Miami Dolphins new Head Coach Joe Philbin spoke as the face of a franchise he vowed to bring back to its glory days Saturday afternoon and promised to install an aggressive up-tempo attacking style in all phases of game.
“Our team will consist of men more about winning than individual statistics,” Philbin said, adding that he wanted to recruit players and coaches who had a passion for the game.
“Some have described me as a player’s coach. I will be demanding, not demeaning,” Philbin said. “I’ve always had a great relationship with players that wanted to be great players.”
The new coach spoke about the immediate ease he felt with owner Stephen Ross and General Manager Jeff Ireland, both of whom introduced Philbin.
“It told Steve and Jeff, I’m 50 years old, and I anticipate this being the last job I ever take,” he added.
Philbin said his first order of business was to fill out his staff. “We have some candidates in mind, but haven’t made any decisions on who those people are,” he said.
He briefly discussed the death of his son, Michael, who died less than two weeks ago when he drowned in an icy river. He said his family was heartbroken but strengthened by the outpouring of support.
Philbin also said he was dejected when his former team, the Green Bay Packers, was throttled in their last playoff game. “I was surprised (the Dolphins) called me back,” he joked.
Before Philbin spoke, Ross said he was happy with the search process and even happier with its results. He did give a cryptic statement about the process saying they had interviewed six people for the job and that all but one was interested in joining the Dolphins, without saying who the exception was.
Philbin becomes the 10th head coach in team history. He spent the past nine seasons as a coach with the Green Bay Packers, serving as the offensive coordinator since 2007.
Although he did not call plays this year, he is partially credited with creating one of the most potent offenses in the league and developing one of its premier quarterbacks, Aaron Rogers, as well as his backup Matt Flynn.
There has already been talk that the Dolphins will seek to bring in Flynn along with Green Bay quarterbacks coach Tom Clements to bolster the team’s lagging offense.
The new Dolphin head coach is expected to keep Todd Bowles, last year's interim head coach, with the team although he is also drawing interest from other teams as a possible defensive coordinator.
Before joining the Packers, Philbin had been an offensive line coach at the University of Iowa, Harvard, Northeastern, and Ohio University, among other smaller schools. He has 28 years of coaching experience in all, including 19 at the college level.
He has never been a head coach.
