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As Dolphins shuffle coaches again, Patriots' stability is highlighted
In recent years, particularly as the Jets have had a strong defense under Rex Ryan and it appeared the Dolphins had found an above-average quarterback in Ryan Tannehill, NFL pundits have predicted that it might finally be time for another AFC East team to wrest the division title from the Patriots.
It hasn’t happened.
And once again, one of the AFC East teams is starting over, with Miami having fired head coach Joe Philbin on Monday, after his third straight loss this year and a disappointing 24-28 record in three-plus seasons.
Amazingly, Dan Campbell, the former Giants/Lions/Cowboys/Saints tight end and Miami tight ends coach who was named interim coach of the team, is the 21st man to be installed as head coach for one of the AFC East teams not named the New England Patriots.
Love them (as some do) or hate them (as seemingly many more do), the run of success the Patriots have enjoyed this millennium is remarkable. Since Bill Belichick was hired before the 2000 season and Tom Brady became the starter after a freak injury to then-franchise quarterback Drew Bledsoe during the second game in 2001, New England has dominated the division; the Patriots’ 2014 AFC East crown was their 12th together.
As the Patriots have remained strong, their East foes have tried in vain to find the combination of coach and quarterback to knock them from their perch.
Campbell is the eighth head coach or interim head coach Miami has had since 2000, and the Bills have had the same number of coaches in that time. The Jets have had five.
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The numbers are even higher when it comes to quarterbacks: the Dolphins have had 16 players start at least one game at the position since 2001, the Bills 13 and the Jets 11, among them forgettable (and possibly regrettable) names like Kelly Holcomb, Thad Lewis, Cleo Lemon and Brooks Bollinger.
Only one other quarterback has started a game for the Patriots since Brady took over – Matt Cassell, who led the team for 15 games in 2008 after Brady suffered a torn ACL in that season’s opener.
It isn’t necessary for the right coach-quarterback duo to be together for a long time to have success; the Patriots won the franchise’s first Super Bowl just months after Brady became the starter, and Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson delivered the Seahawks their first Super Bowl in Wilson’s second season.
The trick, of course, is finding the right combination.
