Good article on the Dolphins amazing turnaround. Of course Parcells has done this a number of times before (Giants, Patriots, Jets, Cowboys), but this year has still been surprising. From 1-15 to 11-5.
I've never been a Dolphins fan. But, over the years, I've begun to appreciate Parcells abilities more and more, with each reclamation job. His teams usually become defined by big, tough, physical players. They block well. Run well. Play tough defense.
Another huge surprise this year was the Dolphins introducing the Wildcat offense to the NFL. Catching opponents unprepared. Other teams have been integrating it into their own offenses.
For Dolphins, A Turnaround Like No Other
By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 3, 2009; E01
DAVIE, Fla. -- It looked to everyone as if Jason Taylor had escaped one of the league's worst teams and moved to a legitimate playoff contender when the Miami Dolphins traded him to the Washington Redskins last July. His gridiron buddies in Miami reacted skeptically to the deal, wondering whether their fallen franchise had blundered again even before the season's start.
"What exactly are we doing?" Dolphins defensive end Vonnie Holliday said, according to a Fort Lauderdale newspaper. "Hopefully, they've got a plan to pull some rabbit out of a hat."
By now, Holliday realizes there was, indeed, a plan. It hasn't produced any rabbits, but it has brought an assortment of magical moments, fairy-tale flourishes and a level of success that Holliday says he still can't quite believe. A year after finishing 1-15, the Dolphins managed to construct the biggest turnaround in NFL history, marching to an 11-5 regular season record and the organization's first division title in eight years.
By winning nine of their last 10 regular season games, many with heart-pounding heroics in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins achieved what had seemed unthinkable when Taylor was dealt during the summer: a first-round home playoff game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
"Sometimes it does feel like it's a dream," Holliday said with a grin. "It was almost surreal the other night, sitting on my balcony, watching TV, knowing we are going to the playoffs."
Sweeping change began under Bill Parcells, who, two weeks after his hiring in December 2007, threw out nearly all of the old regime, except for a few folks in the media relations department. Parcells summoned Dallas Cowboys cohorts Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano for the general manager and head coaching posts, respectively. He also brought in 14 other new coaches and about 40 new players, 29 of whom landed on the regular season roster.
Despite a 2-4 start, Miami steadily evolved from an interesting engineering project to a strategic and architectural wonder. A disciplined team with few star players, the Dolphins (along with this season's New York Giants) set an NFL record for fewest turnovers (13). Yet Miami's offense has featured such ingenious play-calling and creative schemes -- namely, the Wildcat, a formation involving direct snaps to a running back that the Dolphins introduced in their third game -- that it has been flagrantly copied league-wide.
On defense, Parcells ditched two legendary and beloved ball-chasers, Taylor and linebacker Zach Thomas (who was waived), and replaced them with a mix of hungry rookies and rejuvenated veterans, building a squad that began the season with a reputation for giving up big plays and ended it with a penchant for making them. Against the Dolphins last week at Giants Stadium, New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre was intercepted three times in the game that sealed Miami's improbable bid for the playoffs.
"Nobody," said former Dolphins tight end Joe Rose, now a color commentator for the team's radio broadcasts, "saw this coming."
Last season, Miami was led by Cam Cameron, now the Ravens' offensive coordinator, a genteel and dignified type who didn't believe in tongue-lashings -- a growing problem because so many players seemed to need one. Teammates clashed on team flights and challenged Cameron's authority in team meetings. On top of that, injuries sidelined not one, but two starting running backs, and starting quarterback Trent Green.
"After Game 9," said Miami center Samson Satele, recalling the team's 0-9 record, "the season was done."
Said Holliday, "It was kind of like guys crawled into a hole and went into a tank."
It's "the most miserable thing," safety Will Allen said, "you can go through."
Nobody expected the recovery to be easy, certainly not Sparano, who, on the first day of training camp, told reporters, "There's no light at the end of the tunnel, so don't look for it." But nobody sat around. Sparano hovered over his assistant coaches to remind players he was paying attention and yelled full-throttle when appropriate. During individual meetings with players, he told each one he needed to be an active participant in abolishing the losing culture.
"He has a little bit of Bill [Parcells] in his direct approach," said linebacker Akin Ayodele, acquired in an offseason trade from the Cowboys. "At the same time, he reads people."
The now-bustling locker room at the Dolphins' suburban practice facility, located near a local college between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, seems a testament to the team's newfound harmony and sense of purpose. During their lunch break on New Year's Day, five offensive linemen sat in black leather chairs around a table playing dominoes. A half-dozen others watched a bowl game in another cluster of chairs across the teal-carpeted floor. Others happily held court with throngs of local television and radio stations and newspaper reporters, some standing in front of 8 1/2 -by-11-inch sheets of white paper with succinct messages in large black print taped to shelves in their locker stalls.
In safety Yeremiah Bell's stall: "Physical: No. 1. Why not us?"
In running back Ronnie Brown's: "Enthusiasm: The sustaining power of all great actions."
In rookie offensive lineman Jake Long's: "Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier."
The messages? All came from Sparano, who leaves inspirational quotes, players say, in their lockers about once a week.
"He's very enthusiastic," Allen said. "You can see his passion for the game. It translates through everybody. He does a great job of getting his point across."
Parcells, who players say never addresses the entire team and rarely shows his face, has been active behind the scenes. Besides getting rid of Taylor and Thomas, he and his staff brought in a trio of Cowboys, tight end Anthony Fasano, defensive tackle Jason Ferguson and Ayodele, who have proved critical to the turnaround. They also added a rookie place kicker from Montana (Dan Carpenter), an undrafted wide receiver out of Hawaii (Davone Bess) and several draft picks who have played primary roles. But the final touch, and a dramatic one, came in August. After the Jets signed Favre and let veteran but oft-injured quarterback Chad Pennington go, Parcells grabbed him, too.
Teammates all but genuflect when Pennington's name is mentioned. Linebacker Joey Porter had seemed to be on a crusade to earn him the league's most valuable player award. Pennington completed a team-record 67.4 percent of his passes and threw just seven interceptions.
"It's like you have a car sitting there, and all of the sudden you get the steering wheel," Holliday said. "Now, you're ready to go."
Said running back Patrick Cobbs, "He's been that piece that fills in every void for us."
Other pieces fell into place. Running backs Ricky Williams and Brown, both injured for most of last season, gave opponents fits in the Wildcat and rushed for a combined 1,575 yards. Porter collected 17 1/2 sacks. Ted Ginn, the 2007 first-round draft pick who had an average rookie season, became a big-play threat and caught 56 passes. Matt Roth thrived at his new position, outside linebacker; newcomers Ferguson and Phillip Merling made major contributions on the defensive line and tight ends Fasano and David Martin worked well as a one-two punch, catching a combined 65 passes.
"Early in the season," Brown said, "I think the question was: Who's going to replace guys like Zach and J.T.? My thing was, you can't replace those guys. It's got to be a team effort, and everybody bought into that."
Miami's 0-2 start seemed to jeopardize the progress made through the summer, but when Sparano, offensive coordinator Dan Henning and quarterbacks coach David Lee decided to bring out the Wildcat package -- which puts Pennington in a wide-out slot, sends shotgun snaps to Brown and features an unbalanced line -- Miami upset the New England Patriots with a blitz of big plays in Game 3. It was then, players say, that they realized the change in prospects.
"That was the turning point," Satele said. "That's why we're here now."
Miami spent the next 13 games finding its identity and sharpening its newly discovered weapons. The Dolphins won seven games by seven points or less, suggesting the team was more opportunistic than dominant, but Miami's players view those down-to-the-wire victories as a positive: They have, they say, fine-tuned the art of winning in the clutch.
"We play so hard and have been in so many tough games we don't know when we are supposed to be scared," Porter said. "That's a huge plus right now, to be going to the playoffs and knowing that you have a young team that has ice in its veins . . .
"We want to . . . cause a ruckus. We love playing football right now and we don't want it to stop."
and of course, thank you Bills!