Subscriber Services
Weather

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

The owner can make a difference

The reaction to my column in Tuesday's Herald was fast and, sometimes furious. A large majority of readers agreed the Dolphins need to get more expertise out of their experts and that owner Wayne Huizenga cannot be excused from responsibility for the current state of the team.

I have long applauded Huizenga's commitment to winning. That commitment is unrivaled in the NFL when one considers the Dolphins are always allowed to spend to the NFL salary cap limit, they continuously update their facilities including the Nick Saban memorial bubble, and now the stadium is undergoing significant improvements.

But what I have come to realize is there is a difference between being a good hands-off owner and an owner who is far too uninvolved.

Huizenga has slid from being the former and is now, too often, the latter. Sure, he talks to coach Cam Cameron during the week. Sure, he meets with team officials on a semi-regular basis to catch up on the financial operations of the team.

But he simply is not around enough to know for himself what is right and wrong with the crown jewel of his business empire. He is told by others what is right and wrong so whatever opinions he has about the team are based on what he is told rather than what he sees.

He is not around enough to form HIS OWN opinion, without getting it from employees who have an agenda in what they tell Huizenga.

{That agenda, by the way, is usually finding a way to keep one's job}

If you study the teams who have won the Super Bowl lately -- say, since 2002 when the Dolphins started their string of playoff absences -- you see teams whose owners are around and engaged.

Robert Kraft in New England? He's on the job and around the team practically every day. Dan Rooney in Pittsburgh? The Steelers are his passion and, in a new book, he confesses he made a mistake in 1983 by not making a stronger case to his personnel department about drafting Dan Marino.

Twenty years later, he refused to make the same mistake. "I couldn't bear the thought of passing on another great quarterback prospect the way we had passed on Dan Marino in 1983, so I steered the conversation around to (Ben) Roethlisberger," Rooney writes in My 75 Years With The Pittsburgh Steelers And The NFL.

Guess what, the owner steers the conversation a certain direction, the personnel department picks the object of that conversation.

Tampa Bay's Malcolm Glazer hasn't been very close to the Bucs since a stroke hampered his health in 2006. But Glazer's sons Bryan and Joel are very much involved in the daily operations of the team. They know the rights and wrongs of the team based on daily contact.

Indy owner Jim Irsay began working for the Colts in 1982, first at the ticket counter and in public relations. He was named general manager in 1984 one month after the Colts moved to Indianapolis and assumed day-to-day management of the team after his father's stroke in 1995.

Irsay is not the general manager of the team anymore as he wisely hired Bill Polian for that job. But ask him what his job is, ask him what his business is, ask what his professional passion is, and his answer to all three questions is the same.

"The Indianapolis Colts."

I am not saying Huizenga should be running the organization, or sitting in on team meetings or drawing up plays. That's ridiculous. But it is equally ridiculous for an owner to lean so far in the other direction as to lose CLOSE contact with that which should be MOST important to him.

50 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Flipper’s new lyrics for the Dolphins Fight song:



Lyrics

(Verse)
Miami has the Dolphins,
The league’s worst football team!
We dream about going to the endzone,
A place we’ve never seen!
We're in the air,
We're on the ground,
We play like we are sick.
So when you say Miami,
You're talking first draft pick!

(Chorus 1)
Cause we're the Miami Dolphins,
Miami Dolphins,
Miami Dolphins Number 31.

(Chorus 2)
Yes we're the Miami Dolphins,
Miami Dolphins,
Miami Dolphins Number 31.

(Repeat)

3:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice try Flipper!

I posted this during the in game blog last weekend:

Miami has the Dolphins.
The NFL’s worst football team!
Don’t root for us.
Don’t make a fuss.
We’ll only make you scream!
We lose in the air,
We lose on the ground,
We're way out of control.
So when you say Miami,
You're talking Toilet Bowl!

(Chorus 1)
Cause we're the Miami Dolphins,
Miami Dolphins,
Miami Dolphins Number 31.

(Chorus 2)
Yes we're the Miami Dolphins,
Miami Dolphins,
Miami Dolphins Number 31.
(Repeat)

Go 'Dolphins!

DrumFinFan

3:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

By the way, ESPN even validates by ranking the Dolphins 31st (thirty-worst) out of 32 teams.

Nowhere to go from here, but up, unless they become even worse than the Rams over the next few weeks.

Go Dolphins!

DrumFinFan

3:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Armando:

Huizenga's laissez faire style of running the team is fine...as long as he has the right people advising him. Our glaring problem is in the personnel department i.e. the guys picking the players.

Our drafts since Jimmy Johnson have been a joke. Instead of cleaing out the coaching staff every three years, let's empty the bozos out of the personnel department and get better talent evaluators.

3:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

MANDO sez: Huizenga has slid from being the former and is now, too often, the latter. Sure, he talks to coach Cam Cameron during the week. Sure, he meets with team officials on a semi-regular basis to catch up on the financial operations of the team.

What would you like Wayne to do, Mando? I'm curious. You seem to know a lot of the specifics of what he already does, but aside from the usual I-know-better-than-everyone attitude and a boatload of generalities, you offer very little in the form of concrete insight. Shocker!

But he simply is not around enough to know for himself what is right and wrong with the crown jewel of his business empire.

Crown jewel? Come on, now. Do you really think any sports franchise is more than a shiny toy for the owner? They're not exactly money-making machines, especially considering the costs of player and coach salaries, the stadium upkeep and a million other things...

He is told by others what is right and wrong so whatever opinions he has about the team are based on what he is told rather than what he sees.

What he sees when he meets with the coach once a week, you mean? What else should he do? Sit in on tight end meetings?

He is not around enough to form HIS OWN opinion, without getting it from employees who have an agenda in what they tell Huizenga.

{That agenda, by the way, is usually finding a way to keep one's job}


That's everyone's agenda in any kind of corporate environment, Mando. You of all people should know that. In essence, you're saying Wayne is dumb. Because clearly, he meets with the key people, and having come from a business background, should know to take the advice people give him with some grain of salt, YET, he still stinks it up as an owner. Following your logic, he must be stupid.

What I find amazing is, I can no longer tell the difference between your off-the-cuff and poorly reasoned blog entries and your daily reporting for The Miami Herald, which is sad.

-- Bebo

4:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is what Wayne can do, open the vault, bring in the Big Tuna and let the magic happen!

4:14 PM  
Blogger Armando Salguero said...

Hey Bebo, I have answers to all your questions -- even the dumb ones. But your attitude and sarcasm kind of grate on me, so you have to ask nice to get my answers.

Otherwise I'll just continue to ignore your posts.

4:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A few years ago Ron Wolf recommended to Huizenga that he hire Ted Thompson as G.M. and Wayne ignored his advice and hired the infamous Rick Spielman for that position.Thompson is now in Green Bay and the Packers are loaded with young talented players.
The problem with the Dolphins starts with Huizenga and all the incompetent people surrounding him!!!

4:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The owner HAS mad a difference. What's your point exactly? Cam isn't the man. We found that out right away. Ted Ginn Jr with the number nine pick? Beck will never start a game this season... Cam doesn't want to show another mistake. Then when we have the best draft position in the history of the team the fans will lose again because knucklehead will draft some obscure worthless ass player that will have zero positive impact and the rebuilding will be set back another decade...

5:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Armando sez:Hey Bebo, I have answers to all your questions -- even the dumb ones. But your attitude and sarcasm kind of grate on me, so you have to ask nice to get my answers.

Otherwise I'll just continue to ignore your posts.


Fair enough. I guess the "dumb questions" shot was deserved.

I can't say I'll always agree with you (clearly), but I can do it in a nicer way...

-- Bebo

5:12 PM  
Blogger Armando Salguero said...

OK, Bebo I'll take that as you being nicer:

What I would have Wayne do: Concentrate on the Dolphins. Come to work at the Dolphins EVERY DAY. Talk to coaches, other than the head coach. Talk to players other than Jason Taylor. Find out what you don't know so when folks start feeding you their agenda crap, you know it's agenda crap.

Dolphins not the jewel?: Huizenga paid an estimated $250 million for the team and stadium in 1994. It is worth approximately $1 billion today. I dare say there is no other business in Huizenga's empire worth that much or approaching the kind of status the Dolphins ownership brings.

What else should he do?: See above. Would it be a pain for him to be around the team more? Probably, but it would hurt less than losing all the time.

5:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There are a lot of takes on this but I agree it starts right at the top when things have gone down hill so far, and for so many years now. I was NEVER a fan of that strange bird JJ and didn't think he fit in with this team. Why in the world did he bring Wanny along? For a teddy bear? So right there, you see, Wayne let his quiting coach choose the next coach who was already a proven loser. Ok, Saban lied about his commitment, Wayne let him off the hook easy, and then nobody really impressive was available when Cam was selected. WH and WH only is responsible for that string of bad decisions, all though I'm all for giving Cam a shot, recycling the usual clowns (ie Norv Turner in SD) is not the answer. I think Cam is ready, just without enough players to work with yet.

5:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Armando,

I think you and many fans are being far, far too harsh on Huizenga.

Seems like every idiot blogger out there expect Mueller (who was highly regarded as a personnel man by EVERYONE in the the league) and Cameron to fix ten years of bad drafting and coaching in one offseason and 4 games.

Remember, this is essentially Mueller's first year, and we had a draft in which all but one of the picks stuck.

Personnel-wise, I think the draft was excellent. Satele and Fields have made instant contributions

Regarding Ginn & Beck, our two HIGHEST picks, as well as Booker, I'll give Cam a pass at the moment for bringing them along slowly. Ask me in two years if this strategy is worth it or not.

And I think Hudson Houck has done a great job with the O-line, much to Ronnie Brown's benefit.

And getting rid of Mare has paid off handsomely as well.

What has gone wrong? Well, you could definitely point at tying up all that Joey Porter money in essence for gutting the special teams. And the play calling the first two games exposed the old defensive starters, leading to the their collapse in the 4th quarter of all our games.

And Keith Armstrong should have NEVER replaced Mike Westhoff a few years ago.

But my point is this- It took ten years to get to a point this low. It will take at least 3 to dig it out, and that is barring any mistakes (a la' Jamar Fletcher, John Avery, Jason Allens). It got this low when the owner did everything the fans asked for- including forcing Shula to retire, to hire Jimmy Johnson, to hire Nick Saban, to spend like a fool. He has done EVERYTHING you asked of him. And now you f'ers have the gall to question his committment.

I remember when the Herald was screaming for Shula's head a few years ago. Jimmy "God" Johnson came out said something to the effect that since the Dolphins were "good but not great" for so many years, they never could draft the elite talent they needed. The press and idiots in fandom latched onto this mantra and made a point about how it would be worth a few crappy years in order to build up the talent to make a great team.

Well, welcome to the crap! And be careful what you ask for, and be thankful you have the owner who gave you what you wanted.

6:02 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Armando, where HWH is accountable for the current mess is with two decisions he made:

1) Hiring Dave Wannstedt and giving him full personnel power.

2) Hiring Nick Saban and giving him full personnel power.

If HWH has to whisper in his HC's or GM's ear on draft picks, he's got the wrong guys working for him. And I think Dan Rooney is FOS on the Marino and Roethlisberger picks.

Unfortunately the bill has now come due for the Wanny/Saban decisions.

Fortunately, HWH seems to have the right guy now in Cam with a solid personnel boss in Mueller.

Give them 3 seasons and this team will be back in the playoffs.

6:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here we have the most prized coaching job in the league with WH being the most non-meddling owner. I agree you want the experts to make the choices, but the burden is on WH to meddle a little more before choosing his top generals. Maybe he needs to do a little more of his own personal research and not merely call JJ on his yacht to ask him what he thinks.

6:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Should we blame Wayne Huizenga for everything that has happened up until this point? We could but he really just wants to win and is willing to pay for it unlike some owners. Should we blame Cam Cameron for working hard and remaining positive in the face of aging and/or lackluster talent and unrealistic expectations? Doesn't seem fair at this point. Should we blame Nick Saban? Well, yes, but that will accomplish nothing other than to make us all feel better. There's plenty of blame to go around. We may want to start by looking in the mirror, it's the first week of October and we have written off the season and are looking for someone to sacrifice. The fact is Cam Cameron deserves a chance to succeed (or fail, for you pessimists) and Wayne Huizenga deserves to get a return on his investment. If we are going to play the blame game then lay blame at the position most deserving, the General Manager, Randy Mueller and Rick Spielman before him. The GM's role should be to hire the staff and control the money; provide the coach with immediate options while safeguarding the future. I would like someone to tell us fans what it is we are trying to accomplish this week, this month, this season, and over the next three years. If Mueller has a plan, what is it? It's expected that an organization will issue statements that indicate they believe they are going to field a contender even if that flies in the face of reality but I'm afraid the organization actually believed they were. That the defense is not as good as last year should be expected. The addition of Joey Porter doesn't make up for the loss of Kevin Carter and Jeff Zgonina on an already patch work defensive line or a secondary that was already bad last year and seeing that it features the exact same personnel this year, what was expected? Not to mention the erosion of skill due to age. That they are so much worse is shocking. Are we sure Dom Capers was coaching the defense last year? Did anyone see him on the field with Saban? The offense is actually better than last year and showing signs of improvement every week. Certainly not the amount of improvement everybody would like to see but improvement non the less. Of course it would have been hard to get much worse. The offensive line is blocking for the first time in years. The skill positions are in place for the most part with the exception of quarterback. Speaking of quarterback, at some point we Dolphin fans are going to have to realize that we may never have another Marino or Griese, someone who can carry the team on their back to the end zone and win in spite of the talent around them. We have to learn another way to win. Jay Fiedler's biggest weakness was that he wasn't Dan Marino. Daunte Culpepper's biggest weakness was a not completely healed, surgically repaired knee. AJ Feely, well I won't go there.

As for the GM, bad draft choices are part of the gig (Jamar Fletcher, Jason Allen, Todd Wade, Ben Kelly, Eddie Moore, Travis Minor, Morlon Greenwood, etc...) but when coupled with the numerous bad decisions (AJ Feely, Culpepper, Harrington, trading Wes Welker for a 7th round pick!, 35 draft picks traded since 2000 for players no longer on the roster. 35!, etc...) and the embarrassing incidents (Ricky "retiring", Junior Seau "un-retiring", Ogunleye demanding to be traded, AJ Feely) along with the down right strange (Marino accepts GM job for two days, Saban.) then you look at all the platoon players we let go that other teams have turned into contributors (the number of ex-Phins on the Patriots roster seemingly grows each week) and finally Jason Garrett (which I'm surprised more people haven't picked up on, he's only calling plays for the second or third highest scoring offense in the league while working under a defensive minded head coach), it's just bad. Ugly. Awful. Embarrassing. None of these things as a singular event is cause for peevishness, but taken as a whole they demonstrate a pattern of incompetence. The Dolphins could have fielded a contender this year. If they chose not to because they have a plan and are unwilling to sacrifice long term success for short term glory, than kudos are deserved regardless of the season's outcome. If they failed to field a contender because they didn't realize they weren't, heads should roll. Mr. Huizenga needs to demand accountability and results. Randy Mueller needs to display the leadership expected of his position and also publicly acknowledge the state of the team. Cam Cameron needs to coach. It's only week five, the team is what it is, there's still a lot of work to be done and a lot of opportunity to improve.

The good thing about today's NFL is it doesn't take long to

6:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I BELIEVE IN CAM, AS LONG AS WE DRAFT AND SIGN BIG BODIES EARLY AND OFTEN ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL AND GET A BIG SPLASH CORNER IN FREE AGENCY WE WILL BE FINE. MANDO, THE REAL QUESTION U SHOULD BE ASKING IS WHY AREN'T WE SEEING BECK IN BLOWOUT GAMES OR AT LEAST AS A "CLOSER" IN GAMES LIKE ARIZONA WITH WARNER/LEINART? AND IM DYING TO SEE LORENZO BOOKER, THIS GUY IS AMAZING IN MADDEN 08 AND IN REAL LIFE HE'S IN THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROG.? THIS STRETCH OF LOSING RIGHT NOW WILL EXPOSE THE TRUE CHARACTER OF GUYS IN THE LOCKER ROOM/COACHING STAFF. I LIKE CAM, I KNOW EVERYONE ON HERE THINKS HE BLOWS BUT I SEE IMPROVEMENT ON OFFENSE AND CREATIVITY IN PLAY CALLING I THINK WERE EVENTUALLY GOING TO HAVE A FERRARI OFFENSE. OUR "D" IS JUST "LIGHT IN THE ASS" UP FRONT. BIG O-LINES CAN JUST RUN OVER MATT ROTH, CROWDER, THOMAS, SOLIAI ETC. AND K. TRAYLOR IS ONLY EFFECTIVE IN GOALINE OR WHEN THE RB RUNS RIGHT INTO HIM(NO MOBILITY)ITS ALL ABOUT THE "BEEF" ON THE LINES. WHERES THE BEEF?!LOOK AT LJ IN KC, WILLIE ROAF AND WILL SHIELDS(2 HOF'ERS)RETIRE AND SUDDENLY HE'S NOT THE BEAST EVERYONE THOUGHT HE WAS. WHAT A COINCIDENCE! I WANT A BALL-HAWKING SAFTEY OR CORNER ON THIS TEAM TOO! CAM, IF YOUR GOING TO LOSE ALL SEASON JUST DO ONE THING THIS YEAR . . .BEAT THE PATRIOTS, PULL OUT ALL THE "BOISE ST" TRICK PLAYS AND RUN REVERSES WITH GINN ON EVERY OTHER PLAY, JUST GIVES US THAT AND WE'LL LET U GO 1-15 JUST GIVE US BRADY KNOCKED ON HIS ASS SO HE ACTUALLY HAS TO WASH HIS JERSEY AFTER A GAME AND NOT JUST HANG IT BACK UP IN THE LOCKER AND SPRITZ IT WITH FABREEZE! OH AND MARINO IS GOD . . .

6:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Personally, I don't want an owner who meddles with the team. It's pretty rare for an owner to have the football knowledge to assist or direct personnel decisions. They tend to do more bad things for the team than good, such as Dan Snyder.

I think we need to give the Cam/Mueller team a chance to work through it. It used to be that a Head Coach was given at least 3 years to try to implement his plan. We all knew that this team had some serious problems and concerns entering the season, it's not like the Chargers' situation. But we as fans need to have some patience with this team and the new head coach and GM.

I know the team is miserable to watch right now and I've disagreed with a number of Cam and Randy's decisions, but four games do not make a season. Realistically, we weren't going to make the playoffs this year, so we need to focus on improving during the course of the season and identifying the areas of the team that need to be vastly upgraded in the offseason. It's way too soon to make final judgements on any of the current regime's decisions.

7:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'll weigh in as one of the few people posted so far who agree with you Armando. An owner should be "attached'' to his team. His voice would be welcome. There have been a lot of common-senseless moves by the Dolphins (Green?) that maybe if they had a smart guy who put his horse sense into the equation he might steer coaches to not be so damn idiosyncratically driven.

8:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The post by Paul O'Sullivan is by far the best I've read in a long while.

Armando, you should get this guy a job at The Herald.

Go Fins!!

8:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sure. Let Huizenga run everything. The man who admits he knows nothing about football. Let him run the scouting department. Let him make the draft picks. Let him be OC and DC. Hell, let him be the QB. Armando, you have lost it.

9:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You will hear on the radio Dolphin guys say "this is a class organization".It is?
Isn't this the same organization who showed Dan Marino the door in 99? He also contiunes to let are stadium have a baseball team in it that destroyes the field. And now he has the Huricanes playing there on Saturdays. Will there be anything left of the Dolphin Stadium field next year?It is all about the money with him!

9:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey Guys a true fans don't betrayed their love. It's to easy to be a fan when things are going well but you see a the true fan when things aren't going well. Stop the BS and start cheering.

Cam bench Jtaylor he is doing nothing. Start Beck, and throw to chambers and run please run the ball. The thing is when you have a losing mentality like many players in our roster it's hard to be a good coach. I don't care what most people think but football is a mental game. I hope we trade Jtaylor and Zach Thomas and let's start a new chapter.

10:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

the man who can fix this mess two words BILL COWHER!GO AND GET HIM WAYNE GIVE HIM 10 MILLION A YEAR HE WILL BUILD US THE MIAMI DOLPHINS INTO CHAMPIONS.BRYAN IN OHIO.

10:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Right on the money big boy!

10:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let me see, when JJ quit the first time, Wayne talked him into coming back, suggesting he could coach only home games if he wanted.

When JJ quit a second time, Huizenga let him pick Wannstooge as his successor.

When Wannstooge failed on the personnel front, Huizenga conducted a nationwide search for a GM and hired ... Spielman, who had already proven himself to be part of the problem.

Then Huizenga fired Wannstooge but kept Spielman. Then he hired Marino as president even though Marino didn't want the job.

Then Marino quit as president a week later giving the organization a black eye.

Then Huizenga talked Eddie Jones, who wanted to retire, into staying. Then Eddie Jones talked Huizenga into hiring Saban, who didn't really want to come.

Then Huizenga looked for a president for Dolphins enterprises so he hired a search firm. Then he hired the guy running the search as the president.

Then Saban left and Huizenga said nice things about him. Then Huizenga asked fans to give suggestions of what to do because he's clueless.

Then he ignored the fans suggestions to hire Cowher, who had won a Super Bowl, and he went with Cameron, who failed at Indiana. But what the heck, their names both start with C.

Then, knowing Saban was going to fire Randy Mueller, Huizenga gave Mueller a new contract.

Then when Mueller told him he was picking Ted Ginn instead of Brady Quinn, Huizenga said OK.

Then Mueller picked Ginn and his family and both are busts. But Huizenga doesn't care because he raised my ticket prices. Then the Dolphins fielded their worst team ever.

Now I am no longer a fan of the Miami Dolphins.

Can you figure out why the team is a joke?

11:11 PM  
Blogger PIEMAN said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

11:26 PM  
Blogger PIEMAN said...

oscar_g said...
The post by Paul O'Sullivan is by far the best I've read in a long while.

Armando, you should get this guy a job at The Herald.

Go Fins!!

I agree, it was a good post, but he screwed up some facts (like wes welker for a 7th, it was a 2nd and a 7th and marino was never GM, But it still was a great post

11:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To the moron who said bench JT, would you bench LT if he had 4 bad games instead of just three? its week 5, stop crying and start cheering.

12:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Armando,I have some comments and a request. First,can you please post something explaining that Welker was a free agent and New England made him an offer that had wording in the contract that prevented us from matching the offer? If we matched that offer,the same fools saying we shouldnt of let him go would be on here saying we never shouldve paid him so much. Every blog has at least 1 "They let Wes go for a 7th" comment.

Your reponse to Bebo,explaining how youd like to see Wayne run the Fins,sounds exactly like the way Al Davis runs the Raiders and Snyder runs the Redskins. No successful organization has an owner like that. Jerry Jones ran the Cowboys like that and didnt have success without Jimmy or Parcells,the only 2 coaches he gave full control to.
Wayne is the best kind of owner: Deep pockets and hands off.

6:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd like to see Wayne Huizenga hire a group of people, whose sole purporse to work on evaluating and drafting players. Keep Mueller and Cameron away from the draft!

8:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If W.H has no passion then we need someone like Dan Marino who just loves football to be President and G.M.. Now W.H. tried to bring Dan in but not with that power. Maybe he could make him CEO of the teem. With all this power W.H could stay out on his boat longer because Dan has the passion. So what will that passion cost W.H, About 20 million a year for about 5 years because Dan doesn't make anywhere near that. Nuts you are thinking so was the signing of J.Porter 20 million up front So please Armando can we have a blog on this?

9:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If W.H has no passion then we need someone like Dan Marino who just loves football to be President and G.M.. Now W.H. tried to bring Dan in but not with that power. Maybe he could make him CEO of the team. With all this power W.H could stay out on his boat longer because Dan has the passion. So what will that passion cost W.H, About 20 million a year for about 5 years because Dan doesn't make anywhere near that. Nuts you are thinking so was the signing of J.Porter 20 million up front So please Armando can we have a blog on this?

10:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I work for the Dolphins which is why I'm posting anonymously.

Let me start by saying people inside the organization hate Armando because he holds them to account and holds their feet to the fire. Good for him! Most of those people need to go, and it starts at the top.

Anyway, I'm surprised at some of the things Armando knows and that tells me he has credible sources within the building. But it's only part of the story. Things go on inside this organization that makes you want to vomit at how stupid people are.

It is true that Mr. Huizenga is a fan with little knowlege of football. He would do well to immerse himself in his own business because the behind-the-scenes people here like Labadie, Matt Thomas, George Paton (thankfully he's gone), and this new guy Overholt are total losers. They would help the club more by collecting a check and NOT reporting to work.

They tell Mr. Huizenga things they think he wants to hear instead of the truth. And because the owner isn't around enough to know better, he believes in them.

Right now there is a power struggle between the team president (Wiedmeier) and the CEO of Dolphins Enterprises (Joe Bailey).

This is a sad situation and at this rate, I'll never collect a playoff bonus, much less a ring. Things need to change!

Anyway, I'm at work now, so I have to get going. Keep plugging away, Armando.

(By the way, if any club fascist is reading this and intends to check everyone's computers to find me out, forget it. I've outsmarted you already. More proof you guys aren't as bright as you think.)

10:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My gawd, now some real insiders are reading and posting on this blog.

That's good for the blog. But when I read what was just written by anonymous team employee above, it makes me very depressed. I root for a dysfunctional organization.

10:57 AM  
Blogger H.C.D. said...

Arrrrrmando...

Yes, the owner CAN make a difference, but the Miami Dolphins have an owner that does not have the football mentality. Instead, he has to surround himself with people that whisper in his ear, telling him what should be done. Huizenga also has his ear to the public. He went out and got Saban, because the fans demanded it. Look how that turned out.

He isn't Kraft, he isn't Rooney, and he isn't Jerry Jones. He's Huizenga. The only thing we can blame him for is hiring the wrong people, who in turn hire more wrong people. There's a lot of blame to go around, but to blame Huizenga who has done everything he can to field a winning team is just wrong.

However, all that being said, who are we to panic after 4 games? Why are we so desperate to find a scapegoat to point the finger at? Yesterday it was Cam Cameron, the day before it was Trent Green, today its the owner.

I guess you gotta sell papers and score hits on this blog.

Comments for people who say "I'm no longer a fan of the Miami Dolphins." What you're really saying is that you were NEVER a fan, because any fan with passion for their team would never abandon them as a fan, regardless of how you felt the team was being run, coached, or how they played. You either bleed aqua and orange, stay with the team when the chips are down (...and they are WAYYY down right now people), or you DON'T.

If you're no longer a fan of the team, then I formally excuse you from continuing to read this blog. If you weren't serious about no longer being a fan, then how about a retraction? (or traction if you're a Sal Governale fan)

11:52 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Well, Well, Well.... Another pitchfork, torch bearing witch hunt. Well, I'm putting my pitchfork down. I don't blame Mr. H. When everyone said, "If you are going to cook the meal, you have to buy the groceries..." He went with it and gave Jimmy full power and Saban full power... When they said no coach should have all the power, he split it up the power and provided the structure we currently have. When this last hiring took place, he thoroughly searched high and low for the best of the best flying from coast to coast to find the best coach, GM combination he could find. You can't ask more from an owner without a football background. Now, I am not upset with the 0-4 start. I am glad that are weaknesses are evident and we can now go about the process of fixing them. I don't feel that Cam lies to you Armando. He has to tell you guys things in a way cause yall will take stuff so far in the media that it can hurt the team. If a coach got up to the podium and told you guys everything you wanted to hear, he wouldn't be coach for long. You guys really need to chill out. Things were bad two years ago and Saban didn't fix it. Now it's gone two more years without it getting fixed and has corroded a little bit. Serious parts need to be replaced and you can't do it all in one offseason. We finally have a running game that just isn't good, it has the potential to be great. And think about it... Who's the leader of the offensive line? A rookie. Someone who will be the foundation for the next ten years. Vernon and Samson are the anchors. The line is halfway fixed. Now... Armando you were crying about how bad the line was in the offseason and how great the defense would be. Now it's the other way around... And stop saying the defense is old.... It really isn't. The starters are older, the stars are older, Traylor is old. That's about it. And he may be the only reason the run defense sucks. One good nose may help us but my suggestion would be to just blow up the defense. If we got a Glen Dorsey in the draft... Kind of reminds me of when New England got Seymour...

2:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it's kind of difficult to evaluate the Mueller/Cameron duo as to their ability (or lack thereof) to judge talent. It's easy to point to Satele and Fields and what they've done, but you need production from your top picks and Cam won't let them see the field. I expected Booker to be Miami's 3rd-down back by now, especially after the glowing training camp reviews, and Ginn should be out there running fly or post patterns 3-4 times per game, minimum. If they're having trouble picking up the offense, simplify it for when they're in the game. It doesn't matter how fast and athletic Ginn or Booker are if they're not on the field. And Ginn clearly isn't getting enough blocking when he's in on special teams.

I'll give Cam a pass on John Beck for now, but if games get out of hand, they should give him a late series or two just for the experience of being in NFL games.

2:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Deep Throat" just told us everything we need to know about the Dolphins Organization!

3:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, this is the best blog response I've ever read on here. Paul O'Sullivan's post was terrific and would be the best one so far ... (notes: Dolphins got a #7 AND a #2 for Welker; and you could add the Lamar Gordon trade to the list of Spielman's idiotic screw-ups, but this is a great post all fans should read.) ... but Mr. O'Sullivan's terrific post is actually bested by that of the anonymous Dolphin employee. NOW we're getting down to some awesome knowledge. PLEASE tell us more! WHY do you say Paton, Matt Thomas and Ron Labadie are fouling up the team? (I don't doubt your account one bit; I'm just hoping you'll provide some more specifics, so we fans can benefit more from your seemingly very credible insight.) And maybe, Anonymous Correspondent, if you get more of your good, juicy stuff into the light of day, some accountability will result. PLEASE POST MORE!

3:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's hard for me to pin the blame on Huizenga. We're talking about the guy who built Waste Management, Blockbuster and Car Max. His business acumen if far greater than any of ours but obviously there is a disconnect at the top of the Dolphins organization. From a financial perspective Huizenga bought the Dolphins in 1984 for $138 million the club is now worth $912 million. Now that's some return on investment, but there in lies the problem in my opinion.

From a purely financial view Wayne could not be happier with where the club has gone regardless of the product that has been on the field. That leaves him in a bit of a catch 22 when it comes to CEO Joe Bailey and President Bryan Wiedmeier. These guys have proven very adept at the financial aspects of the team, which in Wayne's world is the bottom line. Where they have failed continually is in the selection of actually football people.

So what does Wayne do, fire the two guys who have built one of the highest valued franchises in the NFL because the actual team sucks? The NFL is built on revenue sharing and even if a team does not put a good product on the field it can be successful financially.

I would have to wonder if the Dolphins truly are Wayne's greatest passion. I would think that he would want to understand more about the product on the field rather than the dollars in the coffer. If his two execs are great at the money game then there has to be someone who understands the football game and that falls on Randy Mueller.

Why would Wayne and Bailey and Wiedmeier fly around the country looking for a coach when none has a clue what a coach should be. That means they depended on Randy Mueller for the Xs and Os and he is the one who should be held accountable for Cameron and the personnel selections.

That said, I don't think it is time to axe him because this thing is going to take a couple years to fix. But good lord if Randy isn't the guy and proves a failure we will be set back another 5 years again. It takes a lot of guts to be Randy Mueller right now because there are a lot of eyes on him and the main eye is the guy at the top.

I'm wishing him the best because another five years of losing could just make me become a womens beach volleyball fan...

4:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Armando,
I am glad someone has the courage to make the obvious comments regarding Huizenga and the negative influence his ownership has had on the Dolphins (As opposed to Joe Robbie -- though some would argue all this is just coincidence).

RICK

6:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Armando
You are a total disgress as a reporter. I have yet to see any unbiased and or possitive reporting you ever do. Yes the Phins ar 0-4. they are terrible. But Cam did not make this mess. He is just cleaning it up. Lets not loose site of that. It will take at least 6-8 games just to get in sink and at least a year to get this mess turned arround. However you seem to think that all the past problems can be corrected over night. It was such a mess that it can not. Give Cam and Randy at least till the beging of next year. There are a lot of possitive things going on. I see the Phins getting younger and faster. It will take some time to jell. Can we please hear and see something postive comming from you.

7:59 PM  
Blogger Armando Salguero said...

Anonymous, in case you haven't noticed this is a blog. It is, by definition, filled with opinion.

Beyond that, the Herald pays me to give my opinion. If you want subjective stuff, read a reporter, not a columnist or blogger -- of which I am both.

Finally, I've taken a lot of crap for believing good things would come from this team. I even thought they could ride the GB Packers formula to a good season. Obviously you missed it when I wrote they could go 10-6.

Well, I'm not drinking the Kool Aid anymore. If you want me to tell you everything is great when the team is winless, you will be disappointed.

Finally: What is a disgress?

10:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Boggles my mind that this is a new topic. Wayne-0 has been making horrendous decisions for many years & specially since 2000 downward spiral.

Bad coaches, bad player decisions, REAL BAD drafts, bad character (we lead profootball.com Turd List), & on the list goes.

We're STILL in a downward spiral, no doubt. After final cuts we only added a couple palsy San Diego guys & 1 other ... how can the NFL's worse players be worse than ours???????

Wake up & smell the dead phish!!!

C'mon Go Dolphins & win a couple!!!
Cheers, JerryD

10:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, and another thing ....

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
~ Benjamin Franklin

Wayne-O's leadership & decisions have been horrid for 7 years, maybe 10!!

Better review all of Phish management & lay down the law!!
We fans need to put the pressure on management long & loud ... we can influence improvement if we keep on them!!

Jury is out on Randy & Cam, but they BETTER show PROGRESS!! ... that's all anyone can ask, no one is perfect ... just PROGRESS!!

Go Phins!! Cheers, JerryD

11:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I believe Wayne's philosophy is "surround yourself with talented people, let them do their job & follow their advice". Now, whether these people are really that talented is the question, and, I think we are starting to draw a conclusion.

The answer? I don't know. Clean house after this year? Maybe. But Wayne isn't fond of firing people so what's a poor phish lover to do?

12:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

HCD-great Sal reference! Ned Mandingo for President!

As for who to blame, can you really boil it down to one or two things? Wayne H. deserves some blame, so does Cam to a certain extent, but they are not the cause of this low point. Too many reasons to list, not enough time or webspace. With that being said, my loyalty will never waiver away from the Dolphins. And right now, these players need all the support they can get.

1:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think he is a bum. I had to rent a car the other day and i didnt go to his place just cuz i hate him so much... he is the reason for alot of the problems in sports in miami...marlins and now dolphins....thank god for arison...i got my tickets this year but next year im 100 percent geting rid of them...

9:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I will take a jerry jones or dan snyder any day. The dallas mavericks were a perineal losers until mark cuban came in to change the losing mindset in the organization. Welker gone chambers gone smells a little like the marlins. Just sell the team to mark cuban please. Maybe Dan can suit up.

1:37 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home