Part 1 of a conference championship weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:
From Mike Ferguson:
Do you think the Dolphins will be more active this offseason in trying to bring in a more proven backup quarterback given Tua Tagovailoa’s struggles to stay healthy? Do you they target a quarterback in the middle rounds of the draft?
Hey Mike, I think (and certainly hope) the Dolphins stop playing around and get a proven veteran as the backup quarterback and it would be borderline criminal if they didn’t. And while I don’t have an issue with re-signing Tyler Huntley, I do believe it needs to be somebody a level above that who ends up being number 2. I’d put at 50-50 the idea of drafting a quarterback in the middle rounds, with the hope that it would be a developmental player who wouldn’t see the field as a rookie.
From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:
If Bradley Chubb is on the Dolphins in 2025, how are him Phillips and Chop likely to be used? They are all high-motor guys who really don’t benefit from breathers. They all kinda do similar things. They all three are at their best rushing the passer. Can you envision a way to get all three men on the field at the same time?
Hey Dana, yes, I could see them on the field at the same time, but only in very obvious passing situations, such as third-and-long. I also think at this point Chubb and Phillips are much further along in terms of stopping the run. Lastly, I’m not sure it’s a lock that all three will be back in 2025 because Chubb’s contract makes him a potential cap casualty.
From sh00gs:
What’s the minimum the Dolphins will take in trading Hill?
The question here is what internally it would take for the Dolphins to decide they’d be better off without him, which I don’t think ever will be the case unless having him on the team is so toxic as to be a detriment. If the Dolphins make that determination, I think they’d take a second-round pick or a combination of, say, a third and a fifth or sixth or something like that.
From Kevin Craig:
Maybe the data doesn’t back this up, but in decades past, the owners would more typically recycle the same ex-head coaches in the hiring cycle. In the last decade or so, it now leans heavily toward hiring unproven coordinators. Why do you think this shift happened?
Hey Kevin, don’t tell that to the Raiders, right? Actually, it actually boils down to wanting to find that hidden coaching gem that no one discovered before. Though you look at the recent Super Bowl winners, and it’s actually a mixture of retreads (Andy Reid, Bruce Arians, Bill Belichick) and first-timers (Sean McVay, Doug Pederson). I just don’t think there’s a perfect formula.
From rickhernandez:
Hello Alain, when Joe Philbin was let go early at the start of his 4th season, the only surprise was how did we go into that miserable 4th year when “we already knew” after 3. Is there anything existing now that would belief that the Dolphins are heading into another miserable 4th?
Hey Rick, I certainly get the question, but there was a big difference with Joe Philbin then and Mike McDaniel now after three seasons, and it’s the fact that McDaniel actually had some success to that point. I also think the jury is still out on McDaniel as a head coach, whereas the verdict pretty much was in on Philbin by that point. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s the way I see it.
