This team should have made the playoffs this year. 10+ wins should be achievable with this roster.
The book on Philbin as a head coach has been written. Nice guy, good football knowledge, detail oriented, but awful at leading, motivating, and making clutch decisions and adjustments during games.
Philbin is the perfect example of good but not good enough. 8-6 last year, the team needs one win against a bad team (Bills and Jets) and they come out looking unprepared and totally outmatched. They get embarrassed in both games and miss the playoffs.
This year, look at the early games against the Bills and Chiefs. Both games were close but got away in the second half. Look at the blown lead in the Packers game and the horrible time management and play calling by Philbin near the end. Look at the blown lead against Detroit. Look at the blown lead against Denver. Look at the blown lead against Baltimore. These are all second half blown leads, by the way. Look at the 1 point game that turned into a second half blowout against New England. How much evidence do you need to be convinced that Philbin has reached his ceiling and does not have what it takes to push this team into being a contender?
That's the big picture. If you want we can talk about the small picture, like the colossal lack of leadership that was the 2013 bullying scandal. Or Jared Odrick yelling in Philbin's face on the sideline a few games ago. Or Philbin's insistence to keep Dallas Thomas in games when he is consistently getting destroyed and ruining the offense's chance at getting anything going. Or the fact that he will tell offensive coordinators to abandon the run when he gets a whim, which never works out well.
An aside, let's talk about the Packers game. Dolphins are up by a few with 2 minutes or so to play, first and 10, their ball. First play is a run for no gain, Packers call a TO. Second play is a pass which is fine, you're playing to win. The play breaks down, Tannehill escapes the pocket and throws it away. This play makes Joe Philbin nervous so he calls a running play on 3rd and 10! What happened to trying to win the game? Dolphins punt, the rest is history. This is entirely Philbin's doing as he later admits in the press conference.
If you are going to win a SB you need a head coach with some balls, a guy who can motivate and push a team to be their best. Look at John Harbaugh and the Ravens in their game against Miami. Third quarter, 3 point game, 4th and 1 on their own 35 and they go for it! They get the first and turn the drive into a TD. That's a real coach. Philbin punts there 100 times out of 100.
No one is saying everything is entirely Philbin's fault. Ross is a fucking idiot and the team will probably never get a good HC because of him. However, that doesn't change the fact that Philbin has been unable to get the job done. This year needed to be playoffs or bust and the opportunities were there, but once again the soft Dolphins under soft Joe wilt in December. Keep making excuses but the fact is he has done nothing to show he deserves YET ANOTHER shot.
Also, read this:
http://m.bleacherreport.com/article...-of-offensive-line-epitomizes-joe-philbin-era
Great read from a guy who does really good weekly film breakdowns of Dolphins games.
Fire Philbin.
