Dolphins’ Philbin could be coaching for his job
The Miami Dolphins are 1-2 and in the exact same situation they faced a year ago as they play the New York Jets in London on Sunday, and there is a report that Joe Philbin could be coaching for his job.
There has been no indication yet that owner Stephen Ross, who extended Philbin’s contract one year through 2016 in December, is ready to make a change.
But Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported that if the Jets blow out the Dolphins, Philbin’s job will be in jeopardy during the bye week, which starts Monday.
A year ago the Dolphins had a 1-2 record with back-to-back losses as they went to London to play the Oakland Raiders.
Some fans already are calling for Philbin’s job after three lackluster performances to open the season, including last week’s 41-14 loss to Buffalo.
According to Salguero, “If another complete and calamitous defeat befalls the Dolphins for a second consecutive Sunday, owner Stephen Ross will consider making a coaching change during the bye week.”
Last year in London, the Dolphins won a convincing 38-14 decision over the Raiders. The loss resulted in Oakland coach Dennis Allen being fired during the bye week.
Philbin tried to urge calmness Monday.
“It’s not a time to panic,” he said.
Miami hasn’t played well in any game this year, not the 17-10 victory at the Washington Redskins and certainly not the 23-20 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars and the blowout loss at home to Buffalo.
“We’ve talked a lot about playing a 60-minute football game which we haven’t yet done at this point in time,” Philbin said. “We’ve talked a lot about making first downs and having balance and rhythm on offense. We’ve talked a lot about getting off the field on defense. We’ve talked about playing with better discipline overall as a team. We’ve certainly had a lot of discussions and want to keep it relatively simple but we want to make plays. And it’s our job to put them in position to make plays.”