Dolphins President Wiedmeier: The Dolphins can win in the Near Term
These have been a difficult few years for the Miami Dolphins organization and its fans.
The problems and mistakes are well chronicled, so there’s no need here to open the old wounds. Suffice to say it has been pretty bleak.
However, while the performances on the field and in the coach’s office have been frustratingly weak in recent times, there have been some organizational happenings which are more positive, relative (if I may borrow a Sabanism) to us, the Miami Dolphins fans.
Through all this turmoil and mediocrity there has emerged a well considered and obvious policy on the part of the Miami Dolphins management to become far more pro-active in reaching out to the fans.
The cynic might say that this is a policy born out of necessity, but whatever the reasons may be, it is good for everyone involved.
MDBW is just one of several Miami Dolphins fan websites which, in recent years, have been increasingly welcomed and encouraged by the Dolphins organization.
And today was just another example of that policy. All the Dol-fan websites were invited to participate in a conference call with team President Brian Wiedmeier and coordinator Scott Stone.
All of us were invited to pose questions and Bryan Wiedmeier’s responses were generally thorough and involved. The call was billed to last for half an hour but continued for almost an hour. Here are some of the matters discussed:
Nick Saban
The only subject which elicited something of a measured response from the Dolphins president was that of Nick Saban and whether there were any regrets over his appointment. Wiedmeier, after some hesitation responded that he felt that the decision at the time was right, but that it didn’t “produce the results we expected”. Not exactly admitting to a mistake but at least acknowledging that it turned out wrong.
Cam Cameron
Hiring Cam Cameron as Miami Dolphins Head Coach, however, was a slam dunk. Cameron was the ideal choice as a replacement for Nick Saban because of his leadership abilities and his proven success and experience as an offensive coordinator. Wiedmeier noted that one of the strengths which Cam Cameron brought to the table was his ability to develop quarterbacks. That, together with the capacity to work well with General Manager Randy Mueller, was what the organization needed and wanted when they selected Cameron. Under Cameron the best way to describe the football side of the business, according to Wiedmeier, was “professionalism”. He said there was a sense of urgency and work ethic, but also a “calm sense of professionalism” throughout the team.
Rebuilding
Wiedmeier is of the opinion that with Dom Capers defense in place and with Cameron steering the offense the Miami Dolphins are not in a process of rebuilding but are gearing up to “win a championship in the near term”.
The Draft & the Rookies
On the subject of the draft and the rookies, Mr. Wiedmeier didn’t pin point any specific reason why this year’s crop of rookies seem to be much better than in past years, but he did cite the great working relationship of Mueller and Cameron. He was optimistic about this year’s rookies. He also noted a new appointment as director of the college scouting system, which may have had some impact. Randy Mueller was making subtle changes to the Saban scouting system which would be implemented for future drafts.
Asked about the selection of Ted Ginn Jr. instead of Brady Quinn, and the fan reaction, Wiedmeier acknowledged that the situation could have been managed better. Of necessity, however, he noted that the in house decisions regarding the draft had to be kept a secret prior to draft day. In fact, in house, it was the consensus that Beck was the better quarterback and that Ginn had qualities which were valued very highly by the coaches and scouting staff. The goal was to select both. Quinn was not in the picture. Time, he said, lends perspective to the situation, and perhaps it would have been smart to have put the likes of Jim Mandich in the picture beforehand which would have helped in the post selection damage control.
Rookie salaries
With regard to rookie salaries, Bryan Wiedmeier agreed that the situation had become problematic. He was in favor of performance based pay, but acknowledged that there were problems with such an approach particularly with reference to injuries. There was in existence a performance based pay program for players drafted in the lower rounds and he liked that system. He was hopeful that the overall system would be revised down the road.
He was congratulated for getting all the rookies signed in time for training camp and, in something of a heads up to future rookie classes, he confirmed that Wayne Huizenga meant what he said in his mandate that any unsigned rookie would sit out the season.
Higher ticket prices
Asked about the recent hike in ticket prices coming off a losing season, Wiedmeier stated that he did not enjoy having to increase prices but the decision was driven by economics. He felt it was better to increase the prices by relatively small increments annually if necessary, rather than wait a few seasons and be forced into a more significant rise. Even with the latest increase, he said, the Miami Dolphins are still within the bottom quarter of NFL teams as regards to ticket prices.
Added to this he noted the very significant improvements to Dolphin Stadium which are ongoing and will cost Wayne Huizenga around $300 million. Dol-fans will have the very best of facilities as a result.
Playing the Giants in London
The game which the Miami Dolphins will play against the New York Giants in London is part of the NFL’s business plan to go global. It is, in Bryan Wiedmeier’s opinion, an exciting new program but with many challenges. He agreed that it does penalize the Dolphins this season in that they lose an important home game, and he expects that as the program develops it may result in each team playing one more game each year.
As far as preparation for the game goes he felt that jet lag would not present a significant problem by traveling to London on the Thursday. He and others including Jason Taylor and Cam Cameron had so far made a couple of trips over and have a feel for what to expect.
And that, mostly, was it.
Generally I thought we asked some pretty good questions, but really no curve balls. I think everyone was playing nice, given that Mr. Wiedmeier didn’t have to do this. One question I thought of asking but held back on for fear of a backlash from some of my fellow websters, was what the plan was for Ricky. Maybe I’ll just call him up myself and ask him. That was the other nice thing. He said we could...
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