Mount Rushmore non-interim Head Coaches

[AQNOR]

That coach, without a HOF QB under center, had a better record with the Dolphins than JJ did... and actually won the division to boot.

The Wanny hatred is bizarre.  You all sound like Bengals fans who think Marvin Lewis is one of the worst coaches in Cincinnati history.  We have had 20 years to see what REAL "bad coaches" look like.

Wanny actually had a decent QB who could make things happen with his legs, something that JJ didn't have.  JJ had an aging QB whose best years were behind him and was so stubborn about running the offense his way that he choked the life out of it.   Wanny inherited a top tier defense from JJ and ran it into the ground.   And that wasn't the first time. 

[Brian Fein]

Bengals fans who think Marvin Lewis is one of the worst coaches in Cincinnati history.

Thanks, I was racking my brain the other day to remember Marvin Lewis's name...

My opinion on Dave Wannstedt is based on my experience of watching him.  I didn't like his offensive game plan:
Run Ricky left
Run Ricky right
Incomplete Pass
Punt

He destroyed the best RB in the league and did nothing else.  Tried 10 different retread QB's and ended up that Jay Fiedler was better than all of them.  I just think that Wannstedt was handed one of the best defenses in team history and squandered it.  That team COULD have been a contender, if they had better leadership.

[Spider-Dan]

Wanny actually had a decent QB who could make things happen with his legs, something that JJ didn't have.  JJ had an aging QB whose best years were behind him and was so stubborn about running the offense his way that he choked the life out of it.

Of all the takes I expected to see on Dave Wannstedt, "Jay Fiedler was a better option than late-'90s Dan Marino" was not one of them.

[Dave Gray]

Marino vs. Fiedler is a weird one.

Marino was asked to do a lot and by the end, the game had passed him by.  He got old pretty fast.  All these guys do.  Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl when he was washed, though, so you can work around it.

Fiedler was a game manager type.  He also kinda got figured out.  He couldn't throw the short out.  He had some gutsy wins and could create with his feet a little bit in ways that Marino couldn't.  Fiedler was what he was, but I was a little frustrated that we never truly addressed a long-term Marino replacement for a long time.....I'd say the first real shot at it was Tannehill.

[Spider-Dan]

My opinion on Dave Wannstedt is based on my experience of watching him.  I didn't like his offensive game plan:
Run Ricky left
Run Ricky right
Incomplete Pass
Punt

You are describing 2002 and 2003.  How did you feel about his offensive gameplan in 2000 (when MIA won the division) and 2001 (when MIA made the playoffs)?

I just think that Wannstedt was handed one of the best defenses in team history and squandered it.

1) Wannstedt also inherited one of the worst offenses in team history and won the division with it.  I challenge you to go look at the offensive talent on that 2000 squad.
2) I think we (as Dolphin fans) overrate those defenses.  They were definitely better than the defenses Marino suffered with in the Shula years, but they were not dominant or anything close.  They were a top 5-10 defense, but we can all think of some very prominent defensive collapses during that era; the 2002 season was famously ended by a defensive implosion.

[Dave Gray]

2) I think we (as Dolphin fans) overrate those defenses.  They were definitely better than the defenses Marino suffered with in the Shula years, but they were not dominant or anything close.  They were a top 5-10 defense, but we can all think of some very prominent defensive collapses during that era; the 2002 season was famously ended by a defensive implosion.

This is certainly debatable but a common thought at the time was that the offense could NEVER do ANYTHING and would just go 3 and out for the entire 4th quarter to where the defense eventually got gassed.  I don't know how true that is, but really all Wanny did was run clock, offensively.

[Spider-Dan]

My recollection of the defenses of that era is that they were break-but-don't-bend.
Like, they would look absolutely unbeatable, and then be completely unable to get a stop; it was either a 3-and-out, or the opponent would drive the length of the field and score.

[CF DolFan]

You'd be better off to just make it an all around Miami Mt Rushmore. Shula, Johnson for both the Dolphins and the Canes, Pat Riley, and Erik Spoelstra from the Heat. Honestly no one close to them at this point if you ask me.

[AQNOR]

Of all the takes I expected to see on Dave Wannstedt, "Jay Fiedler was a better option than late-'90s Dan Marino" was not one of them.

I'd hate to say this but he was.   Put Fiedler on JJ's 98 and 99 teams and he would've made things happen.

[Brian Fein]

You'd be better off to just make it an all around Miami Mt Rushmore. Shula, Johnson for both the Dolphins and the Canes, Pat Riley, and Erik Spoelstra from the Heat. Honestly no one close to them at this point if you ask me.

Not even the guy that took the Florida Panthers to the cup finals in year 1?  I mean, I don't think you punt Riley, Spo or Shula for him, but if it continues, you can make a case to punt Jimmy for Paul Maurice...

[CF DolFan]

Not even the guy that took the Florida Panthers to the cup finals in year 1?  I mean, I don't think you punt Riley, Spo or Shula for him, but if it continues, you can make a case to punt Jimmy for Paul Maurice...

Nope. Not off of one year in my opinion. The other 4 are proven over the long haul. I have high hopes for McDaniel's too but he has to build a resume.

[AQNOR]

Not even the guy that took the Florida Panthers to the cup finals in year 1?  I mean, I don't think you punt Riley, Spo or Shula for him, but if it continues, you can make a case to punt Jimmy for Paul Maurice...

That team was a bunch of blue collar players who were never expected to get farther than the second round of the playoffs.  They overachieved in 1996, then got destroyed when they ran into an ultra talented team like the Avalanche.   They then caved to the pressure the following year.

[dolphins4life]

What did Jimmy Johnson do with that "great team"?
Again, Wanny inherited a team that just lost Dan Marino and IMPROVED it!  With Jay Fiedler!

2000 was in no small part due to the emergence of Lamar Smith, who had a career year and solved the running woes Miami had had for so long, if just for one year.

People's dislike for Wannestedt isn't based on 2000 or 2001, but 2002 and 2003.

Those were two teams loaded with talent and pro-bowlers and he failed to make the playoffs with either of them. 

[dolphins4life]

Switching Flores for McDaniel in mine.

He ended the evil empire

Also, he is better than McDaniel

[Phishfan]

Marino vs. Fiedler is a weird one.

Marino was asked to do a lot and by the end, the game had passed him by.  He got old pretty fast.  All these guys do.  Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl when he was washed, though, so you can work around it.

Fiedler was a game manager type.  He also kinda got figured out.  He couldn't throw the short out.  He had some gutsy wins and could create with his feet a little bit in ways that Marino couldn't.  Fiedler was what he was, but I was a little frustrated that we never truly addressed a long-term Marino replacement for a long time.....I'd say the first real shot at it was Tannehill.

I absolutely hate the saying "we never addressed..." It was addressed and you just don't like the way it was addressed.