NFL Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins Hedging Bets With Joe Philbin Extension

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By @CouchGuyFB

Miami Dolphins, Joe Philbin

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In what appeared as another baffling move, the Miami Dolphins announced earlier this week that the team planned to offer head coach Joe Philbin a contract extension, even after it was made abundantly clear that Philbin, now going into his fourth year as the Dolphins’ head man, is coaching for his professional life in 2015. So what’s with the mixed signals? The answer is simple: The Dolphins are hedging their bets.

Best-case scenario, Philbin turns the team around and makes the playoffs in 2015, and the team looks like a genius for showing confidence in the coach and his staff while keeping the cost of retaining Philbin down. It is a perfect example of buying low, while eliminating the lame duck stigma that has plagued so many coaching staffs before.

Conversely, the Dolphins have danced to this tune before. Tony Sparano was given a contract extension the same year he was fired before the season ended, so it isn’t like Stephen Ross has any problem parting ways with a coach who, on the surface, just got a show of confidence from the administration.

In short, albeit duplicitous, this is a business decision. The extension would give the outward appearance of stability within the organization and confidence in a coaching staff that has been on the verge of turning the corner for the last two seasons, while at the same time, it still isn’t binding enough to tie the team to Philbin if things go sideways in 2015. Getting rid of a coach who just signed an extension is infinitely easier than separating from a player who just did the same. Sparano was paid the remainder of his contract after being fired, and Philbin would likely be paid to not coach the team in 2016 as well if the Dolphins don’t make the playoffs.

All things considered, extending Philbin’s contract means absolutely nothing. The team still needs to make the playoffs in 2015 for him to save his job, and if the Dolphins do, he would be extended anyway. This is merely a way to save face while protecting ownership’s interests.

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