Miami Dolphins
Dave Wannstedt, formerly of the Chicago Bears, became the new
coach; and Jay Fiedler became the new quarterback for the 2000
season. Despite the obviously lowered expectations, the defense
broke through with Jason Taylor and Trace Armstrong both getting
10 sacks, and four players (Sam Madison, Brian Walker, Brock
Marion and Patrick Surtain) getting at least five interceptions.
In addition, Lamar Smith rushed for over 1000 yards and Miami
finished atop the AFC East with an 11-5 record. Miami won a
tough overtime game over the Indianapolis Colts on a Lamar Smith
touchdown in the wild card round, but were shut out by the Oakland
Raiders in the divisional playoff.
The 2000 season notwithstanding, late-season collapses have
been the norm in Miami since the late 1990s. In the 2001 season
the Dolphins lost two games to the New Orleans Saints, which cost
them the division title. That honor went to Super Bowl champion
New England. Miami had to settle for a wild card, and lost 20-3
to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round.
Miami revitalized its running game in time for the 2002 season
by signing running back Ricky Williams from the New Orleans
Saints. The Dolphins started the season 5-1 before Fiedler got
injured and was replaced by Ray Lucas, who lost three straight.
Because the competition in the division was so close, the Dolphins
still had a chance to win the division in the final week against
the Patriots, but blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost
in overtime. Due to a tiebreaker, both the Dolphins and Patriots
lost out on the playoffs as the Saints took the AFC East title.
Fans wanted Wannstedt's firing, but he was kept on for the 2003
season.
In 2003 the Dolphins again started strong (4-1) but finished
weak, with devastating mid-season losses to the Patriots, Colts
and Titans submarining them. Miami finished 10-6, but it was
still short of a playoff spot. At the end of the season it was
announced that Dan Marino would return to the team as its president,
but quit after a month.
The 2004 offseason was terrible for the Dolphins. Tight end
Randy McMichael was arrested for domestic violence and wide
receiver David Boston (signed from San Diego) suffered an injury
in training camp and missed the entire season (Boston also failed
a drug test for steroids later in the season). But the biggest
shock came when Ricky Williams retired under mysterious circumstances,
probably related to drug use. Many experts predicted a disastrous
season for the Dolphins. These predictions proved right; the
Dolphins dropped their first six games of the 2004 year, marking
the worst start in franchise history. This led to them being
dead-last in the NFL as well as the subject to nicknames like
"Stinky Fish" and, to fans, "We Stink".
After a 1-8 start, Wannstedt resigned on November 9, 2004. He
was replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Jim
Bates. Under Bates, the Dolphins fared much better, winning
three of their final seven games, including a 29-28 upset victory
over the defending champion Patriots on December 20 in a nationally
televised Monday Night Football contest. Despite this, the Dolphins
decided not to hire Bates for the permanent coaching position.
Instead, they hired Louisiana State University coach Nick Saban.
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