Dwork On Sports: Philbin, Dolphins Running Out Of Excuses
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Welcome to the Dwork On Sports blog. This is a place where I'll cover all things related to South Florida sports, with a steady combination of facts and opinions while ultimately keeping a close eye on anything and everything related to our local teams.
Things haven't exactly gone as expected for the Miami Dolphins since Joe Philbin took over as head coach in 2012.
During his three years running the show in Miami, Philbin has led the Dolphins to a mediocre 23-25 record and zero playoff berths. Two .500 seasons represent his best records as an NFL head coach.
Philbin is certainly on the hot seat entering his fourth year, and nobody knows that better than he does.
That being said, he is keeping his eyes on the prize and focusing on getting himself and the Dolphins not only into the postseason, but out the other end with championship rings on their fingers.
"I came here to win championships." Philbin said to ESPN.com. "I didn't come here to be average and be 8-8. Steve Ross doesn't own the team to be average. Our fans don't want to be average. Our players don't want to be average. So that's what we're here for. That's why we invest and put the effort, the time into what we do.
"There's three championships right now that are out there; There's the AFC East, there's the AFC and there's the NFL championship. So nothing's been decided. I can honestly tell you sitting here we've had a couple of clunkers in three years. But we haven't had a ton of clunkers where we just got manhandled from start to finish. So I've gone into every game thinking we're going to win every game."
There have been plenty of games where the Dolphins had a good chance of winning only to crumble down the stretch, which is also the way the last two seasons have ended.
Miami has been very much in the playoff hunt during the past several Decembers but never could get over the hump.
Now heading into the 2015 season Philbin has what is widely considered the best collection of talent that he's had since joining the team.
He's also got an ascending quarterback and offense, which has been built to better suit second-year offensive coordinator Bill Lazor's scheme.
The bottom line is that Philbin and the Dolphins are running out of excuses, and that could be a good thing heading into this new season.
Or it could be another year with high hopes and a disappointing end.
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