Doubt it...that's usually for the well run organizations that don't have embarrassing lockeroom scandals.
You should check Dave Hyde's Twitter account. The 2014 questions are going to be minimal at best, IMO. Philbin will be in "deflect, deflect, deflect" mode.
Hyde also tweeted there's only 3 local media guys in Indy. So, if it's mostly national and/or out of market media guys covering this, I'd imagine they're not really going to care much about Miami in 2014 at this point.
So the big-bad meany media got it wrong? You're saying the org wanted the coach front and center first? "The initial roster of coach/G.M. press conferences to be conducted at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis included new Dolphins G.M. Dennis Hickey — but excluded coach Joe Philbin. Philbin has now been added to the list." http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/19/philbin-will-face-the-music-in-indy-after-all/ #Always reactive
Philbin said back when all this happened in November that he would address the media when the report was finished. This is what he was talking about.
I didn't see it... but PFT, who has been quite harsh on the Fins... seemed to think the interview with Philbin was a positive one: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...akes-responsibility-for-dolphins-locker-room/
Here's a snippet of the interview http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/0ap2000000326799/Philbin-I-m-the-one-that-s-responsible
Philbin said that he is responsible for the team. But every question, he would just answer he didn't know what was happening. Q"why was incognito made a leader after the golf course incident?" A"we have a leadership council and he wasn't on it" it was just awkward, the guy in charge of the team has no clue whats happening with the team
As awkward and as bad as it seemed, I thought it was important for the purpose of closure. Essentially all he needed to do was go up there and not be a complete disaster, and he would have achieved something positive. I think he did that. Getting up in front of the media and allowing them to extract their pound of flesh will help the Dolphins achieve some measure of closure on the whole thing. It won't be right now, right in this hour. But a week from now? Where's the story a week from now? You won't have media griping anymore and sending open letters talking about how Philbin needs to get in front of them and answer some hard questions. Hell I doubt he'll even have to answer more than a question or two about this subject at the owners meetings now. The media are upset in part because they know the movie just ended unsatisfactorily...but ended all the same.
Where did you come up with that? What he said (and I'm paraphrasing) is that the leadership council is elected by the players and in respect to that process he didn't override Richie's election to the council.
The bulk of the interview can be found in this video clip: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combi...-I-didn-t-necessarily-name-Incognito-a-leader
Like him or hate, Philbin is certainly a man of integrity. When asked about cutting Richie after the golf incident he could have easily thrown Ireland under the bus but instead he owned the decision as well.
Maybe he is or maybe he isn't but anyone could say that after the fact. All depends on your interpretation.
The man comes across as a decent man but weak. Tom Landry was also a decent man who wasn't fiery but was also always seen as being in control. He had a quote: "Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." After seeing Philbin I gained no confidence in him as a leader or that he is in control of the team. Might just be me.
Honest opinion? I saw a lot of form and very little substance. It's surprisingly easy to "take responsibility" (publicly, as in saying it to others) for stuff that you know other people don't truly believe is your fault. Just as it's easy to talk about how you're going to fix and change things in the future. However it's a lot HARDER to publicly take responsibility for something that may have actually been your fault and that you know others will see as your fault. That's where your defensive reflexes kick in and your instincts tell you to deflect blame. It's also harder to talk about the PAST (as opposed to the future) and what you should have done differently. On that note I would isolate two pairs of questions/answers, which show what I'm talking about: 1. He started to be pressed about Richie Incognito and the golf course incident. One reporter asked about the rumor that HE wanted Incognito cut, but was overruled. Philbin is aware that this is a report that is out there and to be quite frank I think it's a true report. He knows that people within the organization know the truth on this matter as well. So what does he do? He chooses that opportunity to be the white knight, the Harry Truman line "the buck stops here", etc. Why does he do that? Because he knows that other people know the truth, that he wasn't really to blame there because he DID want Incognito out and was overruled. 2. But then the very NEXT question someone pressed him further and said Incognito assaulted a woman on a golf course, and you talk about integrity, how could you make him a leader after that? This was an excellent follow-up question. Direct, challenging, and it really broke Philbin out of his rehearsed rhythm. His first instinct in answering this question was completely OPPOSITE of what he had just stated. He had literally just said "I'm not gonna pass the buck to anyone, that was me" when it came to the decision to keep Incognito. But when asked how he could make him a leader after assaulting a woman on the golf course? His first answer was "Well I didn't necessarily name him a leader..." and when asked how he allowed it, he goes in about how there's a leadership council, etc. It was a total deflection of blame. Total and complete. No more of that "the buck stops here" stuff. No more "I'm not gonna pass the buck". He literally passed the buck. What does that pair of answers tell us? I do think it speaks to the man's integrity. Like I said it's easy to say "the buck stops here" when you know everyone (wink wink) knows that what you're talking about wasn't really your fault and was actually a credit to you. It's a lot harder to resist passing the buck when you know that what you're talking about looks bad and maybe deep down inside you feel like you wish you did do something different. The second contrasting pair of answers were about the future versus the past. Joe Philbin was extensive in his promising that in the future things would be different, he would be more visible, he will make sure the workplace environment is professional and pleasant, etc. That's easy to do. Talking about the future is all hypotheticals and ideals and really doesn't involve blame. It doesn't challenge you with cognitive dissonance. However he was also asked if he would have changed anything he did in the past, knowing now what he knows. A question like that is actually a key opportunity to outline your vision for how things are ACTUALLY going to change in the future. But he deflected it. Almost completely. He said he doesn't have the luxury of looking back in the past. I say if you can't do that then you can't guarantee the future will be any different. He did start to talk about the past anyway though but mostly stuck to safe waters, basically just saying I wish I would've known, I wish I would've known, I wish I would've known. How are we to take your promises of the future being different as anything other than complete BS, if you can't isolate a single thing you did in the past that you know you should have done different? That's what I mean by form and not substance. This is not the right head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
He is so awkward and uncomfortable leading, if this can be called leading at all. Once bitten twice shy hopefully.
he is awkward and uncomfortable in front of a crowd he has to perform in front of. we have no idea how he actually is inside the building as a leader.
Is it true that the team leaders are voted on by the team? Richie was disciplined and allowed to stay on the team. If Philbin tells the team no, choose someone else, then whatever discipline was given to Richie was not enough, his coach is holding it against him and the teammates that chose to elect him. What does that say about future infractions and discipline, will they be blackballed as well? Philbin is in a difficult and complex situation, maybe he's not up to the task, and delegates to irresponsible people. That's on him, I hope he's learned from and will move forward from this.
Honest question. How would you have liked him to answer this question? Wash his hands of it and blame the whole thing on Ireland? It is pretty well known that the leadership council was elected by the players. Was he suppose to lie that he had some say in who was elected? I'm not sure what you guys are expecting from these press conferences. Whether its the dolphins or any other team, they are always careful to sanitize their answers. You rarely hear a coach/GM or owner throw a player or another coach under the bus and when they do it makes headlines. Blaming Ireland or Turner isn't going to change what happened or effect how the Miami Dolphins deal with the situation it only gives the media a great sound bite.
I think the situation is not as black and white or simple as some are making it out to be. We, as fans, don't really know the real inner workings and details of what actually happens. It's also tougher for a head coach to keep his eye on every single aspect of running a franchise. There are just so many endless responsibilities that one has to rely on his staff to help get things done. I remember Can Cameron coming out and saying he was just so overwhelmed by all the responsibilities and the non x & o details which he had to handle and just couldn't. It seems more black and white to us from the outside. He may have known a bit, but maybe not the severity of what was going on. It's for these reasons why I'm willing to give Philbin the benefit doubt and a second chance here. I think you can be sure as s--t that, with all the attention this has got, nothing like this is going to happen again. I would take a chill and let it breathe.
It's very simple really. He chose the EASY ball to hit, and then laid off the hard one. That showed lack of integrity. It's easy to stand up and be the chivalrous guy when you know that you weren't really at fault and you have a good idea other people know it too (especially the important ones). It's not so easy to be that same guy on something that really DOES look bad. Yes he needed to answer the second question in particular differently. Instead of deflecting blame and passing the buck, which is exactly what he did, he should have said *I CHOSE* to honor the voting process done by the players by allowing Richie Incognito to be on the Leadership Council. He didn't do that. He basically said "that wasn't me". Total copout. Oh and then there's this:
He should've overruled his leadership council. Organizational change starts from the top; not the bottom. If he is really serious about having a team that believes in professionalism, respect, and collaboration, then he certainly shouldn't allow a jackass to be a team leader. Part of being a leader entails expressing and implementing a vision of where you want your team to go t and structuring your unit accordingly so that it can get there.
Personally I'm not even saying that. I would settle for him standing up and admitting that he could have overruled them and chose not to. Don't go up there and take the ***** way out.