Finsmob Unleashed

The trio of Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, GM Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel, they are the Miami Dolphins Triumvirate of Failure. Of course it starts at the top with the owner who hired Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel, and then kept them on for at least one more season. The biggest problem is the culture here. It seems Stephen Ross is content with the Miami Dolphins being known as a friendly destination, the players love it here, it’s warm, fuzzy, friendly, almost like being on vacation all year round, and the team plays like it. We have an oft injured QB that wanted a lot of money, and because he had a few concussions, maybe Ross felt guilty and wanted to reimburse Tua for his pain and suffering. Any other franchise would have played Tua on his 5th YR option and have him prove/earn his next contract. Had they done that, well, our team would have looked a lot different. We could have kept some players that we let go, but honestly, the culture would still exist. A change needs to happen here, and I’m not convinced that change can/will happen with Stephen Ross in charge. If he ran this business like his real estate business, Grier and McDaniel would have been gone already, but Ross doesn’t seem bothered by any of this.

Right now, we have a friendly, amicable Head Coach supposedly loved by his players. Love does not equal respect. I’d love to hear what DT Calais Campbell really thinks of Mike McDaniel, and how he runs this team. He’s been around a few different coaches, he played in Baltimore for HC John Harbaugh, he played for HC Doug Marrone in Jacksonville where he really flourished (the team, not so much), he played in Arizona for HC Bruce Arians, and most recently, before he came to Miami he played for HC Arthur Smith in Atlanta. I’d love to know how he feels about the friendly vacation like atmosphere here in Miami, if he thinks that breeds a winning atmosphere. Well, we all know we have Grier and McDaniel this season and that’s the way it is, but it doesn’t hurt to look down the road. I really believe that this team needs a huge culture change. We need a leader of men, one that is respected, feared and revered, and it’s totally unnecessary whether they are liked. Don Shula was such a coach. He couldn’t give a rats ass whether you liked him, but you damn well had better do your job or he’d have your head on a platter. I know some feel that type of attitude has gone by the wayside, but I don’t.

LA Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh just came back to the NFL after a 10 year absence. One season back, and he made a huge difference. As many of you know here, I wanted Jim Harbaugh here years ago. He’s a disciplinarian, a no nonsense, hot tempered, respected Head Coach, a Head Coach that wins! In 5 seasons, 4 with the 49ers, and last season with the LA Chargers (Who were 5-11 in ’23), Harbaugh’s NFL record is an astounding 55-25, good for a .685 winning %. He’s a no nonsense, old school guy. I tell you what to do, we win, and things are good, you don’t do as I say, you sit or get cut. Our team so desperately needs that, it would be the logical change from our “Club Miami” vacation getaway atmosphere. When multiple players who were here sound off saying we’re soft” and players who played on other teams come here and say “we always knew if he got on them they’d fold”, you can frigging believe it’s true.

All I can hope as a Dolphins fan now is that Chris Grier/Mike McDaniel do nothing further to make this team worse, meaning trading away future picks, mortgaging the future cap by restructuring players who should be gone when you can cut or trade them like WR Tyreek Hill, DE Bradley Chubb, and QB Tua Tagovailoa. You DON’T TOUCH THOSE CONTRACTS!!! I also don’t want them spending desperately and foolishly in Free Agency to try and win enough this season to keep their jobs. I pray they leave this team in decent enough shape for the next regime so that they can quickly rebuild and bring winning and respect back to Miami.

I feel the QB and the team have adopted the same personality. There are so many fans I have interacted with here, and on Twitter that feel like QB Tua Tagovailoa is a good enough QB to win with, and he deserved his big contract. Just look around the NFL right now, and you’ll see QB’s winning who were just drafted, and these guys are not softies who must remain protected behind an All-Pro offensive line. These guys are athletes who can throw the ball, and can take it and run if necessary, and get back up and play, not taken off the field on a stretcher. QB Bo Nix (RD 1 #12) is one of those guys. Jayden Daniels (RD 1 #2) is another. Drake Maye (RD1 #3) is another. In last year’s draft, CJ Stroud (RD1 #2) has had some ups and downs, but CJ Stroud has won 2 playoff games already, and the New England Patriots have tons of cap space to build a nice team around their QB Drake Maye. Bo Nix who was not very highly regarded played very well this season and showed a lot of potential. The point is, we need to aim higher here fans, don’t settle, try to be better! Tua is not the answer. We made a tremendous mistake paying him like an elite QB. Not that ESPN’s QBR is the end all, but it gives you a good idea how a QB performs all around, and although some of you here think Tua is a Top 10 QB, in ESPN’s QBR system, he’s 16th. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2024/passing.htm#passing::qbr. They got a HC to come here and put on a cheerleader outfit and grab some pom poms and be QB Tua Tagovailoa’s personal cheerleader. I guess they felt bad about the meany Brian Flores who treated him like any other player. I remember thinking Flores was a dick for that, and he might be, but he was more right than I thought. I think Tua needs tough love, not unconditional love. I think the whole damn team needs that. Enough of this love-fest bullshit, it doesn’t work in the NFL.

I know some of you here still feel QB Tua Tagovailoa is good enough to take this team all the way. If we can get Tua an All-Pro offensive line, and a great defense, we can do it, I know it! I know otherwise. We don’t have the financial capability to get us an All Pro O-line, and the guys drafting also seem incapable of such wizardry. If you look at the NFL Championship Round, you’ll see that each team features a QB with athletic ability and durability. They can all not only pass the football but rush the ball effectively when necessary. The Bills Josh Allen, the Chiefs Patrick Mahomes, the Eagles Jalen Hurts and the Commanders Jayden Daniels. This is what works in the NFL. I look at Tua, and I just get angry. He’ll never be that QB because if it’s necessary, he can make that play once, and then he’ll be taken off the field on a stretcher or a cart. It’s not me being facetious, this is what it is. Every team needs their QB to make plays outside the pocket, a TD run here. a first down there, and not get injured. Instead, we’re going to try and build a wall for our QB to stand behind and hope he doesn’t get hit, ever. We know how that ends, and it doesn’t end well. So again, my hopes for ’25 are our GM doesn’t screw the future cap for our team for the next few years, and maybe we have a good enough draft and Free Agency without overpaying anyone to make this team a preferable destination for a legit GM and Head Coach as well. Softies need not apply!