The Miami Dolphins have been trying to find a suitable replacement for Dan Marino for a dozen years. Very few times in history has a team said goodbye to a legend and then had immediate success at the position, but the Dolphins have gone through 16 starters since Marino’s last game in 1999 and need number 17 to work out.
Before looking ahead, let’s go back to early 2006 when Miami found itself looking for its next starter under center.
Drew Brees was on the free agent market after his deal with the San Diego Chargers expired and the Dolphins were interested, but Miami was concerned about Brees’ shoulder. The QB sustained a torn labrum in the last game of the 2005 regular season. He underwent successful surgery to fix the problem in early 2006, but that wasn’t good enough for the Dolphins. They passed on him and acquired Daunte Culpepper, who was coming off of a knee injury, instead.
Brees ended up signing a six-year deal with the New Orleans Saints. Since taking over as the Big Easy’s favorite QB, Brees has passed for 28,394 yards, including, to add injury to insult, 5,476 yards this past season to break the long-standing single-season record held by Marino. Let’s also not forget the Saints have become a perennial playoff team and won Super Bowl XLIV.
Culpepper, who the Dolphins got from the Minnesota Vikings for a second-round pick, ended up starting just four games in his short Miami career.
Now, we get to today and the Dolphins could find themselves with two big quarterback decisions in the next few weeks.
First, assuming Peyton Manning gets released by the Indianapolis Colts and is completely healthy to play, the Dolphins have to be on the future Hall of Famer’s short list of franchises he’s interested in.
Manning might have just three years left in his career, but if healthy he becomes one of the most coveted free agents of all time. Based on this past season, it’s obvious that Manning was covering up numerous deficiencies with the Colts through the years and he’d be a ticket-selling machine in south Florida.
If the Dolphins can’t get a Manning deal done or want to go younger at the position, they need to make the move to sign free agent Matt Flynn. Flynn has just two career starts with the Green Bay Packers, but he’s looked great in both and he would be reunited with new Miami head coach Joe Philbin, who was the offensive coordinator in Green Bay.
Anytime a team fails in its quest to replace a legend or legends, I always think of the famous Rick Pitino line when he was coaching the Boston Celtics and it didn’t work out.
Once legends walk out the door, they aren’t easily replaceable, but at some point all teams need to find ways to win and have good enough players and chemistry to get it done. The 1999 season is far in the rear view mirror, yet the Dolphins continue to chase a player who can at least give them success at the position Marino once owned.
Whether the Dolphins get Manning or Flynn or someone else to line up under center in September, only one thing matters – can the guy lead the team to victories? Miami had better get it right this time to become a competitive playoff franchise for the next few years. The Dolphins can’t afford another Brees-Culpepper situation.
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