As the Miami Dolphins are in C.Y.A. mode, something they lost sight of by not firing Sparano last year; they have a back up plan!

Joe Philbin, the Offensive Coordinator of the defending super bowl champion Green Bay Packers will interview in Wisconsin on Saturday.

Philbin according to the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson, does not call the plays in the Packer Offense, but is in charge of play design and instrumental in the development of one heck of a quarterback in Matt Flynn.  Remember, Matt Flynn, the guy most Dolfans watched on
while the Dolphins wrestled with 3rd and 6 on offense; torch the heck out of the Detroit Lions D in snow flurries and a slick field. 

I really like this opportunity to interview Joe Philbin. I think it shows a lot of continuity with current play caller Brian Daboll.  While Daboll is more of a spread option with a ton of misdirection, Philbin has experience with the West Coast Offense. 

I think Philbin as coach would come in and focus on the offense and possibly could bring in a free agent QB such as Matt Flynn to run a very powerful offense.

On the other hand, we could have another Cam Cameron as Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel just mentioned on Twitter.

Another sticking point is the fact that the Packers are poised to be in contention past next weekend and quite possibly not conclude play as they hope to win the Super Bowl.  That means Philbin is unavailable to hire until 1 month from now.

So is this a good possibility? 

Feel free to shoot me a line on twitter: @DolphinMick

Happy Coaching Search Everyone!

This reminds me of the days when you are asking a girl out and she wants to take time to think about it.  Here the Dolphins are that boy asking a girl out and Jeff Fisher is that girl.  The one that can bring much happiness.  You are secretly hoping it happens and she accepts your invitation to go out...so you wait that night while she is getting called by other guys.

There are so many crazy twists and turns to this whole "chase".

Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network is of the belief that Fisher will end up in Saint Louis.

Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports reported yesterday that Fisher is leaning toward Miami because he does not "love" Bradford as much as people might hope.

Armando Salguero reported that the Dolphins Stephen Ross absolutely needs to win this sweepstakes.

On the St. Louis side, Tony Softli, a former NFL personnel man, mentioned through his sources that Fisher is basically not sure until he meets with Rams on whether or not he's leaning toward Miami.

What we know is that Fisher is in St. Louis now, interviewing, having some ribs, watching the snow fall, and envisioning what it would be like as the top guy in St. Louis with 40 million dollars in cap space.

What will happen?  Who knows.  We will surely find out if it is Miami or St. Louis or some mystery team...Dallas.

Jeff Fisher has interviewed or is interviewing today with the Miami Dolphins.  I am not going to jump out and say that the interview is progressing to an offer.

It is too early to tell.

Armando Salguero pointed out in his blog today that Carl Peterson is involved heavily in all interviews.  This is a welcome sight right?  King Carl and his Fan Vision contraption and his killer handshake and smile to close the deal?

Fisher is seen with Carl Peterson via photo by David J. Neal that he posted today on twitter.

Does Jeff Fisher decide on Miami or St. Louis? 

I would go to St. Louis because of the better BBQ and a quarterback if I were Fisher. 

However if Fisher opts for Miami, the nice ambiance, beach, and restaurants are definitely a hot sell.

Seriously though, Fisher has been brought in to do one thing and that is for the Dolphins brass to make it look like they are serious about winning, fail to land a coach, and then sign a no-name blaming that the market for coaches has minimal good candidates.

The organization will sugar coat it and name the next coach in the next three weeks after Ireland decides on a coach that "can lead" the Dolphins to a championship.

Oh boy....here we go again...

I am hopeful, but painfully optimistic that Jeff Fisher is not coming to Miami except to play the Dolphins in the future.

Just to quickly update Dolfans that are glued only to the bowl games.  I can't blame all of you.  It has been a very entertaining day for draftniks and college football fans.

According to the lastest blog and report by the Miami Herald's own Armando Salguero, Jeff Fisher will in fact interview for the Miami Dolphins head coaching job.  He is also set to interview for the post in St. Louis. 

What is not known yet is when and not many details are available through Salguero's source.   

Of course Armando makes his case for why the Dolphins should land Jeff Fisher.  He makes his case that the Dolphins in the past have failed miserable with Cameron and Sparano.  Failed because the results were not there.  Coaches with inexperience is what the Dolphins have done and ultimately failed.

Salguero challenges the Dolphins to pursue Fisher or risk hiring or settling on the next coach a less experienced or unproven winner...a re-tread basically. 

The pressure is on everyone involved and we will see if Salguero or Jason LaCanfora are correct in their assessments of both situations.

I believe the Dolphins will interview Jeff Fisher.  Will they land him?  It will take a lot.  But Salguero floats the idea to us as the reader that Ross is offering the keys to the organization.


I am cautiously optimistic and waiting for the Salguero post that will explain his post and poke holes in his post that Fisher really really doesn't like Miami and will be the Rams coach.

Or it quite possibly looks to be an exciting few weeks in Davie!  We will see! 

A lot of us Dolfans are sitting on a tablet or iPhone waiting to see what our dear insiders Armando Salguero, Ben Volin, and Omar Kelly have to say about the Dolphins head coaching search. 

All I have done today is watch bowl games and watch my twitter feed.

This morning Jeff Ireland in a press release issued this exact statement:

"Steve Ross and I have a plan in place that is designated to insure that we identify and interview an outstanding set of candidates for the head coaching position. The process will be thorough, it will be in compliance with NFL policies, and will provide the best possible result for the franchise. "

"That search has begun and there is no designated timetable; it will be conducted in a manner that gives us the greatest opportunity to hire the individual we feel is best suited to become the team’s head coach. Steve and I are excited to embark on this process, and we are confident that it will result in the selection of an outstanding individual who will return the Dolphins to their long-time status as one of the most successful teams in the league. "

To summarize as the candidates are interviewed, the Dolphins will share with the media and fans who the candidates are if the candidate and the team feels comfortable.  This search has no particular time table.  Dolphins will be thorough in their approach and not make a hasty hire.

Fine. 

Here are the early known candidates:

Mike Pettine: New York Jets Defensive Coordinator (An interview might be taking place as we speak in New Jersey)
Dave Toub: Chicago Bears Special Teams Coordinator (Will interview in the next couple of days)

Todd Bowles: Current Interim Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins (Interview said to have taken place today to satisfy Rooney Rule, but 2-1 since taking over for Sparano).

While the candidate list is not complete, more candidates will be interviewed and I expect the Dolphins to look across all levels of experience and for them to pick the guy that has chemistry with Jeff Ireland.

Fan perception today in an earlier poll by Armando Salguero on Twitter is that recently fired Bill Polian is the preferred choice at GM.

Fans are also grapling with the shocking and appauling report also by Salguero that Gruden at some point was offered the reins of the organization by Stephen Ross over dinner and control over player personnel and coaching hires. 

So, where do we stand as Dolfans?  Who do we want?  What will the best coach bring to this team?

We know that fans are clamoring for Jeff Fisher, Bill Cowher, and Jon Gruden.  Let's get over it.  We are 6-10 and don't have a QB!