The Jets announced Robert Saleh as their new head coach, and Dolphin fans will not have Adam Gase to kick around any more. But we do have Saleh. He was the 49ers defensive coordinator. A man whose calls blew a late 11-point lead in the Super Bowl vs. Kansas City. A man whose defense gave up 43 points to the Dolphins midway through our last season. A man whose defense was last place in their division, lagging behind the Cardinals. He also has the kiss of death upon him, as pundits are saying how ready he is and how great he is. His former boss, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, praised him more than anyone…and Kyle should know….it was Kyle’s own calls that let the Patriots win a Super Bowl when they were 25 points behind. Kyle Shanahan knows a lot about teams collapsing, so when he praises Shaleh, take it with a grain of salt.
And remember, Adam Gase received the same kind of praise when we hired him as well.
Urban Meyer, the Jags’ new head coach, has a much better pedigree. He actually has some success and championships in his background. This could be a good hire for the Jags, but I’d be leery of the Nick Saban syndrome. College football coaches have unlimited access to whatever players they want. They can pick and choose the best high school players from around the country and offer them “incentives” (legally, I’m supposed to say “offer them a scholarship” but let’s be honest). Kids can choose any college in the world. They receive multiple offers and go to the better schools like Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, etc.
Meyer and Saban succeed because of their skills, of course, but don’t ever discount that they succeed because they are able to recruit the best players.
In the pros, it’s not even close to that. You get 7 new players (draft picks) per year. Period. You also can get free agents, but you’re limited by a salary cap. You can dress only 46 men on game day, not 129 like in college. Oh, did I mention you only get to select 7 new players per year? And when you want a player, you cannot simply select him. You have to wait your turn and wait for 31 other teams ahead of you to go before it’s your turn again.
Nick Saban didn’t like that part, so he tucked tail and ditched the Dolphins high and dry. He realized building a program in college is infinitely easier than the pros because of the access to stud players.
I think Urban Meyer can learn a lesson from Saban’s saga and become a successful pro coach, like Barry Swisher. But he’ll have to be patient.
Falcons. Lions. Chargers. Eagles. Four teams remain without a coach.
And, after all is said and done, I’m really pleased with Brian Flores and how he is slowly building the team. A lot of work still to be done, but at least he came from a championship organization and was instrumental in building those titles. That goes a long way toward mental toughness and knowing what it takes to win. It makes me glad that the Dolphins don’t have to look for a head coach for years to come.
Hey ADMIN, did you mean “Barry Switzer?”
OMG, my bad. I have a buddy named Barry Swisher. I’m gonna leave my typo for now so others can laugh at me. 🙂
Barry Swisher- the swashbuckling pirate! 😃
I heard that Dan Campbell, (remember him) will be going to the Lions.
That’s interesting. Campbell took over for that Clueless Joey Philbin, and the team won huge two games in a row. Everything looked great, and guys fought for Campbell. But then we lost a whole bunch of games in a row, and all the effort the guys put into Campbell’s first few games just disappeared.
I think Campbell will make a great head coach personally… I was kinda upset when we didn’t give him more of a chance and went with Gase. That certainly worked out well. Pssht. Obviously I’m very happy with where we’re at now so maybe it all worked out even if it took a while to get there but I think the Lions might actually get a legit coach for the first time in a LONG time personally.
Flores is good for the Dolphins….the right man and right mind for what they need. My concern is still Tua. If there isn’t great progress in season 2, we may have another Josh Rosen.
Stalwart, I’m in your lane! I’m open to this season where Tua has the start, as far as we can tell at this point-BUT if he doesn’t transition past where he is, it’s time to cut the cord and not have seven years of Tannehill…which is a very sore subject for me!
I’ve always liked Urban Myer, I am originally from Florida and I am a Gators fan, but his track record coaching at the college level is amazing! He had Utah pushing for a BCS bid with Alex Smith, at Florida he won a championship with Chris Leak as QB when Tebow was a freshman, then won another with Tebow a couple years later, and then another championship with Ohio State with a 3rd string QB, which I think was his best coaching performance! They blew out Sabin and
Alabama that year in the semifinal I believe. But like you said, the NFL is a whole other thing all together! I hope he succeeds in Jacksonville! And I definitely hope he takes Lawrence and not his Ohio State QB Fields. I don’t want to see Lawrence in a Jets uniform!
My concern about UM would be longevity. He has already had health problems and the NFL is double the stress compared with college. Plus he has never stayed long in any of his jobs.