When Rush said under no circumstances, that's one circumstance.. I know a lot of folks love his offense, and that's great, I dig it to (he wins with a dual threat Qb, offense seems like a power spread look), but that's not why I believe in the guy.. Leadership, even when he's not talking...teaching communication...presence...overall badassness..
I think deep down everyone here is a homer, some in demented ways,we'll all have something in common in two weeks, pure excitement for the unknown..first game everyone will be right there ready to cheer..folks are just worried and can't compartmentalize eras and give fair trials..
Indeed. But they'll also be right there ready to demand an overhaul at the first sign of trouble. It's irrational and counter productive.
I don't think that is the case. I think most people are willing to give the coach mad players time. I also think that most people haven't seen much on field progress with this coach so are perhaps getting irritated with him. I'm positive about the season but I was curious about options. There will always be the fun vacuums (hiya LBsfinest) but I think most are positive, especially before TC.
Nice, and sad but true. No "seems" about it, he's absolutely clueless. He doesn't know what he doesn't know and that is the difference between the successful owners & the owners like ross.
Not only that, but we haven't had a winning season in 6 years. Only 1 in the past decade. We haven't had one under the current owner (where he's been sole owner) or the current Head Coach. We've been ranked 27th in Offense for like 4 consecutive seasons. We have 5 new OL starters I like to be optimistic and all, but I refuse to predict a 9+ win season, until I actually see a 9+ win season.
No possible way to call it brutal WADR. After the season, maybe. 3rd place sked, in the 3rd best AFC div, playing the best AFC div, 3rd best NFC div, and 2 other 3rd place teams. Not brutal at all, at this point.
Everyone thinks it's about the offense for Malzahn. It's really not. It's about the fact that he's conquered every level of football put in front of him. It's about his willingness to go to the cutting edge of every aspect of the game. And yes he absolutely has developed a strong presence. Every level of football he's coached, he took a set of players that tons of other coaches had at their disposal and he turned them into a better team than the rest of those coaches. With other coaches, you can see that it's about getting superior players. He does some of that too, as he's been an award-winning recruiter at various points in his college career, but his being able to recruit is more a symptom of his being a great coach than the other way around (Jimbo Fisher). There are probably only two coaches I've seen in my lifetime consistently (over a long period of time) get far more out of their roster than the sum of their parts...and Malzahn is one of them. The other one to me is Bill Belichick. To me, if you put out feelers to Malzahn and Harbaugh, and you LEGIT think that one of them will bite on an offer...I don't care what the Dolphins do in 2014. It doesn't matter. You go for it. And the thing to keep in mind is coaching salaries are not subject to the salary cap. So the question put before Steve Ross is, how badly do you really want to win? Is it all talk or are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?
Very difficult question. Some of that will depend on what authorities they want and who they want to hire around them. But in the end the investor in me says that Jim Harbaugh is the safer choice. Already proven at this level, and both he and his companions will already have an idea of how the organization needs to be made over from top to bottom in order to produce a winner. Additionally there is a risk that Malzahn could run into difficulties at the NFL, and decide he'd rather be one of the two or three most prestigious coaches in college football rather than have his NFL teams be at the whim of personnel choices (which could be lucky or unlucky). There's also something to be said for the Michigan connection between Ross and Harbaugh which only matters inasmuch as it may encourage Ross to give Harbaugh very wide latitude. That was a real problem when Huizenga hired Nick Saban as Wayne and some of the people around him constantly ebbed at Saban's authority to install coaches and personnel people he knew and trusted, and in many ways that contributed to the disaster that Saban's regime ended up being. And all of that was because Wayne and company weren't quite sure they could trust all of these college coaches, as they couldn't get it out of their head that college football < NFL football. The last thing you want is to bring aboard Gus Malzahn, clip his wings, get mediocre results, and then he ends up going back to college football because he decides the NFL is a terrible place to work. I don't trust Steve Ross not to do that. With Jim Harbaugh, I have more trust that Steve Ross would let him do his thing.
If we had an owner I trusted then that would make the decision even tougher between Malzahn and Harbaugh.
I think Shula is another. He didnt always have the best of players or coordinators and his consistent winning seasons speak for themselves.
definitely counter productive like you say,the culture is in a downfall, this is how curses can gain life..even though theres no such thing in the literal sense. a bad culture, crippling venue, unforgiving, unfairly judgmental,just nonsupportive can keep good things away, good things meaning coaches, gms, players, fans, winning.
wait is over in thirteen days, im in pure bliss when reports from camp are coming, this is when you figure out what type of team you may have, its just as good as the games, building a team that is.
Would have been great if Malzahn jumped from OC at Auburn to OC at NFL (going from college head coach to NFL coordinator without being fired isn't likely). He'd see how the NFL works, and the NFL would see how his system works. Then be given greater latitude at the top level. Harbaugh vs. Malzahn. I think I'd be happy with either. Does Harbaugh make his players better? Dunno but he maximized them vs. what they were producing before he got there. When did Vernon Davis become a model citizen?
Since the Dolphins have not had a single winning season in the past five years. It would appear that the opponents have done well against the Dolphins, while it has been the Dolphins who have done most of the crapping. It is not the fans fault that we aren't willing to buy into this year being any different than the past five years. It is up the the team to prove that they deserve to be respected more as a football team. Until they have a winning season and make the playoffs, there will continue to be doubts about this teams by many Dolphin fans as well as football experts around the country. In fact the over/under win total for the Dolphins in Vegas at this time is 8. So even the bettors figure this will just be another mediocre year for the Dolphins.
I totally agree. I have never seen a coach who can adapt to his roster like Malzahn. You give him an average roster, he sets records and wins with them. He dominated the SEC with a cornerback playing QB last year.....a QB who can't even throw, lol. Auburn only won 2 games before Malzahn arrived. He also dominated the SEC when he was offensive coordinator at Arkansas and Auburn. At Arkansas, he set SEC records and won with Matt Jones at QB. Matt Jones was drafted in the NFL in the first round as a WR!!! Let me repeat that, Malzahn has dominated the SEC with CORNERBACKS and WIDE RECEIVERS playing QB. There is not another coach in the nation who could do that. He is the reason Charles Clay was drafted. No one knew about Tulsa before Malzahn arrived. Tulsa ended up becoming the #1 offense in the NATION. Malzahn took that below average Tulsa roster and set all kinds of records and won. He gets players excited and they buy into his system. This is his biggest asset...he's a teacher and a motivator. There is no doubt in my mind that he's going to win a Super Bowl someday if he chooses to go to the NFL. I just hope the Phins will have enough sense to hand him the keys to the franchise.
The NFC North has 3 potential playoff teams. None of them are worse. Almost the entire AFC west made the playoffs last year. That's not a cake walk. Miami went 2-4 in the division last year. Every team improved. Perhaps us included, but the offensive line improvements are no slam dunk atm. On paper, this is a difficult schedule. Period. 7-9, 7-9, 6-10, 7-9, 8-8. If only we had the restraint necessary to achieve perspective.
Easy original question for me...Lake Dawson GM, Todd Bowles head coach and Rocky Seto offensive coordinator.
EXACTLY. I wouldn't care if we had to make them the highest paid coaches in the league...if you're priority is winning, you do whatever it takes.
He actually turned down an offer to be our GM...joining the long list of men that have rejected an interview request or job offer from Stephen Ross
Sorry meant dc...really really, like Rocky Seto..offensive side like Shawn Jefferson or Danny Langsdorf as opposed to recycling someone...
Ya well we beat every AFC playoff team we played last year (including the split with N.E.), got trucked by 1 NFC playoff team, and was right there with the other NFC playoff team we played, but lost it. We were 5-3 against 2013 playoff teams, yet slid some supposedly "easy" games. So in retrospect, this year's schedule is easier, on paper, than last year's schedule (only 7 on the schedule against 2013 playoff teams)...who knows how it will shake out at the end of the season. Plenty glass half full there for me.
Keep in mind the turnover in playoff teams yr after yr, doubtful KC has as good of a season for example