It’s been 16 years since quarterback Dan Marino retired from the Miami Dolphins and the team is still searching for his replacement. Since Marino retired, the Dolphins have used 17 different starting quarterbacks with the current one being Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins used the eighth overall pick of the 2012 National Football League Draft on Tannehill and from his first day on the job in South Florida, he has been the starting quarterback. As a professional, Tannehill has thrown 80 touchdowns to 52 interceptions, but his career record is just 27-31 which is the most important stat for a quarterback. With Tannehill under center, the Dolphins have never finished a season with a winning record and at 4-6, the odds are against them as far as finishing 2015 successful.
Ryan Tannehill
This past summer the Dolphins gave Tannehill a six-year, $95 million contract extension which is around the current going rate for starting quarterbacks in the National Football League. But for the Dolphins, Tannehill has failed to provide them with the intangibles that a successful NFL franchise looks for in their starting quarterback which includes leadership, the ability to motivate those around you, along with finding ways to win games consistently; especially those contests when a squad’s backs are against the wall. Joe Philbin lost his job earlier this NFL season as the Dolphins head coach and he has been replaced by Dan Campbell due to this team’s inability to take that next step. And as the Dolphins will more than likely be in the market for a new head coach in 2016, this is an organization that is headed to dilemma city.
The meat and potatoes of Tannehill’s contract is set to kick in for 2017 when the Dolphins will be on the hook for nearly $18 million. Tannehill is set to earn $9.3 million next season which means that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and general manager Dennis Hickey will have to find a head coach to lead this team that can not only motivate the other 52 players that are on the roster, but also a guy that believes that he can win with Tannehill as he has a huge cap number attached to him which means that he isn’t going anywhere.
Tannehill nearly has four years under his belt as the Dolphins starting quarterback, but he has yet to get that career defining victory. In 2013, the Dolphins were 8-6 and they only needed a victory in one of their last two contests to ensure a trip to the postseason. But with Tannehill leading the way, the Dolphins failed miserably as they lost their last two games by a contests by a combined score of 39-7. Last year the Dolphins lost three of their last four games to finish the season with a record of 8-8 and they would once again watch the postseason pass them by.
At this point of Tannehill’s National Football League career, he will surely be labeled as a quarterback who cannot deliver in the clutch which is evident by the Dolphins record and that will bring with it questions as to why Miami gave him such a big extension.
Of the Dolphins remaining schedule this season, only the New England Patriots currently have a winning record. But that cannot give the folks in Miami that much optimism especially with Tannehill’s up and down play under center as his inconsistency only makes the folks long the days of Marino that much more.
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