The Miami Dolphins are on a bye Sunday. But that didn't stop the team from continuing to make headlines in what has already been a busy week.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Dolphins are among several teams that will express interest in New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Miami fired Joe Philbin this past Monday after the team's 1-3 start gave him a 24-28 record in three-plus seasons. The Dolphins promoted Dan Campbell to interim head coach and will go through an extensive coaching search after the regular season.
Here are three thoughts on Miami's reported interest in Payton and what it means:
No. 1: Dolphins will seek experience
After a shaky experience with Philbin, who proved to be in over his head in Miami, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is aware that hiring first-time head coaches can be a roll of the dice. Teams might get the next Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh, who went on to become Super Bowl-winning coaches, or teams may get the next Philbin, Tony Sparano or Cam Cameron. Unfortunately for Miami, it got the latter the past several years. This early evidence suggests Ross and the Dolphins will go a different route and seek experienced head coaches, such as Payton, who have done it before. That is the right move for Miami and will take some of the guesswork out of its search.
No. 2: No guarantees with Payton
Just because the Dolphins have interest in Payton doesn't mean he will be their new head coach in 2016. In fact, it is more likely the Dolphins won't be able to land Payton, considering all the factors involved. For starters, Payton is under contract for two additional seasons in New Orleans after 2015. Some kind of trade or compensation would have to be worked out between the Saints and Dolphins -- and it wouldn't be cheap. Also, neither the Saints nor Payton have expressed interest in going separate ways. Payton has been in New Orleans for a decade, won a Super Bowl and, by all accounts, is happy. Why would Payton leave a stable situation for the current mess in Miami? The Dolphins also have failed to land big-name coaches before. Ross made recent attempts to pursue coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jeff Fisher, and both turned the Dolphins down.
No. 3: Payton has Bill Parcells connection
Although it's a little odd considering the circumstances, Bill Parcells still has fingerprints in Miami. He left the team after Ross bought the Dolphins, but Parcells still has Ross' ear when it comes to important decisions. Ross recently said he spoke with Parcells to get his take on Campbell before promoting Campbell to interim head coach. Payton also is from the Parcells tree. Considering Dolphins vice president Mike Tannenbaum and vice president of football administration Dawn Aponte also have Parcells ties, those connections are worth keeping an eye on during Miami's coaching search.