Sparano Fired!

[tubba marxxx]

I didn't say Gates was a home run, I said I think the DRAFT CLASS might turn out to be a home run. I think Gates has a lot of potential long-term. For a 3rd round pick I like him alot going forward. And Clay and Thomas when healthy played very well. And Pouncey did outstanding starting as a rookie center. That's all I said

fair enough, I thought you meant each player was a HR, my bad

[Dolphster]

Sparano had to go, but I feel for the guy.  Seems like a good enough guy and the players did seem to like him for the most part.  And he kept the team from rolling over and quitting during the worst part of the season so there is a lot to be said for that.  But I think he was in over his head with being a head coach.  Like most of you said, would have been nice to see Ireland go too.   Hopefully firing the coach with 3 games left will give management a head start on the other teams when it comes to recruiting a new coach. 

[el diablo]

Ireland needs to go because of the continuation of The Dallas Philosophy that started when Jimmie Johnson was the coach. He was brought in by Parcels. Who left "quietly" last year. The owner can't quit. Its obvious that wants style over substance. Ireland will not go against that. Ross isn't as bad as Jerry Jones, but they keep bringing over the Dallas rejects. All of us have ideas on how to make the team better. But none of us own the team. Still, Ireland needs to go.

[DarthHoodie]

Good Luck on finding a new coach Dolphin Fans.

[Cathal]

Good Luck on finding a new coach Dolphin Fans.

Thanks! 

[BigDaddyFin]

I wasn't 100% that Sparano should have been fired.  I thought 2009 and 2010 we were hamstrung by shitty playcalling and an inconsistant defense.  Daboll shows up, and yeah we got off to a slow start and yeah he called a bad game Sunday but the team was starting to score points even with a career backup.  The defense which was strong last year got off to a terrible start and now they're playing better. 

I don't have any confidence in Jeff Ireland.  It seems like for every guy we draft who is good, we have 4 more that are gone quickly.

I also don't think it helped that Parcells walked as soon as the new owner came in.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Good Luck on finding a new coach Dolphin Fans.

I thought Luck was the coverted QB, not coach.  

By the way welcome to the boards. 

[Doc-phin]

The reason Sparano was fired had nothing to do with football and everything to do with fan and media pressure.  Ross was right in his press conference saying that he had to get rid of the distractions surrounding the team to give us a chance to move forward.  He simply couldn't keep Sparano because every second of every day the discussion was about Sparano being on the hot seat and it would have continued.  This was the only way to give the team the chance to move forward without the HC job being in constant question.

Sparano was building something good and it just took too long.  I only think he was a step or two away from what he was trying to do.  Henning, Henne, O-line change over and the short offseason with a new OC was just too much to overcome.

That is the problem with rebuilding a team.  If you send everybody packing, you better be in a position to survive the difficult times while you fit the pieces together to get were you need to get.  I give Sparano some credit, he looked ahead and saw that the only way to beat out the Patriots was to start over.  In the mean time he tried to survive with a rehash QB and new concept like the wildcat.  They gave the company line of "we are trying to win now", but it is obvious it was just to keep the players motivated.

I realize that Ireland hasn't been perfect.  He has missed on some players and released some players unnecessarily.  But overall he is doing pretty good.  I don't see how we are going to do much better.  Please fellow Dolphins fans, don't be idiots and drive the guy out of town just because we haven't won.  It takes a lot to win in this league and historically it takes even more to win in our division.  You have to realize that their #1 goal is to win our division on a consistant basis.  It is a tall order that takes building from the ground up and takes time.  We don't need another rebuild!

[Pappy13]

The reason Sparano was fired had nothing to do with football and everything to do with fan and media pressure.

Seriously? You believe that?

Ross was right in his press conference saying that he had to get rid of the distractions surrounding the team to give us a chance to move forward.  He simply couldn't keep Sparano because every second of every day the discussion was about Sparano being on the hot seat and it would have continued.  This was the only way to give the team the chance to move forward without the HC job being in constant question.

That was part of it, but that hasn't changed since September so it certainly didn't prompt Ross to fire him this week.

Sparano was building something good and it just took too long.  I only think he was a step or two away from what he was trying to do.  Henning, Henne, O-line change over and the short offseason with a new OC was just too much to overcome.

Sparano had the reputation coming to Miami as an offensive line guru, he's had 4 years working on the O-line, used two first-round draft picks on offensive lineman and the offensive line is still a mess. Face it. Sparano failed big time. He has no one to blame but himself.

[Doc-phin]

Pappy,

1 - I absolutely believe it.  There is no way that I can believe any of Ross' "consultants" said that firing Sparano was the best thing for the team other than in the area of distractions and short term ticket sales.  Now we are in prayer mode that we can bring in a decent head coach that is willing to not dismantle the team.

2 - I wasn't referencing the timing of it.  The reason Tony got fired NOW, was to get a jump on his replacement. 

3 - Long = great, Incognito = good enough, Pouncey = good, Carey = good at right guard but took a little while.  So the only issues that haven't been fixed are the right tackle which I believe was supposed to be fixed by Murtha and O-line depth which we have in every area except tackle.  Jerry came in out of shape and forced the issue with Carey, How is that Sparano's fault?

See the forest through the trees people.

[Pappy13]

3 - Long = great, Incognito = good enough, Pouncey = good, Carey = good at right guard but took a little while.  So the only issues that haven't been fixed are the right tackle.

And it ONLY took 2 1st round draft choices, a couple more in the later rounds and several free agent acquisitions and we STILL need a right tackle.  I got news for you, that's HORRIBLE for an o-line guru. Most teams manage that without spending a single 1st round draft pick on an offensive lineman.

See the forest through the trees people.

I see it just fine. It's easier to see when you take off the rose colored glasses.

[tubba marxxx]

Pappy,

1 - I absolutely believe it.  There is no way that I can believe any of Ross' "consultants" said that firing Sparano was the best thing for the team other than in the area of distractions and short term ticket sales.  Now we are in prayer mode that we can bring in a decent head coach that is willing to not dismantle the team.

2 - I wasn't referencing the timing of it.  The reason Tony got fired NOW, was to get a jump on his replacement. 

3 - Long = great, Incognito = good enough, Pouncey = good, Carey = good at right guard but took a little while.  So the only issues that haven't been fixed are the right tackle which I believe was supposed to be fixed by Murtha and O-line depth which we have in every area except tackle.  Jerry came in out of shape and forced the issue with Carey, How is that Sparano's fault?

See the forest through the trees people.

I really don't think the offensive line is as bad as everyone says it is.  the bad part of the offensive line was moving Vernon Carey to RG TO OPEN UP room for Marc Colombo at RT.  This was a move that was solely done because of the Sparano/Ireland boner for their Dallas Cowboys days.  Anyone with a brain would take Carey over Colombo.  Carey was a team player and said he'll make the move to RG, and is now starting to play damn good football at the position.  Outside of Colombo being a waste of money and space..and frankly, life..other problems with the O-Line would probably be depth..It's pretty clear how valuable Jake Long is after he went down against the Eagles...

[tubba marxxx]

And it ONLY took 2 1st round draft choices and we STILL need a right tackle.  I got news for you, that's HORRIBLE for an o-line guru. Most teams manage that without spending a single 1st round draft pick on an offensive lineman.
I see it just fine. It's easier to see when you take off the rose colored glasses.

Carey wasn't Sparano's choice..see my above rant as to why we have a glaring hole at Right Tackle

[Phishfan]

^^^ He wasn't referring to Carey (who was also a first round choice) I don't think. He was referring to Long & Pouncey.

[Pappy13]

I really don't think the offensive line is as bad as everyone says it is.  the bad part of the offensive line was moving Vernon Carey to RG TO OPEN UP room for Marc Colombo at RT.  This was a move that was solely done because of the Sparano/Ireland boner for their Dallas Cowboys days.  Anyone with a brain would take Carey over Colombo.  Carey was a team player and said he'll make the move to RG, and is now starting to play damn good football at the position.  Outside of Colombo being a waste of money and space..and frankly, life..other problems with the O-Line would probably be depth..It's pretty clear how valuable Jake Long is after he went down against the Eagles...

You don't get it. It's not that the offensive is line is that bad, it's that it's taken a supposed offensive line guru who's spent several draft choices on lineman, several more failed free agent acquisitions and 4 years to get to this point.  With that much effort placed on the offensive line Miami's should be one of the best in football today if not the best.