Fins Move On To Plan B
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Now that Jeff Fisher has told the Miami Dolphins thanks, but no thanks; the Fins must recover quickly and decide on whom plans b, c, or d may be.
The Fins have interviewed Chicago Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub; Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin; Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer; and former Fins interim coach Todd Bowles.
Out of the above-list, the leading candidate could be Mike Zimmer of the Bengals.
His defenses have consistently been among the best in the league and he's very well-respected amongst players and fellow coaches.
But, even Zimmer carries quite a bit of risk.
For every John Harbaugh or Mike McCarthy, who were elevated to the position of head coach with much success, there is a Tony Sparano who made the jump and couldn't put a winning team on the field.
Unfortunately for Fins fans, that's what has happened with Fisher off the board.
The Fins will have to make a choice from the coordinator ranks in the NFL or dare to bring in a college coach, which didn't turn out well when Nick Saban was brought in.
One coordinator who could answer Stephen Ross' call to throw the ball down the field is Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski.
He started his coaching career with the University of Miami in 1996 and was an offensive coordinator from 2001-2003.
Chudzinski managed to breathe life into the Cleveland Browns offense in 2007 and he mentored rookie quarterback Cam Newton into an NFL star.
When Chud came to Carolina, the Panthers offense was ranked dead last, in 2011 the Panthers finished with the seventh best offense in the league.
But, to this point the Dolphins haven't shown any interest in Chudzinski. That could change quickly now that the Dolphins' have no shot at any big name coach.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross spurned Fisher to keep Jeff Ireland as the team's ultimate decision-maker.
The test now will be whether Ireland can hire a good coach, or will his tenure finally go up in smoke as fans have wanted for the last two years.
