The Problem With Firing Sparano

[Doc-phin]

I really get annoyed with Sparano more than anything and imagine the players do to.  Because of that (and his record, of course), I would be just fine with firing him at the end of the season.  However, I would really, really like to keep Nolan and Daboll.

Nolan may have had his unit struggling a bit early in the season but it seems like it was more of a conditioning issue and the rule changes in practice (from the new CBA) that caused it and they seem to be getting back up to speed as the season progresses.  Nolan is a very good D-coordinator and it would suck to lose him.

Daboll is doing really well considering all the new pieces he has had to work with and the very short off season.  I think he is more than sufficient now and I see a good bit of upside with more time and a proper offseason.

The problem is that it is so very unlikely that a new coach would agree to keeping them.  Coaches want "their guys" and that includes players and staff.  Is there any chance I can get my cake and eat it too?  Are there any solid examples where a new head coach was brought in from outside and the coordinators were retained (with success)?

[masterfins]

^^^ I think it would depend on who the new coach is.  If it's a Cowher or Gruden, their "guys" currently have jobs and may not be willing to jump ship from their current teams.  So Nolan and Daboll may stick around for a year and have a chance to cement their worth.  If it's someone like a Del Rio coming from another team then they will most likely bring some of their guys along because they will also be out of a job.

[MikeO]

Nobody deserves to stay on this staff. If a new coach wants to keep anyone fine, but I won't be heartbroken when they are all gone.

[tubba marxxx]

Nobody deserves to stay on this staff. If a new coach wants to keep anyone fine, but I won't be heartbroken when they are all gone.

I would like Mike Nolan to stick around, but also wouldn't loose sleep if the whole staff is wiped out again

[Doc-phin]

Nobody deserves to stay on this staff. If a new coach wants to keep anyone fine, but I won't be heartbroken when they are all gone.

I hear you and normally would agree after a season like this (in terms of record).  But there is a reason for the term "throw the baby out with the bath water" and there is evidence that this would be one of those cases.

Who would we get that would be better is the question I am really asking (coordinators only).  

If we go to a 4-3 defense (which I would support), then I could see someone like a Del Rio or Spagnolo as possible upgrades.  But who is going to be better with a 3-4 that is available?  I just don't see anyone, even smaller names like emerging assistants.  3-4 defenses are more prevalent than they used to be but there still aren't many guys well versed in coaching it.  Nolan knows both and knows them well and other than the first 5 games of this season, our defense has been pretty damn good.

Then there is Daboll, which is a little more complex to evaluate.  I think about it and look at what he is doing and I keep coming back to a few points.  Considering he had nearly no offseason to install a totally new offense that is built on the premise of having an insane amount of formations and variations, it only makes sense that our offense would start slow.  He has done so much with such a shitty hand that it blows my mind.  Let me make my case for Daboll below...

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He started with Henne who was mediocre to start with.
He had a rookie running back (Thomas) with hamstring trouble.
He had an undersized running back (Bush) that had to pull full duty and was a new addition.
He had a rookie FB/tight (Clay) end which is actually a lot of responsibility for a rookie.
He had a rookie center (Pouncey) playing against some of the biggest D-linemen in the league.
He was trying to mix in a rookie receiver (Gates) with speed that just isn't ready for this level (yet).
He had a burnt out new addition (Columbo) right tackle that couldn't handle his assignment one on one.
He had a Carey move to guard after years and years at tackle.
Then he loses his mediocre QB, that he actually made look pretty good, to a season ending injury.
He has to start all over with a new addition free agent QB (Moore) that was running scout team.

Within 3 weeks he has Moore in total command of the offense.  Our offense is clicking pretty good, not perfect but definitely pretty good.  We have smoked a few teams and when is the last time that has happened?  We went toe-to-toe with a pretty good Cowboys team and quite frankly had a very fair shot at winning the game.  I know it sounds like an excuse but again, he is a new OC that had a short offseason and I just can't think of a way anyone could have done any more with so much stacked against him.

[MikeO]

You don't fire the head coach and keep the 2 coordinators around. Just doesn't happen. Also Nolan tried bailing last year but wasn't let out of his deal. No way he sticks around. Nolan is a Parcells guy. If Parcells and Sparano are gone so is he.

Daboll has baggage as from these reports now coming out from his Cleveland days. And the offense hasn't been all that hot. I mean it took the guy half the year to figure out how to use Bush when 90% of the breathing football world knew how to use him and what NOT to do with him like Run him up the gut 15 times a game.

I don't see how any of these guys survive, nor should they. The Dolphins need to open the windows and let the STINK out of this house. Remove all coaches and all dead weight players (ie Merling, Colombo, Carey...etc) who contribute nothing.

[jtex316]

The argument that it was a short off-season and the rules were different that you're making isn't taking into consideration that the rules changed equally for all 32 NFL teams. Did the other coaching staffs simply adapt quicker and learn the rules faster than the Dolphins' staff?

[Doc-phin]

The argument that it was a short off-season and the rules were different that you're making isn't taking into consideration that the rules changed equally for all 32 NFL teams.

Actually, it does.  The beginning of the season was a scoring fest for nearly every offense.  The teams that had continuity on offense simply tended to outscore teams that didn't.  It is no surprise that after 4-5 games, defenses started to get it together and total scoring started to come down.  This was fairly league wide.  Of course there are always those outliers that are either always dominant or always suck.

And the context carries over to our team.  Even with the new pieces on offense, we were moving the ball just fine.  We just couldn't get into the end zone.  Now that the offense has had some time (and no Henne), we are getting some red zone production.

So here is the recipe for why we were at a particular disadvantage...

1 - Our guys apparently took it upon themselves not to get into football shape during the lockout.  This is evident by all the soft tissue injuries and cramps early on.
2 - New CBA rules severely reduce the physical nature of practice and tackling across the league suffers.  Teams with good offenses can compensate and teams built to play defense do poorly.  Examples: Miami, Jets, Jaguars, Rams, Seattle, Denver, Phili, and more.
3 - New OC in Miami with 2 new running backs and 2-3 key players that are rookies puts us behind teams that had the same HC, OC, QB.
4 - The order in which the teams we were scheduled to play was a disadvantage to us because we played teams with offensive strength early and defensive strength late.  (except Cleveland, which was just bs)

1st game against Pats (continuity on offense), 2nd game against Texans (continuity on offense), 3rd game against Browns (should have won but lost due to kicker and late letdown on defense), 4th game against Chargers (continuity on offense)

Then, defenses started to catch up.

week 5 against the Jets (defense catches up and continuity on defense) plus we had a new QB, week 6 against Denver (defense catches up and it is a very close game), week 7 against Giants (continuity on offense and defense has caught up) but they still had to come from behind.

By week 8, our defense is mostly up to speed and our offense has had enough time to outplay middle of the road teams.  Therefore we beat the Chiefs, Skins, Bills and had a good shot to beat the Cowboys.

So moving forward we have a decent defense and decent offense.  It will be interesting to see if both continue to improve which would only add credit to my argument.  The problem is that now there is nothing to play for other than pride and jobs which is ok motivation but generally positive motivation is more effective than negative motivation.

If this trend really does continue and I am right about the source of our issues, we would likely struggle against Oakland who is a well rounded team and have a better chance of beating the Pats, Bills, Phili, Jets who are primarily one trick ponys.  The Pats game is a bit of a wildcard because the defense is starting to flash at times.