This article was written by me for This Given Sunday ( http://www.bloguin.com/thisgivensunday/2011-articles/december/miami-de-jason-taylor-ready-to-retire-will-he-dance-with-the-stars-at-the-hall-of-fame.html ) 

 

According to the Miami Herald, Jason Taylor plans on hanging up the cleats (or dancing shoes) after 15 seasons. Taylor is now 37 at the end of his career and currently sits 6^th on the all time sack list with 139.5

Taylor was named the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and the 2007 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. Taylor has been on several successful and not so successful Miami Dolphins team and will certainly be considered when discussing HOF candidates. In Taylor’s prime there were very few who could rush the QB as well as Taylor. JT always seemed to show up on the biggest of stages as some of his best games came against Tom Brady.

Despite his age Taylor has still been affective as a pass rusher as he has piled up 7 sacks this year. Taylor was a Pro Bowl player six times in his career and returned six fumbles for touchdowns, which is the most in NFL history as well as three interception returns for scores.

Taylor will be remembered mostly for his years in Miami where he and his brother in law Zach Thomas led very strong Dolphins defences to a couple of division championships. In his later years as a Jet, he reached the AFC championship game falling one game short of the Super Bowl.

While Taylor will not be a first ballot HOF he will certainly garner consideration. The fact that Taylor never won or went to a Super Bowl might be held against him despite being one of the most dominant defensive players of his time. rex Ryan on JT: "a no-brainer Hall of Fame player...we only had him one year, but he had such a positive effect on this football team"

With one game remaining in the season, the NFL credits Taylor with 139.5 sacks, 577 total tackles, eight interceptions and three defensive touchdowns.

Last night the Miami Dolphin messiah Dan Marino saw another of his cherished records fall as Drew Brees eclipsed his record for the greatest single season in passing yards. Marino has seen records fall to Brett Farve (career passing touchdowns) who had his career linger on and it was only evitable that Marino’s record would fall. Next on the list of Marino’s records to fall was pashing touchdowns in a single season which first fell to Peyton Manning and then to Tom Brady. To see a Dolphin record being broke by a Patriot quite frankly hurts.

Last night in the 4rth quarter Drew Brees took one of the last of Marino’s records as he now has the most yards by a QB in a single season. If anyone were to break Marino’s record I am glad it was Drew Brees who is a total class act and A + competitor.

There is also irony in the fact that the player to break Marino's record is a QB who the Dolphins passed on twice (draft + free agency). The next Dan Marino was right infront of the Dolphins eyes and they passed on him TWICE ! 

It is important to note however that despite only needing 16 games to do it did take Brees more attempts then Marino to break the record. Another staggering thing about Marino’s record was that it was only in his second year of his illustrious career. Marino also did not have the advantage of playing with the new rules which favour the passing game. While I do not wish to take anything away from Drew Brees because he by no means deserves to have anything taken away from him, I will still stand by the fact that Dan Marino had the single greatest passing year by a quarterback. Marino's record stood for 27 years and there is no shame in it finally going down to Drew Brees. 

With the eventual black Monday on the horizon where coaches are axed annually after not living up to an owners expectations, the Dolphins face another coaching change in the last 4 years.

This season has the Dolphins playing at a rather inconsistent level after squandering 4th quarter leads Houston Oiler v. Buffalo Bills playoff game style circa 1993.

With a start at 0-7, the Dolphins stayed the course and managed to reel off 5 wins despite the fan and media pressure to tank the season and be the doormat to all teams to land the #1 pick.

There is a major problem with this idea of starting over. No one knows what direction this team is headed. No one has any idea on what Stephen Ross will say next week when a coaching search is announced.

Of course it is entirely possible that a football czar such as Carl Peterson will be announced and he'll jointly recommend with Jeff Ireland which coaches the Dolphins should consider. Alternatively, a hiring of a football president may not happen as Ross could take the Jerry Jones approach of controlling his business and be the first one on the sideline at the end of the game for a win or loss. (I hate this approach and Elway on the Broncos sideline is getting annoying.)

As fans we acknowledge that this team has one major hole. Coaching is not the major issue as much as having a QB and face of the franchise.  We all want to buy that Dolphins jersey with the shiny white or aqua numbers and orange and navy trim.  We want our QB.  We want a guy we can count on in the last minutes of the game that sends our collective hearts racing after a win. 

The Dolphins need a QB and they must pull whatever tricks up their proverbial sleeves that they can to secure a chance at drafting the best QB in the draft.  Teams with QBs win or at least win within 3 years of being drafted. Look at Peyton Manning, Michael Vick, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez, Carson Palmer and Eli Manning. All of these Quarterbacks have been to the playoffs. All have been drafted in the top 10 picks. Eli Manning and Peyton Manning have a Super Bowl ring. 

Journeymen quarterbacks such as Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Moore have not produced playoff opportunities.  Past journeymen quarterbacks such as Trent Dilfer (Super Bowl winner) and Rich Gannon (Raiders and Chiefs, but Super Bowl loser) have produced playoff opportunities. 

It seems that the positives of taking a QB in the first 10 picks is beginning to outweigh the negatives, but no one wants to ever draft the next Ryan Leaf.

The top 10 QB has to be nurtured in the offseason and then slowly released to the wolves.

Guys that I consider ready for a playoff run are Cam Newton, Christian Ponder, Andy Dalton (could happen this week), and Kevin Kolb.

The Dolphins have to be 100% certain they can land this guy that in two or three years can get the Dolphins to the playoffs and beyond.  Free-agency to win-now is not the answer.  The QB free-agent market is very thin and very risky via trade.  See Daunte Culpepper as a supreme example of what it is like to miss on a QB via trade. 

As for an ideal Dolphins coach, they need someone that can direct the players to develop a consistent work ethic and winning attitude. They need a guy with experience as an NFL head coach. They need a guy like Jim Harbaugh.

I have seen first hand what he has done with the San Francisco 49ers living near San Francisco and its truly incredible. Sure the 49ers have not had the most competitive schedule, but many of  their opponents in November and December are all playoff bound or have been eliminated in the past couple of games. Defensive toughness, ball security/take aways, and playing 4 quarters and finishing games are all staples of the new Jim Harbaugh regime.  The 49ers are poised for greatness, but the pieces were in place and re-arranged to each player's strengths. 

Lastly, even though as Dolfans we don't have a clue what the Dolphins will do, let's just say that the past history won't dictate the direction of this coaching search. That is, the Dolphins won't hire someone inexperienced. They will make a hiring splash. 

A big time coach or experienced coach will happen. QB is the first priority once the coach is there.  Then the rest of the depth chart will be evaluated and guys that don't have it will be let go.

The writing on the wall dictates that the Dolphins are going to go big or risk slipping deeper in the depths of the AFC East.

Updated:

After the Dolphins debacle in the second half of the game and I still want to give Coach Bowles one more chance to see what kind of leadership and toughness he can instill in week 17. 

The chance for Bowles is nothing new to South Florida media.  Armando Salguero would rather not touch the subject of Bowles as the next coach calling his chance an experiment and that it is time to clean house and start fresh. 

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2011/12/nfl-truths-escape-the-dolphins.html

I happen to disagree with Armando in that it's easy to blame Bowles for the loss to New England.  Frankly, the Dolphins failed in every category from special teams to offense to defense.  I pin the loss on the coaches and strength and conditioning coaches who are responsible for this Dolphin team being in shape. 

Bottom line, the Dolphins had Brady on the ropes and they danced and pranced around like they one the game.  Then the big play that didn't happen defensively was a sure INT by Vontae Davis who instead dropped the ball thus breathing life into the New Englan offense.  No way I blame Bowle's for Vontae's misplay.  The technique was there. 

It's now officially Jets week and it's time to ring in the New Year with a win over the Jets!

I am looking forward to seeing Brian Daboll's game plan in action!

Yes, we all know what’s coming.  We all know that Stephen Ross with the help of Jeff Ireland will recommend a coach that will carry the Dolphins into the future.  We know that heads are going to roll on the entire coaching staff or many will leave for other jobs.  We know that change is coming.

However, there is another way to look at this possible change.  The Miami Dolphins blew through Buffalo last week and fired up the running game. The defense has improved tremendously and shut down the Bills best receiver in Stevie Johnson last week.  

Why not Todd Bowles?  This is why I believe that Todd Bowles should get an even better interview opportunity than other more experienced coaches.  Todd Bowles brings intensity to the team.  His quiet and calm demeanor brings together a team in which they go out and fight for each other.  He brings leadership and unwavering consistency to play calling and game management. 

In the Buffalo game as the Dolphins got down early by 3, he helped bring that defense and offense together on the sideline for the purpose of winning the game together. The way the momentum was headed toward the Bills especially with the two blown redzone series by the Dolphins resulting in field goals, the Dolphins came back and score 27 unanswered going into the 4th quarter. 

Some of you say that maybe the Dolphins were playing for their jobs or for deposed coach Tony Sparano.  I say, that is all possible, but I believe deep-down in their aqua and orange hearts they were playing for Coach Bowles. I know how much coach Bowles means to the DB group of Sean Smith, Vontae Davis, and Yeremiah Bell and they've been vocal in their belief that Bowles made them even better players.

Coach Bowles brings one heck of a resume as player with the Washington Redskins, hands on approach with DBs and their development, and has already received high recommendations from the likes of Darrel Green, an NFL Hall of Famer. Players that can coach receive more respect.  Shula was a player and then a coach in the league. As was Mike Ditka. 

Lastly, Bowles brings the work ethic and no-nonsense attitude that this team needs.  He doesn't let guys slide.  His approach is different than Sparano in that he does not fist pump field goals, but he has a quiet way of celebrating.  He acknowledges but good and bad plays, but he doesn't over-react.

So, is Bowles legitimately a candidate?  I believe he is.  Paired with a QB from the draft, Bowles could be the next and best coach for the job if the Dolphins finish strong and win against New England today and the Jets next week.

This morning most Dolphins fan woke up with their team being 5-9 but at least having hope a franchise QB might be on the way. Whether it was Matt Barkley or RG3, fans, including myself were starting to grow in excitement that one of the two QB studs would become the next Dolphins QB for years to come. Tony Pauline believes RG3 will also stay in school and there has been plenty of talk of him wanting a law degree.

However this afternoon Matt Barkley is about to making an announcement about whether or not he will go pro and most sources believe he is staying at USC for another year. There are also reports that the RG3 might also be staying back at college leaving the QB prospects for next year’s draft very thin. While I admire the fact that Barkley wants a national title and to be the #1 pick in the 2013 draft he is really screwing the Dolphins by not declaring. 

If all of the following happens it’s a royal smash in the nads to all Dolphins fans. The Dolphins will now probably have to completely re route their entire focus in the draft. With the Dolphins conservative style it would seem likely Justin Blackmon and Trent Richardson will not be targeted and fans have another OT or pass rusher to look forward to. While both are glaring needs for the Dolphins it is not what fans had in mind for this year’s upcoming draft.

Today is a sad day as it appear the search for a franchise QB will continue and Matt Moore will be the starting QB moving forward. Here's to what could have been !  

For those who want some names that the Dolphins might consider, look to : Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa, Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina, Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford , David DeCastro, G, Stanford