Joe Philbin Wanted Derek Carr Over Ryan Tannehill

Most people automatically assume that Joe Philbin was fired by the Miami Dolphins because he was just another good assistant who was a terrible head coach.  Maybe there’s some truth to that, but another reason surfaced recently that might explain why he was fired midseason by the team.  It centers around his views on quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

It became apparent two years ago that Philbin was starting to sour on the former 1st round pick, believing he wasn’t the kind of player he wanted at the position.  Amidst the turmoil between him and the front office, he tried to plead his case as to why things weren’t clicking on offense and a change was needed.

"“After the 2013 season, the Dolphins were awash in drama. GM Jeff Ireland and Philbin were not playing nice with each other. Ross was listening to each and deciding how to resolve the rift — he decided to fire Ireland. And the idea that offensive coordinator Mike Sherman had to go was being debated. And Philbin didn’t want Sherman fired.So, I am told, as he tried to save his assistant and friend, Philbin blamed the problems of the Dolphins offense on the players in general and Tannehill in particular. All this was done within the private confines of the team’s practice facility while publicly Philbin followed the narrative that Tannehill was improving and simply needed more work.In fact, Philbin was not a Tannehill believer as he led everyone to believe.It even reached the point Philbin wanted to replace Tannehill.Before the 2014 draft, I am told Philbin pushed for the Dolphins to draft another quarterback. And he didn’t want to just draft a quarterback sometime during the multi-day event, like in the late rounds. He wanted a quarterback in the first round. The team was locked in on addressing the offensive line to protect Tannehill. The team was focused on Ja’Waun James in the first round.Joe Philbin wanted the Dolphins to draft Derek Carr in the first round instead of James.”"

History now shows Philbin didn’t get his way, and after a brief moment of success together, it became clear he and Tannehill couldn’t function.  So Philbin was sent packing and the Dolphins continued their tailspin towards irrelevance, culminating in their hiring of Adam Gase as the new head coach.  Hopes are high he can succeed where Philbin failed.

However, given the success of Derek Carr out in Oakland, it’s fair to wonder if the much-maligned coach maybe knew what he was talking about when he pressed the front office to take him two years ago.