In a day that the Dolphins social media fans took a day off because of the team’s off day since training camp began. The Dolphins decided to drop a mini bombshell that made us all forget that there was no practice. The team decided today that they wanted to let go offensive line coach Pat Flaherty.
I’m honestly not sure how to take this move. On one hand, it may look like a power move from a coach trying to put his stamp on the way his team is coached, and understandably so. We as fans are coming to expect the hard-nose, tough mind-frame that Coach Flores seems to embody. Through four days of camp the team is shown running to the TNT sign countless amounts of times, and it could be possible that Flaherty simply didn’t coach the unit with the same fervor.
On the other, it could just simply be that Flaherty struggled with the schematics, like it was reported that he was. No matter how exciting it is to think “Coach Flores gets it, and will hold even his coaching staff accountable,” few things come to mind. DolphinsTalk.com blogger and podcaster Mike Oliva tweeted out a reminder that the Offensive Line is bereft of talent outside of Laremy Tunsil. To put it simply, we have solid back-ups and one star. That’s a front office issue and not a scheme issue. Also, four days into camp isn’t a great indicator of what schemes the line can or can’t run. I’m a firm believer that it takes time for the trenches to get it right, especially if we are depending on more journeymen, and a rookie that may or may not be a good interior presence.
These are one of those things where we all shrug our shoulders and continue to hope that Flores and company will get it right. The NFL community typically has an eyebrow raised when coaches and front office personnel are relieved this early in the season, and Miami’s history with offensive line coaches highlights this a little bit more than I’m comfortable with. One has nothing to do with the other. However, we are all hoping this was the right call for Coach Flores and The Miami Dolphins.
