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Why wait, Miami Dolphins? Go ahead and fire Joe Philbin now

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

It's not ideal to fire a coach after the first three games in an NFL season, and in most cases it's not something you want to do.

This isn't most cases. It's over for Joe Philbin in Miami. The Dolphins aren't dead at 1-2, but they aren't going anywhere with Philbin as their coach.

(AP)
(AP)

The Dolphins were awful in an embarrassing 41-14 home loss to the Buffalo Bills. They were sleepwalking from the opening kickoff. Miami trailed 27-0 at halftime.

What best summed up the second half for the Dolphins? Perhaps it was a running into the kicker penalty on fourth-and-2. Or blowing a zone coverage to let Chris Hogan run wide open for a 38-yard touchdown on third-and-9. Or perhaps it was four straight incompletions on first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, with three terrible throws from quarterback Ryan Tannehill and a throwaway. All of it pointed to the Dolphins being a poorly coached team.

Why wait to make a change? If there's a small chance that firing Philbin sparks the Dolphins, then make the move. Miami has looked listless and awful in three straight games this season. If it helps them get a start on next year, that's fine too. But it's clear that Philbin isn't the answer, so go ahead and make it official.

Here's what the fans thought of Philbin's team on Sunday:

OK then.

Philbin has been in trouble before. He was the coach when the locker room bullying scandal was the talk of the NFL two seasons ago. Last season it seemed like his seat was hot all year. Philbin went 7-9, 8-8 and 8-8 in his first three seasons without a playoff berth, and survived to coach a fourth year. Then the Dolphins made a huge free-agency splash, signing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Expectations were high. And few teams have flopped harder in the first three weeks of the season.

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It was clear early, when the Dolphins barely tried to tackle former Dolphin Charles Clay on a 25-yard touchdown, that Miami had checked out. Philbin can't get his team motivated anymore — it looked flat in the season opener against the Washington Redskins and again in Week 2 in a bad loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars — and the schemes aren't doing much either.

The Dolphins look uninterested in playing football this season. Their coach hasn't done much to inspire anyone. Whether it happens now or later, Philbin's time in Miami is done. Might as well make the move now and see if the season can be saved.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!