By Michael Heilman
The Miami Dolphins secured their biggest win of the season yesterday, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 37-31. This win was huge not just for the players, coaches, and staff, but for the owners, and the fans of Miami.
The Eagles were heavily favorited to beat Miami, and if you know what is going on in Philadelphia, you knew that the Eagles were going to struggle against the Dolphins, and they did. According to several sports personalities and television announcers leading to game time, this game should have been a walkover for the Eagles, the Dolphins were toast. With a record of 2-9, the Eagles had them in their grip. What we witnessed yesterday was a team with nothing to lose, showed fight, and threw in a couple of unique plays that caught the struggling Eagles by surprise. The Eagles were outcoached and outplayed.
It’s been a long time since the Miami Dolphins were a relevant team going back to the Dan Marino era. Before Marino, there was the 1972 undefeated Dolphins. Miami is historically a beloved franchise that hasn’t been successful since Marino retired following the 2000 season, the Dolphins started to fall off the cliff. Since Marino’s retirement, the Dolphins have been to the playoffs three times in 2001, 2008, 2016, and won the AFC East in 2008.
The Dolphins, I believe, will look for a new Head Coach next year even though they hired Brian Flores this year. While Brian Flores has done a decent job managing the team in his first year, I don’t think he is in the long-term plans in this rebuild. If he stays, great, but I think the Dolphins will look elsewhere to find a head coach like current Ravens quarterback coach Jim Urban, who has coached for sixteen years and served as an Assistant to Head Coach Offensive Assistant/Quality control coach, and Quarterback coach of the Eagles under Andy Reid. Urban has helped rejuvenate the career of Mike Vick and is currently working with Lamar Jackson. Other coaches the Dolphins could look at are Eagles Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs coach Duce Staley, and former Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy.
Miami does have players on the roster that they can build around for next year, for example, DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki. The biggest question surrounding the Dolphins is what do they plan to do with Josh Rosen, who they acquired from the Arizona Cardinals for a second-round pick. This year, Rosen has started six games with 58 of 109 completions for 567-yards, one touchdown, and six interceptions. He has also been sacked sixteen times before Miami benched him for veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. So, what are the Dolphins plans for Rosen? Are they going to keep him potentially as a backup, cut him or trade him? After all, he is only 22-years old and still has potential to be a franchise quarterback.
The 2020 quarterback draft class will have some franchise changing players that Miami can get. I have a feeling that if Miami does draft a quarterback, Rosen is going to want out just like he did in Arizona when the Cardinals drafted Kyler Murry. As of right now, the Dolphins will have a top ten pick. While the Dolphins would love to have LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who is most likely going to the Cincinnati Bengals, other options like Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, Jake Fromm from Georgia, and Jacob Eason from Washington could be possibilities.
As we approach a new decade, the AFC East will be interesting to watch. The New England Patriots are the head of the class, but for how long will they be on top. Despite their record at 10-2, the Patriots do have problems on both sides of the ball. With a 42-year old quarterback Tom Brady still producing, who knows how long he can keep this up.
The Buffalo Bills have remerged as a top team led by their defense and are currently 9-3 and in a playoff hunt. The New York Jets, while 4-8, have a bright future led by their quarterback Sam Darnold and new GM Joe Douglas. The Miami Dolphins will soon join these teams and compete again for the AFC East title. If you are a Dolphins fan, you have a lot to look forward too in the next decade.
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