The Miami Dolphins are looking for a new head coach to replace the recently fired Tony Sparano, but they might have some difficultly finding a candidate that meets all their criteria. During a recent discussion with the media, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and GM Jeff Ireland listed out their criteria for selected a new head coach. As reported by Armando Salguero, their list is quite the doozy:
- The Dolphins want a head coach "with experience." Preferably, this person is already a head coach (or has been in the recent past).
- At the same time, they don't want someone that wants to have control over personnel decision.
- Whoever this person is, they'll have to work well with Ireland (obviously).
- "I'd like to find a young Don Shula if that's possible: -- owner Stephen Ross
I hate to break it to the Dolphins, but it might be difficult for them to find a coach that fits all these criteria. The Jaguars mentioned that they were looking for similar characteristics in a head coach when they fired Jack Del Rio a few weeks ago, but most high profile and/or experienced head coaches would like to have some say over personnel decisions. They understandably don't like feeling like they have no control, and some of them might be skeptical of Ireland's decision making based on his recent track record.
Most teams would like to have an experienced, high profile, hands off coach that would allow their GM to make every decision, but that's akin to asking for a pony for Christmas. Sure, the possibility exists and it's worth trying, but....well, good luck.
For more on this story, check out SB Nation's Dolphins blog, The Phinsider.