Kelly: Are Dolphins who their record says they are? | Opinion

As our parents once warned, sometimes the company we keep tells us more about you than it does them.

The Miami Dolphins are one of nine NFL teams with two wins heading into Week 10 games, and most of those bottom-dwelling franchises are circling the drain, or in the midst of a rebuild.

One (New England) is breaking in a rookie quarterback (Drake Maye) during a rebuilding season that features a first-year head coach (Jerod Mayo).

Another (Cleveland) traded away a top weapon (Amari Cooper), lost the starting quarterback (Deshaun Watson) and were honestly struggling before he got hurt.

Jacksonville’s in a tailspin, possessing a roster filled with talent and a big-money quarterback (Trevor Lawrence), but are seemingly held down by lackluster coaching. That might change this offseason.

The Tennessee Titans have a first-year head coach and began this rebuilding season with an unproven quarterback, then shipped away DeAndre Hopkins before the trade deadline.

The Los Angeles Raiders also lacked a starting-caliber quarterback, and traded one of its top players (Devante Adams). This week they fired a few offensive coaches.

The New York Giants are a poorly constructed team that got out the gate slowly, but have won two of the last three.

The New Orleans Saints fired their head coach (Dennis Allen) last week and named former Dolphins assistant Darren Rizzi the interim head coach.

The Carolina Panthers have a first-year head coach (Dave Canales), benched the quarterback (Bryce Young) they took with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, then had to give him back the reins because Andy Dalton strained a thumb in a car accident last week.

Some of these teams might be embarking on Wimpy for [Cam] Ward program, positioning themselves for the University of Miami quarterback, who I’m told by two NFL executives is viewed as a lock to become a top five selection if he can enter the draft process healthy.

And then there’s the Dolphins, who posted a 1-3 record in the games Tua Tagovailoa was sidelined by his concussion issue and a 1-3 record in the games the 2023 Pro Bowler started.

The Dolphins, who put together winnable performances in losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills the past two weeks, will either finally have their breakthrough and start to perform up to the team’s talent level.

Or, Mike McDaniel’s players will continue to beat themselves as a team, making some colossal mistake that weighs the team down like an anchor, which has been the case in losses to the Indianapolis Colts, Cardinals and Bills.

“I’m staying true to the most vital thing that I know to be true in any season and it’s that sometimes there is false hope,” McDaniel said Thursday.. “This is close, things will get better. I live in real hope, which is how are people’s games getting better? Are we getting better?

They are, especially now that the offense has scored 27 points a game the past two weeks.

“Does that mean it’s up to standard, or are losses are acceptable?” McDaniel asked rhetorically. “Absolutely not!”

I expect the 2024 season to turn in one of two directions in Monday’s nationally televised road game against a surging Los Angeles Rams team, which began this season losing four of five then won three in a row.

Either Miami begins the journey of following the Rams’ lead by pulling off an upset in front of a nationally televised audience, and keeps the wins coming, or this season — maybe this regime, this coaching staff, this latest rebuild — begins the process of bleeding out.

At some point, much like the rest of the two-win teams, you run out of excuses and justifications for the struggles and have to accept that the team you’ve built is simply a bad one.

And when that acceptance hits, if it hits, a plan must be formulated to cure the ailment.

Sickness often requires medicine, or treatment, and in the NFL that often comes with a change in leadership. Hard to imagine this season won’t head in that direction if the Dolphins don’t stop the bleeding Monday.

I’ve followed the Dolphins my entire lifetime, and I’ve covered this team since 2007.

If I’ve learned anything from this franchise it’s that leadership is critical.

It all starts at the top.

We get into the weeds and run ourselves in circles trying to figure out the root of the problem when it’s clear as daylight.

Successful organizations have stellar leadership, good decision-makers. They handle tough situations and make it seem easy. They have people who want to follow, and execute the plan in lock step.

The Dolphins don’t have that, and haven’t for more than two decades.

If Miami does not turn this season around, delivering at least a winning season, it’s time to look at the people running the organization and question whether or not they can lead this franchise to the ultimate destination.

Right now, based on the company the Dolphins have kept this season, it appears this franchise is headed towards another painful rebuild.

The rest of this season, what happens in these final nine games, should determine if the right people are here to rebuild it.