The Fins Fire Joe Philbin!

The Miami Dolphins fired coach Joe Philbin on Monday in an attempt to salvage what appears to be a wasted season.

The problems of his first three years on the job never got fixed, amid turmoil in the front office. Changes of personnel failed to make a dent in long-standing issues. After a 1-3 start and a 27-14 loss to the New York Jets in London, the Dolphins ditched Philbin and named Dan Campbell, their tight ends coach, as the interim head coach. Campbell has no experience as a head coach.

 
It’s a desperate move by a desperate team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2008 and is now heading into the more difficult part of its schedule. It’s also a move that had to be made and time was right with a bye week ahead. Players weren’t buying what Philbin was selling and the team appeared lifeless.

“We have to change the culture. I have to change the culture. And that’s what I intend to do,” said Campbell. “We need to breed a culture of competitiveness, finish, intensity. To me, that’s where it all starts.”

 
The loss to the Jets was particularly galling. The Jets are 3-1 under a new head coach, Todd Bowles. Bowles had finished the 2011 season as the Dolphins’ interim head coach after Tony Sparano’s firing, but he was not then seen by ownership as someone who could be “sold” to the fan base. Now Bowles has the Jets headed in the right direction after several down seasons and the Dolphins continue to flounder.

The Dolphins extended the contract of quarterback Ryan Tannehill this season, but they have scored only eight touchdowns (one on a punt return). They invested heavily in free-agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, but they’ve regressed badly and rank near the bottom of most defensive statistics. They’re thin in the secondary and their offensive line can’t protect Tannehill.

Wish Campbell luck. He’ll need it. It isn’t that the Dolphins completely lack talent, but they certainly have lacked direction.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .