Miami Dolphins are going to change, adjust, hire and fire — all in the name of upgrading
Meet the new Miami Dolphins: They’re a team that demands you get used to change. And expect the unexpected.
The Dolphins are becoming a fascinating organization as they pull away from the dubious 2019 season that just concluded and race full speed ahead to an offseason replete with 14 draft picks, salary cap space, and the promise of a master rebuild.
And it’s going to be a breakneck ride, folks.
Because the Dolphins have already shown under the current brain trust they like to change quickly, morph on the fly, go in different directions, surprise us a lot.
I’m talking about the football side of the organization at all levels: Players here today, could be gone tomorrow. Assistant coaches so integral to making the Dolphins better this morning, could be fired this afternoon. The scheme that brought a victory last week is in the trash this week.
The star of last week’s game? A healthy scratch this week.
Philosophy? It’s not set in concrete.
Direction? Always up, but how you get there is fluid.
The Dolphins’ only constant, it has been proven over the past year and will continue as long as coach Brian Flores and general manger Chris Grier are running the team, is they’re doing what they think is right — right now.
And everything else will be subservient to that.
Take Monday for example ... Grier paid well deserved compliments to Flores and his assistants for raising the level of a mostly young, mostly unproven roster the second half of the season and laying a foundation for the future.
“I think Brian and the coaching staff have done a great job of laying that foundation,” Grier said.
And three hours later, three members of that staff that helped lay that foundation were either fired or not deemed worthy of re-signing to a contract.
Flores fired offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea, safeties coach Tony Oden and parted ways with offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo, who has now been hired and let go under three different Dolphins coaches.
And Flores gets the benefit of the doubt on this because, after all, it’s his staff to mold as he wishes. But the O’Shea firing, on its face, seems odd. The Dolphins’ offense, undermanned after the left tackle and a starting running back were traded, and the leading receiver went on injured reserve, were 13th in points and eighth in passing the last nine weeks of the season.
But you know why the change was made anyway?
Flores decided it was better for the team.
Remember this when the Dolphins make myriad changes this offseason. Because it’s a carry-over approach from the coach’s first season. These guys aren’t married to anything or anyone when they think they can or must do better.
That’s why two offensive line coaches are gone in the span of five months.
That’s why Michael Deiter was a promising rookie left guard one week, then was benched, and then re-inserted into the lineup.
That’s why Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick were a big part of the future ... until they weren’t.
That’s why quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick started the first two games. Then was benched in favor of Josh Rosen, who then was benched in favor of Fitzpatrick. And both will be replaced the minute a better quarterback is found, perhaps even this offseason.
And, here’s a biggie, that’s why the overall philosophy for free agency this offseason suddenly seems different. Yeah, philosophy is not immune from being replaced, either.
Remember back in September when Grier discussed the team’s looming 2020 salary cap boon — the one that will have the Dolphins near the top of the NFL in cap space and able to sign any free agents they wish?
“We’re not going to sit here on a bunch of money or anything,” Grier said then. “...Whether it’s free agency, as well, and the draft. For us, we’ve positioned ourselves where we think we can do anything or get whatever player we feel that will help us as soon as possible.”
That sounded aggressive. But on Monday the tone was different.
“We’re going to build it the way we feel right and yeah, we have money and cap space, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend it all,” Grier said Monday.
“Look,” Flores added, “everyone thinks we’ve got all of this money to spend and blow. We’re going to be judicious and responsible with our salary cap.”
So they went from not sitting on their money to being judicious and responsible. And the reasoning for that obvious adjustment?
Flores and Grier have thought on this and maybe decided announcing a spending spree wasn’t in the best interest of the team.
That “in the best interest” phrase is used often by Flores. It makes my eyes glaze, he says it so much.
But he’s living by it. And that predicts what’s about to happen:
It’s in the best interest of the team to find an upgrade at practically every position group except punter and kicker. So practically everyone on the roster should be on notice you could be the next Chad O’Shea.
“We’re evaluating everything – players, coaches. I’m evaluating myself – I probably should’ve thrown a couple more red flags over the course of the season,” Flores said. “Everything is being evaluated. I think that’s the right approach you need to take after a season, just to reflect and make sure you’re doing things the right way and in the best interest of the Dolphins.”
(Admit it, you smiled when he said in the best interest).
None of this means the Dolphins don’t have certain unshakable values. Even as they change on the fly they still want people with character — with hopefully fewer of those arrested for domestic issues.
But the overwhelming priority is to find people better than the ones already here, people capable of delivering better than a 5-11 record which is wholly unacceptable going forward. And no one is immune from a potential upgrade move.
“...We’re going to try to bring in good players at all positions and try to build this thing the right way with good players who put the team first and love to compete,” Flores said.
Buckle up. It’s going to be a wild ride.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 8:28 PM.
