Who Should be the Dolphins’ Next Head Coach?

I refuse to feed into the media hype and write about the Heat, after two close, overtime losses. The regular season does not matter to this team. The Heat could win the rest of their games this season but if they don’t win the championship, it would be viewed as a waste.

So instead of discussing LeBron’s phantom travel, our discussion will focus on the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

Jeff Fisher

The leading candidate for some reason unknown to me is Jeff Fisher.

I’m not sure what I’m missing. Every sign points to Fisher being a well respected, average coach for 17 years. Average might be kind. In case you haven’t heard, the man only had six winning seasons in 17 years. You might say to me, “Craig, its hard to win in the NFL. Six winning seasons is an accomplishment that shouldn’t be laughed at.” What I might say back to you is, “You are wrong. Dave Wannstedt had four winning seasons in four and a half years as head coach. I can laugh at whatever I want.”

Fisher’s recent track record includes him drafting a quarterback in the first round, that quarterback playing surprisingly well and leading the team to the playoffs, then Fisher quarrelling with him, benching him, shaking his confidence, and then cutting his Pro Bowl quarterback.

That is not a scenario that I would enjoy watching in Miami.

Jeff Fisher is a relatively big coaching name, he has been around a long time, and has a lot of experience, albeit mediocre experience, but experience nonetheless. I understand the interest.

Stephen Ross wants to bring him in with all the flash and show of his helicopter ride across Davie. He wants to convince us that Fisher is going to come in and fix this team.

I’m not buying it.

Its nothing personal Jeff, but I don’t think we should throw big time money at you just because the coaching market is thin this year. Just because you are the only coach people have heard of, does not make you the right choice for the job.

I would rather have a coach with something to prove, an up and comer of sorts, a coach that’s hungry, and a coach that will score points.

I do not want the Dolphins to be Jeff Fisher’s retirement destination.

So let’s look at my candidates. There are only two that really intrigue me.

Rob Chudzinski

I am going with consensus around the league and coaching history. Chud is a hot commodity right now and supposedly on many wish lists for head coaching jobs currently available.

Chud is the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers had a top 10 offense this year while finishing near the bottom of the league last year. Granted, they brought in Cam Newton as well this off season, so Chud can’t take all the credit, but Chud’s impact can’t simply be dismissed.

Before taking over as offensive coordinator at Carolina, he was the tight ends coach at San Diego. I don’t know if you are familiar with San Diego’s tight end. His name is Antonio Gates, and the kid can ball.

Prior to that, he worked as offensive coordinator with the Browns. I know, I know, not another guy with Cleveland stink on him, but Chud was the coach the year the Browns won 10 games, Derek Anderson threw for 29 touchdowns, and then went to the Pro Bowl. This guy made Derek Anderson a Pro Bowl QB! DEREK ANDERSON! I hope that is on his resume, written just like that.

I’ve long been clamoring for more athletic tight ends in Miami, and I’m confident that Chud would bring in some of those guys. I personally think the two tight end, single back offense will be the next fashionable offense to run in the NFL. Belichick is already ahead of the curve on that one. This is the offense Chud would run, and I think it would work down here. It is also my favorite offense to run in Madden 12, so Chud’s got that going for him, too.

On top of the $8 million dollars we are apparently willing to give to Fisher (according to Kim Bokamper, “trusted” league source) Chud has other reasons to take the job. He has ties to Miami that might convince him to coach down here.

Chud played tight end at the University of Miami in the late ‘80s, the glory days. He won two national championships during his stay. He was also the offensive coordinator at UM for three years, one of them being the hallowed 2001 championship season. That was the loaded UM team with Andre Johnson and Willis McGahee and about 20 other future NFL players that ran through the Big East and won it all.

Chud is hungry, has a lot of potential, a Miami pedigree, and an offensive mind. I would love to see him on the sidelines next year.

Chip Kelly

Kelly is currently the head coach at Oregon football, and also currently happy with his job. So that’s an obstacle.

But Chip Kelly is the man I want in charge of the Dolphins.

Internet rumors have been swirling around this past week that the Miami Dolphins contacted Kelly’s agent about their coaching vacancy.

No reputable source has confirmed that this happened except for Kelly’s agent. However, all agents confirm any rumor about interest in their client. It normally leads to more money, so its hard to trust.

With that aside, the rumors had to start somewhere and even if they are completely unfounded, maybe the noise will get loud enough for Stephen Ross to notice and interview the man.

Chip Kelly has been the head coach for three seasons at Oregon. Since his promotion, the team has gone 34-6, won three Pac-12 titles, gone to a national championship, and put up around 40 points and over 400 yards a game.

That’s what I’m talking about! Bring the chrome helmets too!

There is no human on Earth who watches an Oregon football game and doesn’t drool over their high paced, explosive offense. Not only do they win football games but they are aesthetically pleasing as well. I know, that’s not as important, but it is a nice touch.

Recent struggles from big time college coaches like Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier have left people soured on the prospect of NFL teams hiring college coaches but I think Kelly could succeed.

First off, Saban did a pretty good job his first year here, after a rough start we rallied to 9-7. The defense was solid, and the team was gritty. My theory is that he knew he wanted to leave early on in his second season and go back to college, and things fell apart when his heart wasn’t in it, not because he didn’t have the skill.

The other problem that Saban had was that he stuffed the team with old players that were expensive and aged quickly after he left. He just generally didn’t know how to build a professional football team and he had the final say over player transactions.

This won’t be Chip Kelly’s problem. Stephen Ross and the Dolphins have already showed that they are committed to Jeff Ireland. His post as general manager will be much stronger and he will hold much more say over personnel than Randy Mueller (the old GM) did during Saban’s time. So we won’t have to worry about Kelly messing up the roster building, but we do still have to worry about Ireland screwing up in that department.

Also, the recent success of spread players in the NFL bodes well for college coaches who run the spread. The success of Cam Newton, Tim Tebow, and various other Florida, Oregon, Missouri, and Boise St. skill players makes me think that the NFL is already trending toward hybrid spread offenses. If you look at the Eagles over the past 10 years, and the Patriots before they changed their system, they were practically running the spread in the NFL and having a lot of success with it.

I think Chip Kelly’s spread offense could work in the NFL, and I think Chip Kelly could work in the NFL. He is smart, confident, and the number one candidate on my coaching wish list. Hiring him would bring the buzz and attention that Stephen Ross craves, and he would be worth bringing out the chopper for. Above the noise, if Chip Kelly came in and we moved up in the draft to get a spread QB to run his system (like RG3), it would result in me watching the Dolphins win football games on Sunday while scoring a lot of points. To me, that’s heaven.