As PFT noted this week, Dolphins coach Joe Philbin is on very thin ice. Now a new report out of Miami indicates that Philbin could lose his job as soon as Monday.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that if the Jets blow out the Dolphins on Sunday in London, Philbin’s job will be in jeopardy during the bye week, which starts Monday.
An NFL team firing its coach during a Week Five bye after a Week Four loss in London would not be unprecedented: That’s exactly what the Raiders did last year, when they fired Dennis Allen after a loss to the Dolphins in London. Perhaps Dolphins owner Stephen Ross saw that move, and sees now that the Raiders appear to be heading in the right direction, and thinks his team should do the same.
At 1-2, the Dolphins still have plenty of time to turn their season around. But if they look as bad tomorrow against the Jets as they did in last week’s 41-14 loss to the Bills, it would be hard to see the Dolphins as anything other than a last-place team in the AFC East. And if the Dolphins are doomed to a last-place finish in the AFC East, it’s hard to justify Philbin keeping his job.
Ross isn’t saying anything publicly about his plans, but he can’t be happy with what he’s seen from his team in the last two weeks. If Ross isn’t happy with what he sees on Sunday, that could cost Philbin his job on Monday.