There was a lot of chatter that the jobs of some Miami Dolphins coaches would be in jeopardy if the team lost Sunday to the New York Jets in London, but head coach Joe Philbin does not seem to be too worried.
The Dolphins fell 27-14 in the contest and have slipped to 1-3. This is Philbin’s fourth season as head coach, and he’s not showing any improvement coming off a pair of 8-8 seasons. To the contrary, many felt his team is not living up to preseason expectations after making some nice offseason moves. But Philbin says he spoke with team owner Stephen Ross and says he is not worried about his job.
“No, not at all. I’m worried about getting this straightened out and fixed and getting our team ready to play the Tennessee Titans,” Philbin told reporters after Sunday’s game.
He also stood by embattled defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, whose job appears to be on the line.
“We still can’t panic. It all seems like the walls are closing in on you,” Philbin said via NFL.com. “We all realize that. We got to look at things, we got to be honest about where we are and what we’re doing well, what we’re not doing well — correct those things, emphasize them, and obviously we’re 0-12 on third down today. We got to get that area fixed. There’s some things that need to be fixed, no question about it and that’s what the next 14 days are going to be all about.”
With the team on a bye week following the long trip to London, it would make sense to make coaching changes now rather than later. But since Ross has stuck with Philbin this long, he may be content to stick with him even longer. Perhaps Coyle might not be as safe. And the good news for Philbin is at least he won’t be left behind at the airport.
