Dolphins Fire Joe Philbin After Disastrous Start to the Season

The reign of Joe Philibin in South Florida is over. After a disastrous 1-3 start and an all-around embarrassing loss in London yesterday, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross decided to officially sack Philbin. This is the earliest in the season the Dolphins have ever let go of a coach, and in...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

October 5, 2015

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "19274298",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17482312",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482310",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482313",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

The reign of Joe Philibin in South Florida is over. After a disastrous 1-3 start and an all-around embarrassing loss in London yesterday, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross officially sacked Philbin. This is the earliest in the season the Dolphins have ever let go of a coach and, in fact, one of the earliest firings in NFL history.

According to ESPN, tight-ends coach Dan Campbell will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

In case you're wondering, there's no word on the fate of much-maligned defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, though many expect him to be sent packing too.

Philbin came to town in 2012 after rising through the ranks of the Green Bay Packers organization to become that team's offensive coordinator. After winning a Super Bowl with the yellow-and-green, Philbin was hired by Ross to turn around the Dolphins. That didn't go as planned. The team is 24-28 during Philbin's tenure and 4-8 over the past 12 games.

Full statement from former #Dolphins coach Joe Philbin: pic.twitter.com/Aqv38aUGxw
— 7 Sports Xtra (@7SportsXtra) October 5, 2015

This season was supposed to be different. Most observers agree the team has the talent to, at the very least, avoid another season of painful mediocrity. The Dolphins were expected to compete for a playoff spot and were even some analysts' dark-horse pick to make it deep into the postseason.

Given those high expectations and low early returns, it's no surprise that Philbin's seat went from warm to three-alarm fire to completely burned up in just four games. Unfortunately, what that means for the Fins for the rest of the season isn't clear. Campbell is a former player and has been coaching for only five years. In fact, in 2010 his job title was "coaching intern." Now, just five years later, he'll be running the show.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.