The bespectacled former English teacher speaks in a monotone voice and admits he learned long ago to be himself, which means, in part, not to get too high on good days or too low when everything is collapsing around him. My initial impression of Mike Sherman is he’d fit just as well on an Ivy League campus setting up office hours as on an NFL team scheming plans for an offense.

That’s probably what his NFL reputation has been for years: He is known as a deep-thinking professorial type who rarely opens the curtain to reveal his emotions.

But listening to Sherman for the 30 minutes the Dolphins put their new offensive coordinator in front of the media last week was wonderful in that it also offered a peek into someone I didn’t expect:

A coach brimming with confidence.

A coach unafraid of setting the biggest goal as his goal.

A man who isn’t so in love with what he knows that he’ll allow it to get in the way of what he needs to do.

Sherman comes to Miami as new coach Joe Philbin’s offensive coordinator, which is something of a turn in fortunes because Sherman was once head coach in Green Bay and Philbin was one of his assistants.

The change is a non-issue for Sherman because he has his sights set on more lofty, much more important matters.

Like, oh, winning a Super Bowl.

In short, Sherman thinks Miami can do just that and not necessarily four or five years from now. He thinks only a year or so into the future and after meeting with Philbin and surveying the Dolphins landscape, Sherman came away convinced the Super Bowl is within reach fairly soon.

“I don’t feel like I’m getting old, but my wife tells me I am, and I want that opportunity before it’s all over for me, whenever that is,” Sherman said. “Joe assured me that [owner Stephen Ross] is very excited about our football team, very excited about winning a Super Bowl. And he convinced me at our dinner and conversation that is a top priority.

“I watched the tape, and I don’t think we’re that far away. We’re missing a couple of pieces here and there but I think we have a chance to build upon what [general manager] Jeff Ireland has put together here. After watching the tape, I think we get a couple of pieces here and there, I think we’ll be close.”

The cynic will read Sherman’s words and think it’s coach speak that means nothing until his offense actually does something most Dolphins offenses have failed to do the past decade — win the day and do it so consistently as to put the team in a position to get in the playoffs.

But Sherman’s words felt differently because he wasn’t boasting, wasn’t blowing smoke. One gets the feeling he really believes what he’s saying. This guy has actually studied his offense and sees a day it can play in the Super Bowl.

Sherman refused to categorize the Dolphins as a running team or passing team. He refused to say his group would chuck the ball downfield and check it down safely.

He refused to go there because he hasn’t seen his first huddle and until he does, he won’t know what that huddle’s occupants will be best suited to do.

“To me, the best offense is one that fits the players the best,” Sherman said. “It’s not something that’s etched in stone. … You have to look at the talent of your football team and formulate an offense that best fits them.