*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Feb 03, 1998: -- Gary Stevens Fired --
At last, the news that we've all been waiting for was
released this afternoon as the Miami Dolphins announced that they've
fired offensive coordinator Gary Stevens.
JJ said that he decided to dismiss Stevens because he wanted
to make a change in their offensive philosophy following the poor
showing at the end of the year and the Dolphins inability to run the
ball all season long.
Stevens had been the offensive coordinator for the Dolphins
for the last nine years, but during that time their running game had
never finished higher than 13th in the league and most of the time was
ranked in the bottom half of all teams.
This year, the Dolphins were 2nd in the league in passing
yardage and 11th in total offensive yardage, but were 29th in the
league in total rushing yardage.
There is no word at this time who will replace Stevens and
there is also no word on any additional firings.
My Comments:
We pretty much knew this was coming, so it doesn't come as a
great shock. The two questions to be answered are who else will be
fired (if anyone) and who will replace Stevens.
I approve of this firing - not because I think the system was
that bad, but because Stevens refused to make any changes in the
system and do things differently when things didn't work. His failure
to adjust to the Patriots at the end of the year is the classic
example.
Also, his comments on the quality of the players after the
season ended were unfair to the players (whether true or not) and
practically guaranteed that his effectiveness would be reduced even
more next year.
As far as replacements go, I have heard nothing. So far as I
know, the only person actually in Miami to talk to JJ is Kippy Brown,
the Dolphins' running backs coach and that's because Brown works
there. I have heard nothing about any other interviews or
conversations that JJ has had.
As to who else will be fired - I think that it's looking more
like Beightol will stay as the offensive line coach, although JJ might
dump him in favor of Hudson Houck of the Cowboys if Houck is fired.
I don't think that anyone else is in danger of losing their
job right now, but you never know.
Related Info:
[Return to Dolphins News]
Curt Fennell,
[email protected], DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
|
