I always hated Dave Wannstedt for giving up a 2nd (!!) rounder for an unproven backup QB named AJ Feeley . The Eagles are probably still laughing their butt off how silly and desperate one can be. Or trading in the same a 3rd rounder for Lamar Gordon, an often injured backup RB who got nothing done at all for the Fins. But in the end Wannstedt might have been right to do so. He knew he needed immediate success or he was fired. So if his risks with those 2 players failed he was fired. If he did not take the risks he was fired, too as the Dolphins were lacking talent. So he took care of his career and did not care what this meant for the Dolphins team's future. (Former) coach Cameron and Muller did exactly the opposite. They traded Chambers away. Trading the best WR which meant instantly : more lost games, a worse QB, more frustration in 2007 for all the fans and the owner. I know he was not Randy Moss but he is still 200% better than everyone we now have on our rosters. It gave the Dolphins more chances for the future as the Phins now have more draft picks. It was a decision eying on the future and how to improve the Fins in the long run. Even if it hurt their resumees. What did it do to Mueller and Cameron? It got them fired. Maybe they would have decided differently if they had to do it today. And that teaches me that Wannstedt was right after all. Don't care about the team and the long run. Just do what is best for you. Because they don't care for you, too.
Good God, are you kidding me? Wanny was right about nothing, NOTHING. He is still the main reason were in a mess like we are to this day. As for the team not caring about anyone. The only reason Dave was kept around so long was because he was "such a good guy". He was givne 2 years too long so this whole post is baseless. In addition this is a results business just as is life. We hired someone to come in here and revive this franchise. That person didn't think Cameron has what it takes period. Should he keep what he feels is an inept coach simply to be nice? Geez.
There is an echo of truth in this post because the NFL is a business and it's a business of win-now. But I have a hard time thinking of Dave Wannstedt and "did something right" in the same sentence.
Well a lot of the weight cutting and roster changes were made with the idea of future flexibility and upgrades. Joey Porter signing being one of them because I think Porter could eventually be hugely productive for us and offer a more vocal veteran presence on the defense that younger players can relate to better. It's the right thinking, but I do feel Cam was the wrong coach for us. He would have been better off remaining in San Diego and coaching there.
Dave did nothing right ever. Just look at his face.... what's that nasty looking thing on his lip.... I don't know, but I know it ain't right.
Wanny was the worst coach in Dolphins history...bar none. His and Spielman's inadequacy in the draft and in talent development have put us in the hole we are in. Like Cam or hate him...there's no denying he didn't have many tools to work with and that is Wanny's fault.
Don't get me wrong, I also think Cameron was not a good coach (although not as bas as Wannstedt) and it is probably for the best for the team that he was released. Nevertheless it means that if you are a coach on a struggling team NEVER think of the team's long term success, just think of yourself. So the next coach e.g. should not trade Jason Taylor even if that would be probably the best for both sides.
Cam made decisions for the future. Our cap is in good shape and we have more draft picks then ever. Too bad 1-15 will get anyone fired. As far as Wanny.... he wrecked this once proud organization the same way he did it to the Bears.
Wanny was not right in the end, but he was left on the curb. And thats where he belonged. Thank goodness for that, so lets end this debate now.
Chambers dropped too many passes to be an integral part of this offense, and that's why he was traded.
Not to nitpick, but the Feeley trade was NOT Wanny. That was Rick Spielman. Wanny was married to Jay Fiedler (who, in retrospect, was the best QB we have had since Marino...go figure) and even continued to start Fiedler after the trade. In fact, he hardly gave Feeley a chance. The Lamar Gordon trade was a desperate move, but again, I think that was Spielman moreso than Wanny. Wanny should be raked over the coals for the Ricky Williams trade. Two first rounders and moving down in the third round for a guy who has tortured this franchise ever since. Edit: Furthermore, Wayne Huizenga is almost loyal to a fault. He has never fired a coach until this morning. Even when everyone knew Wanny should have been canned, he stuck by him until Wanny quit. Same goes for Saban. A lesser man (and maybe smarter owner) would have forced Saban to stay. But Wayne is such a nice guy, he tends to let his football people walk all over him. Which is why, I think in part, he hired Bill Parcells. Bill now runs the organization and with it the promise that it won't happen to him.
Those moves to save jobs were all made by Rick Spielman, who in 2004 took over the GM job from Wannstedt. Wannstedt was actually a decent coach, a better coach than JJ. But as GM he was god awful. And while admirable, his decision to stick it out with Jay Fiedler was his demise. If he had the guts to pull the trigger on Drew Brees instead of Jamar Fletcher, he may actually still be coaching the Dolphins today. Wannstedt won coach of the year in his first season with the Bears and the division in his first year with the Dolphins. Cam won nothing, anywhere as a head coach. Regardless of what you ultimately think of Wannstedt, calling him worse than Cam has no basis whatsoever in truth. In the long run, saving yourself in the short run, is a bad decision. What owner would want a guy like Spielman running the show, when you know he is going to mortgage the future to save his own ***? Cam and Mueller obviously made the right decisions for the future of this franchise by not spending draft picks on players with a win now mentality. Of course they were still in the first year on the job, and they expected to be involved in the future of the franchise. Unfortunately for them they won only one game, and now Parcells is the immediate future of the Dolphins. But they made the right decision, and some owner will give them another chance because of it. That doesn't mean that Cam is a good coach though. But he and Randy did right by the franchise personnel wise.
Bonehead decisions like trading away good draft choices, making bad draft choices, and ignoring the passing game is what put the franchise in this black hole. Thanks wrong way Dave. I really feel for JT, ZT and V Carey. There's no I'll ever give that 'nice guy' any credit. He ruined not one , but TWO franchises. I also feel for and Pitt Panther fans, sorry Dan, You know where they are headed.
Wannstedt did only one thing right and that is use Lamar Smith as a sledgehammer vs. the Colts in playoffs. And that was only right for the moment because long term LS was never the same after that. Everything else went wrong. His desire for immediate return at QB and its after effects still haunt this organization. I gave up on Wanny totally when we imploded at end of '02. No excuse not making the playoffs when the Pats took a slip, we had the best running back in the league that year, and with the D we had.
I get the point, and it is very valid. You have to win or it’s back to house shopping… I think the days of “taken yours and beatin’ his” are over. Nobody is that much smarter than anyone else at this level. You either have the guys on the field who are better, or you lose. I guess these billionaire owners think nothing of firing a guy and eating the salary. I guess it’s like the portfolio managers that lose everybody’s money and get the fat golden parachute when they bail out. Now the message is, win now or else take the rest of your contract sitting at home. Not so scary.
Maybe this season was meant to happen to start to bring our franchise back from the depths. Cam almost went 0-16 and the victory that brought us out of that was not a descisive one it was plain luck. Troy Smith completed a pass where the receiver came about an inch from breaking the plane. Billick could have walked the ball in for a TD himself if he wanted at that point but opted for the field goal. Stover's miss was just plain lucky as well. If he went 0-16 how could any us have expected him to be retained? He was that close as the following teams that beat us did it without much of a fight. He lost the team which is what no coach can recover from. I doubt anymore changes are coming about in the next couple of years so we have nothing to worry about in that department.
