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| Brian Billick sounds interested in taking the rock from Stephen Ross. (Getty Images) |
The Miami Dolphins coaching search won't be completed until after the season ends, but as expected, the Dolphins will contact all "the big names" before the season ends. At least one of those big names -- Brian Billick -- expressed interest in the position.
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Billick, currently an analyst with FOX and the NFL Network, was asked directly on Thursday if he was interested in the job.
"Yeah," Billick said, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. "The Dolphins are a marquee franchise. But at the end of the day, it’s the structure of what they put together. It has to be a partnership between the head coach, general manager and ownership with a very specific vision.
"The Dolphins are probably a long way from formulating their plans."
Billick also made a couple of interesting points, perhaps as analyst. Or perhaps not. For one, he said it's "a GM's league," stating that in order to be successful in the NFL, you have to have a "marriage" between coach and general manager. Obviously Jeff Ireland is still GM in Miami.
This job, frankly, makes a lot of sense for Billick if he can get along with Ireland.
He's a big enough name to satisfy Stephen Ross' hunger for making news, he's won a Super Bowl before so he's clearly had success and he's an offensive-minded coach, which is what the Dolphins need right now.
There's the presence of Mike Nolan, once Billick's defensive coordinator in Baltimore, on the staff already. Then there's the quarterback situation -- Billick had success with mediocre quarterbacks (Trent Dilfer anyone?) with the Ravens, so it's not inconceivable that either Chad Henne or Matt Moore could be successful under Billick.
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But given the likelihood of the Dolphins high pick, Billick could actually get a shot at redemption through developing a quarterbacks of his own. The Kyle Boller experiment made the Hindenburg look like a perfectly executed landing and surely that eats at Billick in terms of how it reflects on his legacy as a coach.
Going to Miami would give him a shot at (potentially) grooming someone like Matt Barkley or Robert Griffin, III.
But he'll have to beat out other candidates to get there, first. Jackson also reports that the Dolphins are contacting or have contacted both CBS Sports analyst Bill Cowher and former Titans coach Jeff Fisher.
Billick said on NFL Network's Total Access Thursday, however, that he has not been contacted. But if he keeps making nice statements about Miami, and the Dolphins don't receive mutual interest from Fisher and Cowher (Fisher said he'll "listen to anyone," while Cowher has repeatedly said he's not returning to coaching), there's a pretty good chance he'll hear from Ross at some point.
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