Feb 20, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin speaks during a press conference during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
At today’s media session for the NFL Combine, Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin took the the podium to address the leftover chaos surrounding the latest developments of the Jonathan Martin and Richie Incongnito bullying scandal.
Per Weston Hodkiewicz of PackersNews.com, Philbin shouldered responsibility for the mess of the 2013 season caused by the scandal with his press conference today. Although he was a late addition to the Combine’s schedule of interviews, few pressers this coming weekend will generate the media attention Philbin got today.
According to Don Banks of SI’s Inside The NFL, Philbin is too little, too late with this, and he’s right. We never head anything from Philbin during the season, and now that his job his officially safe after Miami basically fired the rest of their higher-ups, Philbin feels comfortable enough now to issue a statement.
The criticism of Philbin comes from those asking how he could let this kind of locker room culture take place, or how he could be so blind as to not know it was going on in the first place. Now that the Wells Report has been released, and found that there was a pattern of harassment in the locker room, Philbin not only has the hottest seat in the NFL because of the off-the-field issues, but he also has to worry about winning games in 2014.