Monday, the Miami Dolphins fired Head Coach Joe Philbin. This comes a day after they lost to the New York Jets 27-14 in London, England, making their record 1-3. Is this the right decision to let him go four weeks into the season?
Miami hired Philbin January 20, 2012. He had been the Offensive Coordinator of the Green Bay Packers. The Dolphins were hoping he would help the offense to be one of the best in the NFL. His first season, Miami ended with a 7-9 record. The next two seasons were better finishing 8-8.
This season has been poor to this point. They beat Washington in week one, 17-10 but lost the last three games in a row. Miami has problems on both sides of the ball. On offense they have scored 16.2 points per game which ranks 30th in the NFL. They gain a total of 245.5 yards per game, which is 17th. They haven’t run the ball at all this year, only gaining 69.2 yards per game. The offense has been struggling to gain yards and to put points on the board, forcing the defense to stop opponents.
They spent $60 million on Ndamukong Suh hoping to improve the defense. Suh hasn’t recorded a single defensive sack. The defense as a whole gives up 399.5 total yards and hasn’t stop the run, giving up 160.5 rushing yards per game. Teams seem to be gaining yards on this defense, which have equaled points on the scoreboard.
. According to ESPN, Owner Stephen Ross said, “This was a tough decision for me to make knowing how tirelessly Joe worked in his four years here to make this a winning team. He is a man of the highest character and integrity that I developed a close personal relationship with.”
Miami announced that tight ends coach Dan Campbell will be the interim coach. This was the year the Dolphins were going to take a leap and make the playoffs. Some media experts even picked them to win the Super Bowl. The Dolphins must feel like the season isn’t lost yet and they could still make the playoffs. They are hoping a new head coach will bring life into the team and possibly enough wins to equal a playoff birth.
What do you think of the Miami Dolphins firing Joe Philbin?
It was right to hire him initially as he deserved his chance however it just didn’t work out. The Dolphins should have gone in another direction in the off season
Your right. Suh did play in a the 4-3 defense with the Lions.