After the run the dolphins just had the second half, this was strange. They have to have their mind set on someone already.
Not saying I'm in love with Saleh but at least he's not a lying sociopath like the other NY coach who somehow didn't get fired today...
For those wondering about Flores. He went 10-6 in year two of their rebuild and had 4 top 42 picks last draft. Then he went 9-7. Someone has to pay for that.
He also took a team that was projected to go 0-16 to a 5-11 record. He’s 19-14 in 2 years with an actual NFL roster. It’s insane that he was fired
Flores didn’t engineer those horrible drafts they’ve had though. Chris Grier should’ve been fired sooner than Flores.
I was surprised too but Flores missed the playoffs for 3 straight years so Dolphins made the right decision to let Flores go unfortunately
Worth noting that Flores never had an offense ranked higher than 22-23rd the whole time in Miami. His first year (the 5-11 year) he probably had the worst offense. I believe there was a stretch or maybe even a whole season where Ryan Fitzpatrick was the team's leading rusher. And the offensive line was a mess. Miami missed out on key signings and kept stockpiling picks instead of getting immediate help. And I'm not arguing against that strategy but you have to take into account that Flores had very little to work with on the offensive end. That's what makes his record pretty impressive.
The only thing that makes sense is they land Harbaugh and give him full control. That solves the Grier problem, who should have been fired way before Flores. If they keep Grier and go after one of the OCs like the KC OC or Leftwich it would be a disaster.
The GM? Also, what did they expect Flores to do when he's got Belichick and Josh Allen in his division, and his QB is Tua? Tua not bad, but he's not going to elevate the team either.
Or a general manager willing to take the job. At this point the best-case scenario for the Giants is to promote someone internally to GM, have another terrible season, and start over fully in 2023.
They had a good draft last season. Picked up a star WR, a good D lineman, superstar saftey, and average tackle. That's a pretty good return on their 4 top 42 picks. The GM didn't cause the 1-7 start.
Waddle is a really good player. Though some are always going to say they could have had Chase or Pitts at #3 if they never traded down to the #12. The headscratcher IMHO though was the trade with Philly where they sent their own pick instead of SF's to move up 6 spots in order to take Waddle. Philly eventually swapped picks with Dallas and got Devonta Smith who is arguably the better player over him and Waddle. And of course Dallas won the day by getting Micah Parsons at #12, who could have been had by the Dolphins along with the pick they now owe the Eagles.
I agree with pretty much your whole post. IMO they used Waddle all wrong, and I think that is beause of Tua. They spent all offseason lamenting they needed a downfield threat at WR. Then they get Waddle and spend the entire season using him on 4 yard outs and crossing patterns. I think that was to give Tua a security blanket. If that was the case they need to dump Tua. They had a playmaker and never turned him loose. (I think they traded their first because they expected to go deep into the playoffs this season?)
They had a good draft this year. Their 2019 and 2020 drafts are pretty bad and they have basically the worst offensive line in football. The defense is as good as it’s been the past couple years in part because of Flores.
I agree about the 2020 draft. I personally don't blame Flores. I'd take him over Saleh at this point.
