK I guess. Our problem with Philbin was with emotion and clock management. Dan got emotion down but, we promote our special teams coach (whose teams have not been special) to deal with the clock management as that is something Dan does not know.

We fire Coyle, OK. The guy taking his place says we do not play a 2 gap which players and fans are upset about. Problem solved?

Phans have problems with Lazor now, not to be confused with last year when he was VG. He has to go.

Add Ross to the equation, in addition to a handful of players to build on, and there is no catch 22. Should just be Phinatics looking for another kind of 22 to solve all our problems. JK.

It was well beyond emotion and clock mgt. Philbin had Ross in his hip pocket and Ross allowed him to gut a lot of talent from the team. Look around the league at who is where now and how they are playing since leaving. He purposely refused to give guys like Matthews and Turner real shots at performing on the field. Seems like every game there are former Dolphins playing. Last night there were several in the Colts and Panthers game for both sides.

Good riddance to Philbin. As for Rizzi, he's been a former HC at the College level and as the ST coach the past few years, he knows all the rookies and young guys on the team. I have zero issue with Dan asking Rizzi to help him with transition.

Ross is out of the mix at this point. He hired Tbaum to make the Football decisions. Tbaum was already running the analytics and sports science dept and is involved with player acquisition. As Hickey was Philbin's hand picked GM, it'll be interesting to see if he is retained, but I think most likely he is. This is the best FO structure we've had since 2012.

As for the fans, well fans of all teams piss and moan about their teams. It's what they do. Check out the 'skins, 9ers boards or the Colts forums...