Dolphins fire coach Philbin after dismal start to season

(Reuters) - Joe Philbin became the first coaching casualty of the National Football League's 2015 season after leading the Miami Dolphins to a 1-3 start to the campaign, the team said on Monday. Philbin was fired a day after his team failed to convert any of their 12 third down opportunities or four fourth down chances during a 27-14 loss to the AFC East division rival New York Jets at London's Wembley Stadium. "This was a tough decision for me to make knowing how tirelessly Joe worked in his four years here to make this a winning team," Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. "He is a man of the highest character and integrity that I developed a close personal relationship with. "I am extremely disappointed with how we have started the season, but I feel confident that we can improve quickly with the talent we have on our roster. Entering the 2015 season, optimism was the highest in the team's four years under Philbin, due largely to the offseason acquisition of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who the team made the league's highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. But after a season-opening win over the Washington Redskins, Miami went on to lose three consecutive games and now head into their bye week sitting in last place in their division and facing plenty of questions. The Dolphins said they will announce an interim coach soon but multiple reports have already said tight ends coach Dan Campbell will fill in until a full-time replacement is named. (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto. Editing by Steve Keating)