Next Move: Miami

Ok boys, might as well start talking now about what is going to happen starting approximately one week from today.

Here is how I see it playing out, and there's only one possible upside I can see if it unfolds as I envision it.

First, and we may not hear about this first, but I predict Hickey will lose some power but will keep his job. Tannenbaum will become the true GM, adding that responsibility to his duties. Again, I doubt this kind of thing will even be announced, maybe a short blurb somewhere about Hickey re-assigned or a new title like VP of pro player personnel, or something along those lines. In short, no new up and coming, talented GM is coming in to threaten Tannenbaum, or Aponte, and because of the power structure in place no one of note would be interested anyways. Forget about guys like DeCosta, or any of the other qualified candidates who are likely ready to get their shot at being a true GM with full power. Tannenbaum said himself in an interview when the Jets fired him, he believed to that day he was the best man for the job to lead the organization as GM. Now, he will simply grant the job to himself.

Campbell will get an interview for the job, but won't get hired. I can see a ten percent chance he stays, only if he is willing to twist in the wind while Tannenbaum attempts to hire the guy he really wants. We won't get a premier NFL head coach candidate due to the power Tannenbaum wields. Sean Payton isn't coming. Forget any pipe dreams about Harbaugh. We'll get an NFL coordinator with no previous experience, or we'll get a second tier college coach (not Saban, not the guy from TCU everyone loves). Tannenbaum will lead this search, using his agent network, and we'll land someone who is "learning on the job". A junior staff will be assembled, akin to the one Philbin put together.

In the end, the only significant change will be a fresh new coaching staff. Tannenbaum solidifies his power and claims final voice on any draft and roster decisions. Aponte stays.

The only upside? If this does play out as I envision, the head coach and Tannenbaum will share a common view on how to build the roster. After all, Tannenbaum will be the one hiring the guy - even if Ross has the final say he won't ignore Tannenbaum like he ignored Ireland. Hickey has no power, and I think Aponte will be managed by Tannenbaum who has his own political skills. Tannenbaum knows he has maybe three years to show true progress (I would think anything short of winning at least one playoff game is failure), so he will want to ensure he hires a coach that shares his vision on how to build a team, and they will work hard together to keep their jobs.

Now, I don't know what they will do about Tannehill. I don't envy them that decision. My gut tells me to dump him, but they know they've got a limited timeframe and any rookie QB will have growing pains. Maybe they get lucky and find a way to secure a veteran stop-gap (possibly Kaepernick) It's going to be a calculated decision and if they get it wrong, they're done. I believe even Ross has a limit to his patience.

So there is my theory and prediction on what happens next. Any competing theories out there?

No way we dump Tannehill. Look for a mid to late round pick to compete with him. Priority #1 will be offensive line. Tannehill has been sacked more than potatoes the last 4 years.

The team is a mess. I think we get worse before we get better. The corners from 2013 didn't work out so we need corners. Grimes has aged out. Wake is done. Not sure if any of our linebackers should be called linebackers.

The line has Albert and he is old and often injured. Dallas Thomas, his only upside is releasing him. Pouncey is injured every few games. Turner, good run blocker but no pass protection. James, probably the best of our lineman that has a severe turf toe injury.

Hickey is gone as soon as the season ends, IMO. Tannenbaum will bring in a younger, unproven guy and hand him the GM title, but in truth Tannenbaum will be the GM. Tannenbaum has no ties to Hickeyy - no reason at all to retain him in any capacity.

Tannehill gets one more season - because of his contract - but the Phins will draft and/or add a veteran to push him.

Hickey remains GM in name only, with Tannenbaum having final say on all football matters.

Massive wave of veteran cuts. Suh is safe, so is Tanny for one more year.

Sadly, I think Tannenbaum will bring in Marc Sanchez as the backup after Philly cuts ties with him. :-(

After all is said and done I think Tannenbaum ends up hiring Hue Jackson, who he has ties to but who won't come with the baggage and outright mutiny that hiring Mangini would bring.

I expect Grimes, Albert, Mitchell, Wake and Jennings to all be gone, for starters.

I was thinking Jackson also.

Kacy Rodgers really intrigues me. Was here for 6 years, great coach and has a pulse of what needs to be fixed.

This is all going to depend on Big Boob Ross IMO.

How he can look at this clusterfudge and not think of exterminating ANYONE who had a hand in the whole sordid oozing mess is beyond me.

But then again, this is the same Big Boob that saw the hideous mess Clueless Grandpa Joe had made of the team, and let that nitwit come back for another year and keep the DC who needed to go badly.

The same Big Boob that flew out to San Fran to interview Harbaugh for a job that was not even open yet, which REALLY cut the legs off SpongeBob Sparano, who was already in over his head to begin with.

So, in other words, the Phins are scroogied with a barbed-wire wrapped broom handle to start with, but.....

Cam Wake - he is old and there is not assurance he will come back, and if he does come back, will he still have the speed rush?  And he costs a pile of moolah. but, once he was gone, the Phins pass rush evaporated. And remember, Vernon will be a free agent.

O-line - I don't know about Albert. When he is healthy, he is one of the better LTs in the league. And who would replace him? Remember, this is the same team that drafts like drunken monkeys throwing darts at the board, but these drunken monkeys are not even in the same room with the target board, so.....

I would keep Albert, Pouncey and James, Turner and Douglas, and draft or sign a LEGITIMATE OG to plug in. If you can find another OG, so much the better. You can shade, cover, or hide ONE weak Olinemen, but when you have THREE in the middle, all is lost.

As Phin Phans, knowing the agony and despair that has been Phins personnel woes lo these many years, the best we can hope for is that by some miracle, the Phins can get FOUR LEGITIMATE STARTING OLINEMEN! And then we can PRAY the other guy is not Dallas Thomas or the sucking chest wound like calamity that is Dallas Thomas!!

I think Miller will get an offer somewhere else.

QB - Tannehill is it for next year. I think he is what he is and he will never get any better. You can win with Tannehill, but you will never win BECAUSE of Tannehill IMHO. The rest of the team has to support him and carry him, not the other way around.  This Phins team cannot even carry itself, much less a perilously inconsistent QB like Tannehill. They should start looking for a franchise QB, but will not IMO.

CBs - Without Grimes, this whole secondary goes from bad to HIDEOUS. The Phins have NOBODY behind Grimes. He may get axed, but just whom they replace him with is almost as important as who they get the fix the Oline IMO.  Again...you can cover for one bad DB, but not three or four. At least Campbell played the rookies some so the next HC can have some film of them to look at.

LBs - As long as they keep Misi and call him "excellent" all is lost.  When mediocre is your excellent, you have some real problems. One big mean hard hitting LB to give this defense an identity would make a world of difference IMO. The Phins have nobody like that. Again, at least Campbell played the young guys so the next HC.....

The team needs some major changes, but I still say, I think until they get some decent coaching, it is not going to matter. Bad talent that is outcoached in every game is a swift certain defeat.  Bad talent with great coaching SOMETIMES has a chance at a victory.

And once you have Great coaching, he will be able to get the talent he needs...hopefully.

The Phins have the bad talent. If they could somehow get some GREAT COACHING?????

If Tannenbaum was the one calling the shots last offseason - and I think he was - then there is no hope for turning this team around. If in fact Tannenbaum was the one that thought we were A-OK with the OL, LBs and CBs we had, then that tells me that he knows nothing about player evaluation. He's too busy looking at his sports science crap to know or understand what a good football player looks like.

The smartest thing Ross could do is fire EVERYONE and bring in a legitimate football guy (not a numbers-crunching sports agent) to build the front office. Of course, "smart" and "Ross" exist on different planes of existence, so I fully expect Tannenbaum to stay and run the team further into the depths.

Age old adage----if you're not the solution your the problem

Coming soon, your London Dolphins.

Umix10 wrote:Age old adage----if  you're not the solution your the problem

That pretty much describes my thoughts on Tannehill. He's just another player going along for the ride...and that is absolutely NOT how an NFL QB should be.

The more I think about it, the more I believe the biggest problem with the roster is that we don't have enough football players. The majority of the roster is filled with guys that are just collecting checks. I don't see too much heart, desire or want in these players...just a collection of guys that are going through the motions and really don't give a damn what happens on Sunday. It's sad and pathetic, but that's what happens when your focus is on athleticism and sports science rather than football IQ.

Perfect examples - we signed Quentin Coples and Damontre Moore late in the season. Both are former first rounders who check all the boxes when it comes to size, speed and athleticism. The problem is, both of them have shit work ethics and lack the drive and desire to become better. These are the types of players Tannenbaum covets.

A slight wrinkle to the first paragraph I wrote in the original post, but here we go.

Who better to improve our draft performance and talent acquisition problems? Who else than some asshole who's been working here for the past 15 years of unbridled success! Hickey you are out, welcome to the big leagues Grier!

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/02/dennis-hickey-definitely-out-chris-grier-likely-in/

So yes, expect the front office to go largely unchanged, while we swap out yet another coaching staff, continue to draft like shit, and sign overpriced and underperforming free agents. I hate this fucking team.

From SI back in October, I found it interesting to read despite the age of the article:

http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/10/06/nfl-owners-stephen-ross-joe-philbin-dolphins

white1 wrote:So yes, expect the front office to go largely unchanged, while we swap out yet another coaching staff, continue to draft like shit, and sign overpriced and underperforming free agents.  I hate this fucking team.

Jmp and I have decided to permaban you for having the unmitigated gall to express anger and frustration with this team instead of positivity

On the plus side, I think Grier is a good football guy and at this point I think I'm OK with him as GM. But he comes from the Parcells school of football, doesn't he? I wonder if this means we're going back to a Parcells dinosaur brand of football? Not really what I want, but anything is better than the crap we've watched the past few years.

Willing to wait and see with Grier.  It is possible that he was a voice in the wilderness during the last decade or so; after all, there were scouts pounding the table for Brees in 2001 and Boldin in 2003 who got overruled by the guy making the final call.

Teryl Austin getting an interview.  He was overshadowed by the quality of candidates available (Bowles, Fox, Quinn, etc) but might be a quality coach. There are candidates I like better going in but certainly a good candidate to interview; he was probably the best candidate last year who didn't get hired.

HalCHorn wrote:Willing to wait and see with Grier.  It is possible that he was a voice in the wilderness during the last decade or so; after all, there were scouts pounding the table for Brees in 2001 and Boldin in 2003 who got overruled by the guy making the final call.

Nobody sticks around a team for 15 years if they're just a voice in the wilderness. At some point he'd leave if his opinion wasn't heeded or valued. Therefore, Grier represents the status quo. Again, this guy's dad was in the process of running the Pats into the ground and then they magically got better after finally getting rid of him.