Dolphins Firing of Philbin Similar to Cowboys Firing of Wade Phillips in 2010
The Dallas Cowboys have fired Head Coach Wade Phillips after a 1–7 start to the season, making it the first time in Cowboys history that they have made a coaching change midseason.
You would’ve seen that as the headline or lead on every newspaper around the DFW area in November of 2010.
Why do I bring that up? Because the Dolphins firing of Head Coach Joe Philbin is fairly similar to that situation. And no, I don’t just mean with the names… (Philbin and Phillips, pretty uncanny.)
Philbin was let go by the Dolphins after a 1–3 start to the season. He was 24–28 in Miami since taking over the head coaching position in 2012.
Just like Phillips, who had a 34–22 record in three and a half seasons with the Cowboys (from 2007–10), Philbin will be remembered for what he didn’t accomplish after high expectations.
Wade Phillips went 13–3 in his first season as head coach for the Cowboys but lost in their first playoff game to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. He then went 9–7 and missed the playoffs the following year before going 11–5 and winning one playoff game in 2009. The next season, because of such high expectations not getting met, he was let go after eight games.
Philbin, on the other hand, went 7–9 in his first season as the Dolphins head coach, but finished second in the AFC East. He then had back-to-back 8–8 seasons from 2013–14 and missed the playoffs both times. Even though the records didn’t seem to indicate it, the Dolphins have had high expectations the past two years, especially this year, and have accomplished nothing.
This offseason, the Dolphins made headlines with the signing of star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who is known around the league as one of the best defensive lineman in the NFL, even though he is a handful to handle thanks to his antics on the field. They also gave Ryan Tannehill a big contract extension and drafted promising receiver DeVante Parker out of Louisville.
Besides the high expectations and low results, the reason each coach lost their job was that they both lost the trust of their players.
As I was watching the Cowboys in the 2010 season, one major aspect of how they played stood out to me. They played with no fire, as if they had no hope at all. Wade Phillips just straight up lost his team. They didn’t look up to him anymore and that was very evident in the way they played.
It didn’t come to a surprise to me, after the Dolphins lost three straight to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, that the players seem to be ready to “throw in the towel” on the season. Players are frustrated with play calling on both sides of the ball and don’t like the length and difficulty of their practices.
Philbin has managed to lose the trust of his team, and it was evident against the Jets after only putting up 14 points and 226 yards of total offense. He was no longer seen as a strong, deserving leader in the locker room and that is what led to his demise.
The tale of Phillips and Philbin, two coaches with high expectations lose the trust and loyalty of their teams. That could be a movie.
Also, another weird parallel between the Dolphins and Cowboys: the interim head coach for Miami? Dan Campbell, former tight end for the Dallas Cowboys from 2003–2005.
Spooky.
