When the Dolphins began the 2011 season with five straight losses, it became no secret that Tony Sparano was on the hot seat.  If Sparano thought the seat was warm prior to Sunday, it must be scorching after allowing Tim Tebow to erase a 15-point lead and beat Miami in overtime.

The aura of Tebow has overshadowed some of the negative attention the Dolphins could be receiving, but it takes cooperation from both sides for a phenomenal comeback to take place.  Tebow has always been tremendous at finding ways to win, but Miami needs to be held accountable for letting the Broncos back into the game with less than a quarter remaining.  After hearing some of the comments from Dolphins defenders about Tebow’s two-point conversion, you have to believe Miami’s coaching staff has lost its players’ confidence.

According to the Palm Beach Post, defensive end Kendall Langford said “everyone in the stadium knew (Tebow) was going to run it.”  Other defenders were quick to throw defensive coordinator Mike Nolan under the bus, saying the Dolphins had the wrong package on the field when the Broncos lined up to go for two.

“We had the wrong personnel on the field, to be honest,” defensive lineman Tony McDaniel said. “They spread us out and ran it up the middle.”I always knew (Tebow) was going to try to run the ball when they got in the red zone. He just found a way, made a play and they got a win.”

They’re right.  We all knew the draw was coming and Miami still couldn’t touch Tebow.  It’s understandable for a college team to know what Tebow is about to do and still not be able to stop it, but there’s no excuse for that at the NFL level.  If the wrong defensive schemes are being used at the most crucial moments in games, a coaching change is desperately needed in Miami.

Helmet smack to Shutdown Corner for the story.

When all the dust clears, it’s likely that Tony Sparano will return to coach the Miami Dolphins and feel fortunate to still have a head coaching job in the NFL.  However, that doesn’t mean the relationship between he and Miami owner Stephen Ross won’t be strained.  Why shouldn’t it be?  The Dolphins have been openly and actively considering new candidates for their head coaching position — a position that has remain filled by Sparano the entire time.

Miami is 25-23 in three seasons under Sparano.  That record is nothing phenomenal, but it’s not all that poor either.  Whether or not he deserves to remain the coach of the Dolphins is beside the point.  While Sparano was still under contract with the team, Miami was courting Jim Harbaugh and setting up meetings with Eric Mangini.  Harbaugh has since accepted a position to coach the 49ers and Ross insists the meeting with Mangini was for nothing more than to pick his brain as a “consultant” who has intimate knowledge of the AFC East, but I doubt any of this talk made Sparano feel all warm and tingly.

According to Pro Football Talk, the Dolphins may end up making a “financial apology” to Sparano now that they realize he is their best option and don’t want to fire him afterall.

The bottom line is Miami’s front office has handled the situation in a completely unprofessional manner.  News is now circulating that Sparano will be “back” next season, but the problem is he never left.  Teams are never allowed to talk to other players who are under contract with other teams, so why should they be allowed to interview coaching candidates when they don’t have an open position?  If I were Sparano, I’d make sure that “financial apology” had a lot of zeros on the end of it.