Fox Schein Blog: Norv called Jimmy about Cowboys job

[Doomsday101]

Why don't you go out and hire yourself a GM. Then tell him your stuck with an aging great QB who can't do it any longer but you can't get rid of him or make him run your offense. Tell him you have little talent and you don't have any cap to sign players. Lets see how succesful he is. You can't do it all in 4 seasons when you start with as little as they had in Miami. You act as if this was a great team when Jimmy got there. I call BS on that. The fact of the matter is that the 10 years prior to Jimmy getting there, Don Shula only made the playoffs 4 times. 5 of those years, he failed to post a winning season. His record over his last 10 years was 89-70.

Don Shula didn't exactly leave the team stocked for the winter. Gone in 96 from the previous seasons (recent) were Keith Byars, Gary Clark, Brian Cox, Marco Colemen, Jeff Cross, Irving Fryer, Terry Kirby, Troy Vincent, Clevelenad Gary, Houston Hoover, Mark Ingram, Bert Weidner, Jeff Dalenbach, John Offerdhal, Mark Dennis and Freddie Banks. All of those guys were key players that Jimmy had to replace. In the 13 seasons prior to Jimmy coming to Miami, Dan Marino averaged 3757 yards a season, 27 TDs, 16.7 INTs, 59.9 Comp% and a QB rating of 89.06. In the last 4 seasons, Marino averaged 3130 yards as season, 17 TDs, 13 INTs, COMP% of 57.6 and a QB Rating of 78.9. Marino had dropped way off.

I guess it's Jimmy's fault for taking the job in the first place.

He was the GM and HC and this is BS that Huizenga would not allow him to run the team. As for how good Miami was I agree not great but a heck of a lot better than what Parcells was dealing with in Dallas and I don't see many cutting him slack. Jimmy came into Miami promising a SB in 3 years so evidently he felt there was enough talent to get the job done or he would not have made such a statement. I would also add why did Jimmy not even draft a QB while in Miami again as GM he and Marino was on the down hill side yet no QB drafted by Johnson at all? Come on this is Mr. Draft Guru.

 

[DipChit]

Well lets not forget too that Jimmy's last 2 years had to deal with those juggarnauts.... the J-E-T-S led by BP. JJ was swept by them in both '98 and '99 so that was 4 losses right there.

 

[Doomsday101]

Well lets not forget too that Jimmy's last 2 years had to deal with those juggarnaut J-E-T-S led by BP. JJ was swept by them in both '98 and '99 so that was 4 loses right there.

Let me say I do think Jimmy is a good coach, but I also feel many Cowboy fans give him a free pass and do not judge the job he did in Miami as they would had it happened in Dallas. When Dallas hired Parcells the expectation were to win a championship he failed, when Jimmy hired in at Miami he boasted that in 3 years they would have a championship so that is the expectation that he placed from the get go, he failed.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

He was the GM and HC and this is BS that Huizenga would not allow him to run the team. As for how good Miami was I agree not great but a heck of a lot better than what Parcells was dealing with in Dallas and I don't see many cutting him slack. Jimmy came into Miami promising a SB in 3 years so evidently he felt there was enough talent to get the job done or he would not have made such a statement. I would also add why did Jimmy not even draft a QB while in Miami again as GM he and Marino was on the down hill side yet no QB drafted by Johnson at all? Come on this is Mr. Draft Guru.

Wayne did not allow Jimmy to make a call on Marino. That's not even in question. If you can't make a decision on the most important position on the field, how much power do you really have. If you can't take steps to correct the biggest financial stumbling block on your team, how much success can you have getting the cap figured out? As far as Parcells and Jimmy, that's irrelivant. The discussion is not about Parcells. The question I answered was specific to Jimmy and why he did not have success in Miami. What's more, I am not amoung those who is in need of cutting slack to Parcells. I'm on record of what I think there. Did Jimmy bit off more then he could chew by demanding GM and HC? Probably. Did Jimmy have something he wanted to prove? Probably. Was Jimmy over confident in what he might be able to accomplish? Probably. However, the fact remains that Jimmy was promised total control and he did not have it in Miami. That was not Jimmy's fault.

In 1996, the year Jimmy took over Miami, the top QB in the draft was Tony Banks. He was taken with the 12th pick of the 2nd round. Hoying was taken in the 3rd round, Jeff Lewis and Danny Kanell in the 4th. In 1997, the top rated QB was Jim Drunk-on-Miller. He was taken in the 1st round by the 49rs. Jake Plummer was next in the 2nd round followed by Danny Wuerfful in the 4th. I'd say that in retrospect, Jimmy didn't really have much to choose from in that deal. In 96, Johnson took Gardner who was the top DT on the board that year with the 20th pick. No QB rated as a 1st. In the 2nd round, Banks was taken by the Rams. Miami didn't have a second round pick. It had been traded away. In 97, Miami took Green (which I thought was a bad pick) but you honestly can't say that there was a good QB on the board in the 1st. In the 2nd round, Plummer was taken by Az. 2 spots ahead of Miami so they never really had a chance to get him. Miami took Madison which you would have to say was a good choice. Part of the problem was that Miami was a victom of not finishing poorly enough to be in a situation to draft a decent QB. At the time, they had Bernie Kosar, who was a good backup solution and a young Craig Erickson who amounted to not much left over from the previous administraton. Also keep in mind that the oh so great team of 95, signed Dan MaGwuire to a FA contract prior to Jimmy coming to Miami. He last a season and Jimmy cut him because he was crap. Miami had to eat that contract.

This brings us to 98. This was really the only year that Jimmy could realistically draft a QB. In 98, Manning was the 1st over all pick and Leaf was the 2nd over all pick. Miami had no chance at either of those guys. The Dolphins picked 29th in the 1st round that year. In the 2nd round, Charlie Batch was taken by Detroit at the 30th pick. Miami could have taken him there but in all honesty, 28 other teams passed on him as well. He, IMO, was a reach in the 2nd round. Miami took Surtain with there 2nd round pick. Again, I think you would have to say that it was a good pick. Johnathan Quinn was taken in the 3rd round by the Jags and Jimmy could have drafted him. I don't know why he didn't. My guess is that he didn't like him very much and I'd have to say that he was probalby correct in his evaluation. The one guy that Miami could have taken was Brian Griese. He was taken in the 3rd also and available to Miami but they did not. I suspect it was probably because of Bob Griese's history with Miami but I don't know that to be a fact. Miami actually did draft a QB in 98 in the 6th round. That was John Dutton out of Nevada. Didn't work out. By 1999, Jimmy was no longer part of the organization so he could not have taken a QB. Jimmy also signed Damon Huard to a contract. He played in Europe and was on the squad in 98 but he was only a rookie.

Basically, if you look at that situation, I think you would have to say that Jimmy never really had an opportunity to draft a decent QB. Certainly, the cap never allowed for him to sign anybody so I don't know how anybody could really say that the QB situation was his fault. He was basically stuck with Marino IMO.

 

[Billy Bullocks]

No arguement that Brady was a major factor; that as well as having a good base that BP left there, and a good staff too. BUT that begs the question of WHY Jimmy failed at Miami in his second stint.

First of all, he didn't have the Herschel Walker deal. I mean, look at all the players we picked up from that. And though he had hte luxury of a plethora of draft picks, he still hit on alot of them.

He got a QB in Marino who was not really in his prime, wheras he got Aikman from the start.


Sure the Miami gig was not something Jimmy will be remembered for, but it's not like he had no success there. He went 36-18 with Miami and was 2-3 in the Playoffs. It's not like he wasn't doing a pretty good job there. He just didn't win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I think Jimmy is a good coach but even good coaches do fail

then Norv Turner must be the greatest coach of all time :laugh2:

 

[GTaylor]

Jimmy didn't help himself with Cecil Collins being front page news for the wrong reasons.

 

[Juke99]

No arguement that Brady was a major factor; that as well as having a good base that BP left there, and a good staff too. BUT that begs the question of WHY Jimmy failed at Miami in his second stint.

Yeah...Johnson sucked in Miami...It undid all the good he did in Dallas...yep.

Uh, geez, just like a coach we just saw leave town.

What Parcells accomplished in the past is in now way tarnished by what happened in Dallas.

The same for Johnson.

My lord, at least be consistent in your arguments.