Miami Dolphins: Focus on future continues in South Florida

Changing the culture remains the focus of the new regime of the Miami Dolphins as the team continues to deal away its notable players.

The Miami Dolphins suffered through a second consecutive losing campaign after finishing 10-6 and reaching the playoffs during Adam Gase’s first year as head coach in South Florida. After winning their first three games in 2018, they fell apart majorly from there.

Hence another change as former New England Patriots defensive assistant Brian Flores becomes the franchise’s 10th different sideline leader since 2000.

That’s one of numerous reasons why the Dolphins have reached the playoffs just twice since the league realigned in 2002. In 2008, the club won the AFC East with an 11-5 mark. And there was the aforementioned Wild Card berth in 2016.

That’s it for this once-proud franchise and even a far cry from a club that reached the postseason five consecutive years from 1997-2001 under Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt, respectively.

For too many years, the Dolphins have tried to contend in the division via the quick fix. Lots of money spent has resulted in minimal results. Failure to consistently draft well has led to this philosophy. If the Dolphins are truly to become a consistent threat in the AFC East, it was time to change the culture.

And that’s really been the theme this offseason for Flores and general manager Chris Grier.

When the smoke cleared on Saturday as the team sent left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receivers Kenny Stills to the Houston Texans for a treasure trove of draft choices, the franchise has a ton of ammunition in terms of selections in 2020 to do just about anything it wants.

The math, via ESPN’s Field Yates, adds up to 13 selections next April (as well as additional first- and second-round picks in 2001). As for 2020, the breakdown shows that the Dolphins have all of their own selections with the exception of the fifth round. That was part of this year’s deal that enabled the club to obtain quarterback Josh Rosen from Arizona.

As for the extra picks, there’s a first-rounder from the Texans, a second-round choice from the New Orleans, a fourth from the Titans for quarterback Ryan Tannehill, a six after sending defensive end Robert Quinn to Dallas and a seventh from the Chiefs for safety Jordan Lucas.

Meanwhile, the extra third-rounder is the expected compensation (via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein) for the team losing tackle Ju’Waun James in free agency to the Denver Broncos. Likewise the team would recoup a fifth-round choice with Cameron Wake signing with the Titans this offseason.

As for 2019, it could be a very long year in South Florida. But there finally appears to be a plan in place to get this franchise back to prominence. And it’s safe to say that both Flores and Grier are saying “no tanks” to the quick-fix philosophy that has just the Miami Dolphins for far too long.