This should make Kodos happy(i.e. Wannstedt keeps job)

[lcjjdnh]

ESPN.com is reporting that Dave Wannstedt will be retained for next season.

Here's the link.

The Miami Dolphins football operation will undergo a shakeup for the 2004 season but ESPN.com has confirmed that the makeover will not include the departure of head coach Dave Wannstedt, who will be granted a reprieve by owner Wayne Huizenga.


Sources said Sunday afternoon that Wannstedt, who is 41-24 in four seasons pending the outcome of the season finale against the New York Jets, will be retained. The sources said that Wannstedt, who has one year remaining on his original five-year contract, will receive a one-season extension through 2005.


Not nearly as fortunate is Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis, who, team sources said, will be dismissed early this week. The Cardinals, who finish the season later Sunday against Minnesota, are just 16-40 under McGinnis' stewardship. The popular McGinnis replaced Vince Tobin seven games into the 2000 season after rejecting the head coaching job with the Chicago Bears.


While team officials have not yet apprised McGinnis of his status, the Cardinals have been conducting background checks for weeks now on potential replacements. Through intermediaries, the Cardinals and former Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green have expressed mutual interest in each other.


Another possible candidate is Jim Fassel, who on Sunday coached his final game with the New York Giants, and who once served as the offensive coordinator for the Cardinals. The club has also checked on University of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.


The tradeoff Wannstedt will make for keeping his job is the addition of a management official who will have general manager-type responsibilities, especially in the personnel department. During his tenure, Wannstedt has held sway over personnel decisions and the composition of his roster. Current senior vice president of football operations and player personnel Rick Spielman was essentially hired by Wannstedt and, despite his title, ranks below the head coach in the Miami football flow chart.


Wannstedt, 51, has acknowledged to friends and staffers that he is amenable to bringing in a general manager. The general manager would then, probably after the 2004 season, determine Wannstedt's fate. A one-year contract extension will preclude Wannstedt from entering 2004 as a lame-duck coach.


Possible candidates for the newly-created front office job include current Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Tom Modrak, former New Orleans general manager Randy Mueller and Tim Ruskell, who is currently the personnel director at Tampa Bay.


Huizenga is expected to make the announcement on Monday. He met for two hours Friday with club president Eddie Jones and the two men apparently finalized their plans then for restructuring the football operation.


Some sort of change in the football operation has been anticipated since the Dolphins began to slump a few weeks ago. Despite winning at Buffalo last weekend, Miami was eliminated from playoff contention, the second straight year in which the Dolphins failed to advance to the postseason.


While the Dolphins are viewed by many as underachievers, and some veterans seem to have tired of Wannstedt, it could have been difficult to dismiss the coach, given his record in his four-year tenure. This season marked the third time in four seasons that the club posted double-digit victories under Wannstedt's stewardship. Since 1970, only six coaches have been dimissed following seasons in which they won 10 or more games.

[RawIsDan]

lol

[cthomer5000]

As a Jet fan... this is great news!

[miami_fan]

We can only hope the GM comes in and pulls a Larry Bird and fires Wanny for "philosophical differences"!

[Kodos]

This is truly disheartening for me. I honestly don't know what the man has to do to actually get fired. His teams chronically underachieve season after season, yet he is given a free pass every time. In a division where Belicheck has shown what a good coach can do with players of limited talent, Wannstedt's consistent underperformance with superior talent at his disposal is allowed to continue indefinitely.

This is just an impossible situation for me. I can't root for the Dolphins while he is there (there is no joy for me when they win, no pain when they lose), but I can't seem to root for any other team. And it hurts to root against players who I like. I wish I could just forget that I ever liked the Dolphins and move on. I can't bear to think of wasting another year rooting for nothing more than for Wannstedt to be fired. It just takes all the fun out of watching football.

This is taking all the joy out of the fact that right now I am in good shape to win my FF championship game. This just sucks...

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by Kodos
Wannstedt's consistent underperformance with superior talent at his disposal is allowed to continue indefinitely.

I think Herman Edwards is the second coming of Wanstedt, so I think my beloved Jets are in for 3-4 more years of mediocrity before he and the GM are canned.

[FrogMan]

I'll echo cthomer, as a Pats fan, this is great news

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
I think Herman Edwards is the second coming of Wanstedt, so I think my beloved Jets are in for 3-4 more years of mediocrity before he and the GM are canned.

And this too, is great news for me as a Pats fan

FM

[stkelly52]

While the fins didn't make the playoffs, it is hard to complain too much about how they did this year. they went 10-6. That is usually plenty good enough to get into the post season.

[Kodos]

With all of the recent pro bowlers on the Phins, I'm afraid I expect them to make the playoffs and win at least a couple games in the playoffs.