Throughout the ongoing harassment scandal involving Miami Dolphins offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin, there has been little talk about what the future could potentially hold for Joe Philbin. Many are wondering what the head coach was aware of and when he became aware of it. Did he allow his veterans to cross the line with rookie hazing?
While Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy would not directly address the Incognito situation when asked about it on Wednesday, he did give Philbin a very strong endorsement.
“I really don’t have an opinion on what’s going on in Miami,” McCarthy said, per the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “But I trust Joe Philbin with my children. That’s the highest compliment I can give another man. … On a personal note you never want to see anybody go through that, player or coach, and I’m sure they’re doing everything they possibly can to make it right.”
Before he became the head coach of the Dolphins, Philbin was McCarthy’s offensive coordinator. McCarthy also addressed the challenges that go along with keeping a locker room together.
“To me that’s all part about continuing education and unfortunately it’s something that’s happened,” he said. “It obviously looks poor in the public eye but I just know here in Green Bay we talk a lot about being good teammate and things like that but there’s things that happen in the locker room that usually stay in the locker room. It’s no different than the coaches’ locker room or coaches’ office, so this is a challenging profession.”
The truth of the matter is Philbin could lose his job over this. If Martin did indeed go to Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland to tell him what was going on, it would be hard to believe Philbin was left in the dark. With a situation that has become this sensitive, that in itself might be enough to cost Philbin his job.
