SPF's Take: Parcells to Miami
Posted: Dec 22, 2007SPF has been listing franchises all season that needed one of the Bills, Parcells or Cowher. Miami was top on that list. Owner Wayne Huizenga didn't disappoint beating Atlanta's Arthur Blank to the punch.
The only interesting wrinkle is that Parcells will be coming on not as coach, but as head of football operations. Parcells has served in this role to varying degrees over the years most notably with the Jets when he first tried to hire Bill Belichick as his successor and then settled on Al Groh, now the head coach at UVA.
Although it would be nice for Dolphins fans to watch Parcells patrol the sideline as their coach, his hiring is still good cause for joy after a series of declining years. Here's why:
Parcells is experienced winner who will be taking charge of the Dolphins at a critical juncture. The Dolphins will likely have the number one overall pick. They have questions at almost every key position on the field. They have veterans that either need to be retained, traded, or cut. Simply put, they have to blaze a new trial. Parcells will be unafraid to make the tough call.
Parcells is a good evaluator of talent. This is probably the most important attribute of a successful organization. The best teams know how to draft and how to sign free agents. The Dolphins have been poor at drafting and poor at signing free agents.
Even though SPF has been critical of Jimmy Johnson's time running the Dolphins that was because of two key issues: (a) he didn't win a Super Bowl with Dan Marino, the stated goal of his hiring and (b) he left Dave Wannstedt in charge. Those two things set back the franchise. However, Johnson did completely restock the talent base of the Dolphins making the defense one of the NFL's best for almost a decade. Parcells can do the same thing, and he likely will.
''As far as I know, [Mueller and Cameron] are secure, but that's not my decision. That's what we hired the expert for." - Wayne Huizenga
Parcells will not suffer fools easily. He won't put a underachieving coach in charge of his roster. This should mean curtains for Cam Cameron.
Armando Salguero thinks Cam Cameron and Randy Mueller deserve another chance. SPF disagrees. We also think that Parcells will make the right call here so we aren't worrying about it much. Writers like Salguero, who has likely grown close to the press-savvy Cameron, want to ignore the fact that Cameron and Mueller happily told Huizenga what he wanted to hear - that the Dolphins roster only needed a few tweaks to make the playoffs.
This was false and led to a horrible 2007 draft. Choosing Ted Ginn and John Beck in the first two rounds will haunt this team for years. Forget about Dolfans calling for Brady Quinn, they could have picked future pro bowlers like LB Patrick Willis and OT Tony Ugoh. Players like that become part of the core of a winning team for a decade.
Not one NFL expert thought the Dolphins had a good draft. Maybe it may be harsh to some to broom these two after only one year, but they had a chance and blew it. Worse, they blew it because they completely mis-evaluated their existing roster and their future needs. How is that a resume builder when evaluating their respective returns?
Dan LeBatard thinks that big names aren't always the answer, but sometimes big names are big names for a reason. LeBatard still can't admit that he was wrong about Saban who was a very good coach who wouldn't pretend that the Dolphins were bad.
Greg Cote agrees with SPF - Parcells is the right choice at this critical time.
We expected Huizenga to take it on the chin for 2007, even if he didn't. He had to pretend that the 2007 Dolphins were playoff bound because he was raising ticket prices to pay for his stadium renovations. No owner will come out and ask ticket holders to accept a huge price increase in a "rebuilding" year.
Now, the rebuilding has officially begun. Huizenga learned from his mistake of allowing Dave Wannstedt to fritter away his franchise. He used a quick hook and hired the best and experienced man available giving him total control.
Parcells' ego won't allow him to make silly moves. He considers himself a winner above all else. Miami will become the latest beneficiary of this ego-driven man.
It couldn't be happening at a better time.
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