Ryan Tannehill says Joe Philbin caused a ‘distraction’
Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin deserves to be heavily criticized for another lesson in poor leadership, as he nearly made former first-round quarterback Ryan Tannehill a very wrongful scapegoat. The fact that he started playing coy with Tannehill’s status as a starter was quite ridiculous, but the “prudent” head coach seemed to seriously contemplate starting backup Matt Moore over the talented Tannehill, who has played better than his stats indicate. I mean, the Dolphins, per the Pro Football Focus, have left more yards on the field via drops than any other team, and Tannehill has also faced plenty of pressure this year despite improved play from the tackles.
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While Tannehill hasn’t played up to expectations, he’s still a good quarterback and showed off his talent in an underrated 2013 season. Philbin almost threw some of that out the window, but Tannehill announced today that he will start against the Oakland Raiders at Wembley. He did, however, make some strong statements against his head coach, and that doesn’t bode well for Philbin’s future, given that he was on the hot seat last year after the Dolphins blew their shot at making the playoffs.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Chris Perkins, Tannehill stated that Philbin caused a locker room “distraction”, and this highlights the pure idiocy in Philbin’s move.
Tannehill said, “It creates a bunch of stir and a bunch of distraction in the lockerroom, mostly from the outside coming in, and guys having to deal with the distraction of it. So it’s not a good feeling but he’s been clear with me and I know where I stand.”
It’s not a complete takedown of Philbin due to the final line “he’s been clear with me”, but the fact that the head coach wasn’t clear with the media is concerning, as it led to an unnecessary firestorm. If he doesn’t get results this season (the playoffs), then he should be fired. Honestly, he wasn’t good enough to survive the axing of GM Jeff Ireland, as the Dolphins could have easily brought in a better GM and head coach pairing had they fired Philbin along with Ireland, thus allowing a better GM to hand-pick his coach (this would make the opening more attractive to top candidates). Instead, they are stuck with a head coach who understands the passing game, but evidently doesn’t understand how to control a locker room, the media, or a rushing attack (why he doesn’t give the ball to the talented Lamar Miller is beyond me).