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Armando of the Miami Herald reporting that Ross has told Ireland his job is safe and he will be back next year

The man Dolphins fans see as the most likely casualty from the NFL scandal and poor performances earlier this season, Ireland, also is getting a new life.

According to an NFL source, he has received assurances from Ross that his job is safe.

I may be in the minority, but I'm okay with this.  I think the average fan underestimates the upheaval associated with front office and coaching changes.  These guys (Ireland and Philbin) are first timers in their respective jobs.  They are learning and I believe, getting better. 

If they fired him and just replaced him from within (Aponte or Gaine) with someone with no GM experience, I would rather have Ireland honestly. And if they fired him that's probably what would have happened.

This is the best news we've had so far after whinegate started.

Yaaaaay ! .. give Ireland a 10 year fully guaranteed contract with an ownership stake in the team if he's fired before then ! .. lets get this team on the right track .. quit this front office and coaching carousel .. build from the draft .. get our coaches back on the competition committee.

stability = winning  in the nfl .. period

Just because fans want him fired doesn't make it the right thing to do.  He has done a good job, IMO.  Yay, stability!

Pretty meaningless.

Reports come out all the time that so-and-so job is safe and a few weeks later they are fired.  You really think Ross is going to tell Ireland, "Look you are going to be fired at the end of the season but I want you to work hard up until then."  Get real.

I am not saying Ireland is definitely getting fired, but this report doesn't mean anything. 

Awesome   ::)   Can't wait to see what greatness this guy can put together. His resume is chock full of sweet pickups during his tenure in Miami. Hell, let him retire here! Stability galore. Yay, more mediocre seasons!

I think stability is much more important for the coaching staff and players than it is for the GM. If a GM shows that he can't spot talent, then you don't hurt your team at all by trying to get a better one.

^^^ Unless new GMs also mean coaching unstability because they brought in "their guy" who did not work out and then another new replacement in a last ditch effort to keep a job (which then likely leads to a third coaching change if the GM does get fired and the process starts again).

This scenario is not a given, just a Devil's Advocate position of how it could affect things.

Miami is in this predicament in the first place because they got rid of the coach (Sparano) but kept the GM.  Generally speaking, if you're going to fire one, you fire them both.

Count my vote for Ireland.

I do kinda feel that this group is a pair.  It seems that if you ditch Ireland, but keep Philbin, you're kinda half-assed cleaning house.  And it's pretty clear at this point that you're not going to fire Philbin.

No need to fire any of them, makes no sense. They have matched last years win total already with 3 left to play. They are playing meaningful games in December and have a shot at the playoffs. Even if the Fins come up short of the playoffs, you don't fire people off a season like this.  You wonder why the "top coaches" (ie Fisher, Cowher...etc) don't want to come to Miami and in some cases refuse to take the interview? They don't see stability in the franchise.  Ross has to build up his reputation in league circles. This is how ya do it. Don't be a hands on owner and give the people you hired time. Don't go knee-jerk every offseason with wholesale changes if ya hit a bump in the road

Yeah, I don't disagree.

Well, we spent a ton in the offseason and had a lot of draft picks? Let's just say we finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs. You can even make that 9-7. Would that be considered a success just because it's not a losing record? Success is the last word I would use to describe a season in which we came from behind to lose about 5 games.

As far as Ireland goes, fire him because he hasn't done anything. I don't have many complaints about his offseason moves this time, but he does not have a successful track record, so why the loyalty?

Philbin, I would toss just for the 2nd half meltdowns which are 100% on the coaching staff. I don't care about the Incognito nonsense, so he shouldn't take the fall for that.

Did we really spend a ton? I mean we went into last offseason with around $35 mill in cap space and go into next offseason with $20+ mill in cap space. All he did was get rid of the older guys and replace them with younger players. Ireland could have broke the bank and spent every last cent ....he didn't! He saved a lot of money.

We signed Wallace, Wheeler, and Ellerbe to large contracts. And he put in an out clause with Wallace so after year 3 Miami can cut bait and take almost no cap hit (ie cut him or rip up the deal and give him a new one)..it was only a 3 year $35 mill deal in "real money."  And we probably got Ellerbee at a good/fair price as he has been spectacular this year. I mean Gibson and Keller didn't get big money, Keller got a 1 year deal for pete sakes that was nothing special at all. And we gave Hartline an extension not like we broke the bank for him, in fact with how he is playing we got him at a good price.

To be honest, it doesn't really surprise me.

Draft day, many thought Ireland was drafting for his life, yet what happened seemed to indicate the exact opposite. The picks of Jordan, Dallas Thomas & Sturgis didn't tie in with someone thinking his ass was on the line - they all looked like medium-longer term replacements of existing players with cheaper, younger ones, like he knew he was safe. The only sign of panic was when there was a run on cornerbacks and he suddenly traded back in, other than that it was the usual Ireland crap shoot...

Which brings me to the next point. If Ireland is replaced internally by someone like Aponte, will there really be much difference? The last few years our trading and drafting has seemed to have as much to do with managing the cap as improving our player list. Aponte seems to be joined to the hip to Ross, and more recently Philbin to Aponte - would someone like Bill Polian even consider coming into the organization if he is told by Ross he has to work with Aponte & Philbin, no ifs, no buts, and no option to review and remove either of those if it's not working? I doubt it.

People are sick of seeing regimes change every few years (god knows I am) but under this Aponte-Ireland regime at some stage either things have to improve dramatically or they have to change. We are currently at a crossroads - 7 wins now with the potential for a winning season and even a playoff birth which is great, but there are also a hell of a lot of Ireland's high draft picks and trades that are either total busts or playing elsewhere which is simply not acceptable.

The end of this season will have to be the launch point for a sizable, noticeable improvement next season, or the sense of futility will not only remain, it will be even worse. There is no middle ground here - Aponte will be no better than Ireland, Philbin is now too closely linked to her anyway. If they succeed great, but if they fail again in my opinion they all have to go, or we're just doing the equivalent of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. 

According to the Miami Herald this morning the Fins will have $38 mill in cap space this offseason. If they cut Dimitri Patterson they clear up more cap space as well. Here is the tidbit....

More reason for hope: The Dolphins have just $106 million in cap commitments (including dead money) for 2014, well under the projected cap of $126 million. They also have about $18 million in unused 2013 cap space that can be carried over.

That adds up to $38 million in space for this upcoming offseason, and they can clear even more space if they cut Dimitri Patterson (which would be a $5.4 million saving) or ask him to take a pay cut after he played in only five games.

So, Miami will be big-time players again this offseason in free agency. The key people Miami has to re-sign are....Grimes (probably use the franchise tag), Starks OR Soliai (not both), Carroll and Clemons who will be cheap signings.

I'd look to keep Patterson if the docs say he'll be healthy.

Not at $5.4 million. 

Based upon how the past few years of offseason acquisitions have gone, it wouldn't matter if they had $200 million. Haven't been impressed with a free agent signing in three years at least. -EK

No way. We drafted Taylor and Davis for a reason. They were nagged by injuries all year you hope they are ready to step up next year. Plus we can re-sign Carroll for probably half of what Patterson is making and he has been playing great so far

Yeah the Brent Grimes signing wasn't good. Not 1 good signing in 3 years though right... ::)

Give me a break!

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut from time to time.  That being said, I'll give him credit for Grimes and Ellerbe as well as the Reggie Bush trade. 

I'm so sorry I overlooked Grimes, what with the general underperforming play that Dansy, Burnett, Wallace, Naanee, Columbo, Incognito, Will Allen, Garrard, and Ocho (no plays there) have produced. They seem to spend a disproportionate amount of money on players who don't produce compared to other teams.

Even Ellerbe has been ranked fairly low (40/52 at his position) so far this year. Not exactly a free agent success story with this regime. -EK

^^If you don't think Ellerbee is playing well you are lost. Those rankings you have to take with a grain of salt.....I can find you rankings that have Tannehill has the 7th best QB in the league this year which I know will have your troll head explode! So either all the rankings count or none of them, you can't cherry pick them. Ellerbee has had a fantastic year I don't care what some silly rankings say. Watch the games, he is a big key to this defense and front 7.

Ireland has been at his best with the late round draft choices, no doubt (Clay, Jones, Matthews, Hartline, Clemons, Soliai, Bess). And while his free agent signings have been questionable, Ireland can lay claim to the best FREE AGENT signing in the league in the past decade getting Cam Wake out of Canada and paying him what we got him for in 2009.

But to say he has had only 1 good free agent signing in 3 years is laughable and silly. It's a statement that can't be taken seriously. Last year alone he had 3 good signings with Grimes, Gibson, and Ellerbee. I mean come on 

A 2009 signing isn't in the past three years is it? I'm aware that Wake is an absolute beast and likely the best player the team has had since he was given a full time role. That's why I said past 3 years. I'll give you Grimes. Nice pick up. I think you're giving Ellerbe far too much credit. A LB on the 23rd ranked defense against the run, who is arguably being outplayed by Wheeler, so he's not even the best LB on his own team, isn't something I'd get too excited about. He's been an average player; some strong games, but he's had a few stinkers in there, too. The Herald has run a few stories noting how frequently he misses tackles. So...spectacular, as you called him? Not so much.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/06/3800048/dannell-ellerbe-finally-settling.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/15/3756243/miami-dolphins-run-defense-struggling.html

Tell me you didn't really mention Gibson?! He played what- 6 games before he went on IR? Never cracked 100 yards, never hit double digits receiving, but he's a "good" signing? Oh wait- I suppose in respect you your boy Mike Wallace, he DID look pretty good.

C'mon, seriously, I'm not on the "fire Ireland" bandwagon, but he has made a mess of player acquisitions for quite a while now, and there's a reason that so many people want him gone. -EK

For a #3 WR Gibson is a great signing. He was playing way above what Miami is paying him before he got hurt. 3 TD's in 6 and a half games and moving the chains on a lot of 3rd down. For a #3 WR playing limited snaps to score like that and do what he was doing...I will take that. I don't expect a #3 WR to have 100 yard games..  ::)

If you think Wheeler is better than Ellerbee....once again you know little about football. That's a silly statement all around. It's a laughable statement. Laughable!

Look you aren't a fan of this team and you think everyone sucks and have a clear anti-bias when talking about the Fins. Even after wins (like last week) you say Miami was "lucky." You are NOT objective in the least.  Trying to have a "rational" and "intelligent" conversation about this with you is impossible so why bother. Good day!

And you believe that no matter how bad they play, they're great, and any player that you love (ie, Wallace or Miller) can do no wrong, no matter how bad they are. So we're at a stalemate.

Be that as it may, Ireland's recent track record for free agents is not good. You can argue with me all day and night, but no one is going to believe that he's any good. Why do you think fans flew a banner plane in front of Ross asking him to fire the guy? I'm definitely not in the minority on this one, no matter how much you wish I was. -EK

Nobody said his recent track record was good. If you read my fuckin posts I clearly stated his late round drafting has been his strength not his free agent signings. But he has had more than 1 good signing in 3 years that's all I said  ::)  Saying he has had only 1 good signing in 3 years is silly and comical. He has had more than 1 in 3 years....that's all I said! And I'm right on that.

And nobody said Ellerbee is going to the hall of fame, but he was a good signing! There is a middle ground between Hall of Fame and being a good signing. He was a good siging. And by the way "rush defense" isn't a stat totally for MLB's. DT's have something to say in that too.

And this Lamar Miller and Mike Wallace "love" you say I have for them. Jesus fuckin christ, WTF are you talking about? Yeah I liked drafting Miller in ROUND 4....not Round 1, or 2, or 3...in ROUND 4 he was a good 4th round pick!! And he is good enough to let Reggie (always injured and overpaid) Bush WALK (who missed last week and is going to probably miss tomorrows game too with ijnuries)! If that proclaims "love for Miller"....then so be it. He's a 4th round pick for christ sakes I don't know what "love" you think I have for him. I liked a 4th round pick for crying out loud....get the fuck over it.  On Wallace, I liked the signing and I still do. I told you a year before they signed him they were going too.....and for 3 years $37 mill it's a good deal. You can hate the guy (as others can) but they aren't tied to him long-term and he is playing this year for only $3.25 mill. You can debate signing him over Jennings or Welker...you can't debate that they got him at a fair price and have an opt out after 3 years is a "good thing". They didn't tie themselves to him long-term and fuck their cap up!

My bad- forgot Bush didn't play last week and is questionable this week.

Wait a sec...brb...looking for Miller's stats from last week and his status this week.

You've been riding his jock since they drafted him calling him the big "home run threat," and so far this year he's broken one long run and then promptly fumbled the ball away. A replacement for Bush he is not.

And I'm staying with my stance- he has NOT had any kind of "good" signings aside from Grimes in the past three years. And absolutely no, they didn't get Wallace for a fair price. 58 receptions puts him in the same company as Emmanuel Sanders and TY Hilton. Market value? Average of $2 million per year. Those 3 TDs he's scored? The same as your great signing Gibson. Wallace was massively overpaid for what he's produced. And that's on Ireland. Which brings us full-circle to his ineptitude in acquiring free agents. -EK

Don't... feed... the... troll....

please.

From the NFL's Ian Rapoport (https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/412277022048931841):

On #Dolphins: GM Jeff Ireland has not been told by Stephen Ross of his status for 2014, the final year of his deal. Will meet at end of year

If it means an overhaul and learning new schemes and adjustment periods, then forget it. We have the picks and the cap space now and as much as I would love to see him gone, I don't want uncertainty and transition to screw us over for 2014 when we need to win now.

This win today went a long way in saving Ireland's job

Firing Ireland after this season makes absolutely no sense.

I get that someone might not like Ireland and I'm certainly not blind to the arguments that can be made in that regard.

HOWEVER, Ireland has done everything you'd want him to do this past offseason (including not mortgaging the future to save his own butt), so firing him NOW as opposed to 1+ years ago makes no sense.

Now, if the Wells report finds that Ireland was actually behind the harassment of Martin, well, fine, then you fire him ;)

^^^^ Yes. And we have $38 mill in cap space. I think we can fix the o-line with $38 mill to spend. That is really the only glaring weakness right now.  We need to address the DT position. Soliai and Starks have been bad this year but essentially our "needs" have been diminished.

You want to get ticky-tack yes we need to "upgrade" other areas no doubt. But the glaring needs are few at this point on the Fins. Alot of it is getting the young guys experience and get through the growing pains. Give the devil his due. Miami has a WR corps that is good enough when healthy (Wallace, Hartline, Gibson, Matthews), we have a #1 CB in Grimes.  We have 3 pass rushers in Wake, Vernon, Jordan. We have a nice nucleus to build around.

Please pay Grimes...he's our best corner since Madison/Surtain

Miami has a lot of unrestricted free agents come the offseason.  This wasn't a win-or-else year, but that cap space isn't going to be around for long:

Starks
Soliai
Grimes
Keller
Jerry
Carroll

Keller and Jerry will BOTH be gone.
Grimes will probably get the franchise tag.
We keep Starks OR Soliai (not both)
Carroll won't cost much to keep around

The most glaring need is the offensive line. After that we could use an upgrade at receiver/tight end

We just bought 3 WR's last year and gave each decent to big money. Plus we have Matthews and Binns. No need for another WR at all.

TE we have Clay, Sims, and Egnew. Maybe add 1 more pass catcher but not a huge need

Needs are simple
1) O-linemen
2) Defensive Tackles
3) tweak/improve everything else here and there with no glaring need anywhere

Grimes should get a long-term contract; Carroll should get somewhere in the 2-3 year range.  This team desperately needs stability in the defensive backfield.
I think Jerry is fine as a 5th lineman (or for depth).
I would like to see Keller get another 1-year deal, just so we can put a Wallace/Hartline/Gibson/Keller/Clay package on the field.
Soliai or Starks, whichever is the better deal.

I think Jon Jerry has worn out his welcome in Miami. Weight is always an issue, his play is too erratic from week to week. I don't see him staying. I would be shocked if the Fins offer him a deal at all. Aside from Pouncey and Brenner I don't see any of the starters coming back.

Keller....it depends on his knee. He had as nasty an injury as you can have. If he can be ready to go by Week 1 next year, fine give him a low-ball offer for 1 year. But I would rather look elsewhere. Keller was injury prone before this knee injury, I am not sure you can depend on him at all at this point.  I love the guy and how he could fit into our offense, but this is a cruel business and kicking him to the curb may be the way to go.

Getting Grimes to a reasonable long-term deal would be ideal. But he is coming off a BIG year this year, he might ask for the moon. Best way to go might be to tag him for a year. Give him his $11 mill contract for one year and then hopefully sign him long-term the next year. Grimes is worth his weight in gold, he has been fantastic. But ya can't overpay and give out a bad contract. We finally rid ourselves of all the bad contracts can't go back to old habbits.

I agree Grimes should get a good contract extension or a franchise tag, but I'm not really convinced he's a #1 CB. From what I saw of the Bengals game, he seemed to have trouble matched up with the tall, elite receiver (Green), but really came into his own matched up on Marvin Jones. I'm hoping Patterson gets another go and is healthy for a full year, because in the same game he demonstrated can smother the guy Grimes had trouble with. With the two of them starting at CB, and Michael Thomas/Wilson/Taylor/Davis playing nickel or being groomed to eventually take over, hopefully the positions are covered for a while.

Grimes is a #1 CB. To say otherwise is silly. Who doesn't have issues covering AJ Green....I mean come on!

This draft may be more essential than last year's, which we essentially whiffed on as of right now. We have to replace 4 O-Line starters and other various needs, but none more important than O-Line once again.

^^^ I don't think we can say if we whiffed on this year's draft for another full year.  It seems to me Philbin has been holding back the rookies this year.

It's possible it's Philbin's fault, except for Dallas Thomas who can't even get on the field even though we are on 4th stringers at this point. Dion Jordan should be playing more and Sturgis has been great except for a 3 week spell where he had a nervous breakdown and forgot how to play. We drafted a lot of injured players though, that's on Ireland.

We can wait a bit more with some of these kids, but they might as well release Thomas at this point.