Restless Dolphins fans received a gift earlier this week when team owner Stephen Ross decided to fire head coach Tony Sparano on Monday, a move many believed should have happened much sooner.

But, just like spoiled kids on Christmas morning, some fans were left wanting more.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Dolphins die-hards Chris Joseph and Roger Paul have devised a plan to let Ross know that more needs to be done.

Before the Dolphins’ final home game of the year — Jan. 1 against the New York Jets — the impatient pair will hire an airplane to fly around Sun Life Stadium with a sign bearing the message:

“Mr. Ross, save our Dolphins. Fire Jeff Ireland”

Ireland, the Dolphins’ general manager, was hired along with Sparano in 2008. Yet, despite Sparano’s recent firing, Ross remains committed to Ireland.

During the announcement of Sparano’s departure, Ross stated that Ireland will continue to be in charge of personnel and that he and Ireland “will work together” to find a new coach, a move some ‘Fins fans question.

“There’s a feeling that (Ireland) is going to screw up the draft again, or not get the quarterback that everyone wants,” Joseph told the Post. “Firing Sparano was one thing, but if you’re going to do that, you’ve got to clean house.”

According to the newspaper, the aerial assault on Ross and Ireland will cost about $1,500. But when Joseph and Paul jokingly released their idea to the public via Twitter and through their blog FinsNation.com, it took only four hours for fans to donate enough to cover the full expense.

While there’s no telling whether the stunt will happen, or have any impact, there is precedent for successful flyovers in South Florida. Miami Hurricanes fans flew a banner demanding that head coach Randy Shannon be fired, and their demands were met later that day.

If the latest planned flyover is successful, perhaps it would be wise for fans to shell out another $1,500 to demand a trip to the Super Bowl next season.

Hall of Fame quarterback and Miami Dolphins legend Dan Marino chimed in with his thoughts on the Dolphins’ head coach search Thursday, saying he would love to see former Steelers coach Bill Cowher take the job, but doubted it would happen.

“I would love to see (Cowher) be the Dolphins’ coach or if he wanted to coach again because that would be great for the NFL, but I don’t think his mind-set is that he wants to coach again,” Marino said during his weekly podcast on Dolphins.com.

“And he may change that over time, but my feeling is that he’s a pretty straightforward guy that tells the truth most of the time . . . and he said on TV that he doesn’t have any plans of coming back, and I believe him,” Marino of his CBS colleague, Cowher, who led Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl victory in 2005-06.

The Dolphins are looking to replace Tony Sparano, whose long-speculated dismissal came to fruition Monday following Miami’s ninth loss of the season to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said the search for a new head coach would begin immediately. When asked what he might be looking for in a candidate, the Dolphins owner quipped, “I’d like to find a young Don Shula,” in reference to the Hall of Fame coach who led Miami to five AFC titles and two Super Bowl victories between 1970 and 1995.

Ross openly pursued current 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and former Steelers coach Bill Cowher last season while Sparano was still under contract.

Miami went 29-33 under Sparano, who took over the team in 2008. The Dolphins won the AFC East in Sparano’s first season before losing to Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs.

(NewsCore) – Hall of Fame quarterback and Miami Dolphins legend Dan Marino chimed in with his thoughts on the Dolphins’ head coach search Thursday, saying he would love to see former Steelers coach Bill Cowher take the job, but doubted it would happen.

“I would love to see [Cowher] be the Dolphins’ coach or if he wanted to coach again because that would be great for the NFL, but I don’t think his mind-set is that he wants to coach again,” Marino said of his CBS colleague, Cowher, who led Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl victory in 2005-06.

“And he may change that over time, but my feeling is that he’s a pretty straightforward guy that tells the truth most of the time… and he said on TV that he doesn’t have any plans of coming back, and I believe him,” Marino said during his weekly podcast on Dolphins.com.

The Dolphins are looking to replace Tony Sparano, whose long-speculated dismissal came to fruition Monday following Miami’s ninth loss of the season to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said the search for a new head coach would begin immediately. When asked what he might be looking for in a candidate, the Dolphins owner quipped, “I’d like to find a young Don Shula,” in reference to the Hall of Fame coach who led Miami to five AFC titles and two Super Bowl victories between 1970 and 1995.

Ross openly pursued current 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and former Steelers coach Bill Cowher last season while Sparano was still under contract.

Miami went 29-33 under Sparano, who took over the team in 2008. The Dolphins won the AFC East in Sparano’s first season before losing to Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs.

MIAMI — Even before the Miami Dolphins fired Tony Sparano on Monday, names of potential successors were being bandied about.

Bill Cowher? Jeff Fisher? Jon Gruden?

“I’d like to find a young Don Shula if that’s possible,” owner Stephen Ross said.

It’s no wonder Ross craves some stability. Since Shula retired in 1996, no coach has made it through five full seasons in Miami.

That includes Sparano, fired three games from the end of his fourth season, and one day after the Dolphins lost to the Philadelphia Eagles to fall to 4-9. The defeat ended a recent surge by the Dolphins after they lost their first seven games.

General manager Jeff Ireland’s status had also been in question, but he’ll be retained and take part in the coaching search, Ross said.

Todd Bowles, who had been assistant head coach and secondary coach, becomes interim head coach. He’s the sixth coach since 2004 for the Dolphins, who haven’t won a playoff game since 2000 and haven’t reached the Super Bowl since 1984.

The Dolphins play Sunday at Buffalo, but they’re already assured of their third consecutive losing season, the longest such streak since the 1960s.

» Jets S Leonhard placed on IR: At New York, Jim Leonhard will be a sidelined spectator for another Jets playoff push.

The playmaking safety will miss the rest of the season after being placed on injured reserve Monday with a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. An MRI exam confirmed what the Jets first feared when Leonhard went down on a tackle following an interception in Sunday’s 37-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

» Packers WR Jennings out 2-3 weeks with knee sprain: At Green Bay, Wis., Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that wide receiver Greg Jennings will miss two to three weeks with a knee sprain, but is likely to return for the postseason.

Jennings hurt his left knee when he landed awkwardly in the third quarter of Sunday’s victory over Oakland. Jennings had to be helped from the sideline to a cart and was taken to the locker room.

The Oakland Raiders will head to Miami, Florida this weekend to battle it out with the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, December 4, 2011. These two teams have had some memorable games over the years, and it’s the Raiders who lead the series, winning 19 to the Dolphins’ 14 victories, with one tie.

Raiders fan, Dr. Death
Kathy Samoun (w/permission from Dr Death)

Over the past decade, it’s been a different story, with Miami winning five out of their six most recent games. But the tide is turning, as everything in football seems to be cyclical for many teams. The last time the two faced each other in a playoff battle, was on January 6, 2001, and it was Oakland who defeated Miami, 27-0.

Here is a look back at some of the best games between the Raiders and the Dolphins.

December 21, 1974

This 1974 AFC Playoff Game was one of the best games in the history of the NFL. It was played at the Oakland Coliseum, with the famed Don Shula as Miami’s head coach and John Madden coaching the Raiders. The great Kenny Stabler was the quarterback for Oakland, and Bob Griese was the Dolphins’ quarterback.

With less than five minutes left in the game, the Raiders were losing, but Cliff Branch scored a touchdown to put Oakland up 21-19. Then Griese helped lead an immediate comeback to put Miami up 26-21 with only two minutes left on the clock. The Raiders had to get the touchdown, and Stabler led the team down the field.

In one of the most unlikely catches in history, under a sea of Miami players, Clarence Davis outfought them to come up with the ball and hold onto it for the score. The Raiders scored twice in less than four and a half minutes, and it went down in history as one of the greatest plays ever. Final score, 28-26, Raiders.

September 22, 1975

Less than a year later, on September 22, 1975, the Raiders’ snapped Miami’s 31 home game winning streak with a defeat of the Dolphins, 31-21 on Monday Night Football. The Raiders’ running back, Harold Hart, took a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown, and some of the Silver and Black’s greatest players were on the field that night, including Dave Casper, Skip Thomas and Fred Biletnikoff.

September 19, 1983

Early in the season in 1983, it was my favorite quarterback, Jim Plunkett, who led the, then, Los Angeles Raiders to victory over the Dolphins, 27-14. It was also famed quarterback, Dan Marino’s rookie year. Plunkett went 11-for-15 with 162 passing yards, and one of the best running backs in NFL history, Marcus Allen, rushed for 105 yards.

The Raiders went on to win their third and last Super Bowl to date, against the Washington Redskins on January 22, 1984.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

More from this contributor:

Oakland Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski Named Special Teams Player of the Week: Fan reaction

The Oakland Raiders Get a Win at Home Against the Chicago Bears: Fan reaction

Oakland Raiders’ Fan’s Look: Hue Jackson Proving the Naysayers Wrong

Fan’s Look at Why the Oakland Raiders Will Stay on Top of the AFC West

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Of all the teams outside the confines of the Miami Dolphins’ division in the AFL/AFC East, there is not one that has built a library of truly memorable moments like the Raiders, whether it be in Oakland or during their 13-year sojourn to Los Angeles.

As the silver and black face off with the Dolphins for the 39^th time, it will mark the first game where late Raiders patriarch Al Davis has not been involved.

Here’s a look at the top five games in the series, based on a mix of excitement and significance:

5. Raiders 31, Dolphins 21 (Sept. 22, 1975)

The Dolphins see their 27-game regular-season home win streak go by the wayside as Oakland, behind two Pete Banaszak touchdowns, grabs a 17-0 lead late in the second quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Dolphins within 24-14, Harold Hart takes a kickoff 2 yards deep in his end zone and takes it 102 yards for a touchdown.

4. Raiders 27, Dolphins 14 (Sept. 19, 1983)

Highly touted rookie Dan Marino is summoned for his NFL debut with 5:07 remaining and Miami trailing 27-0 to that year’s eventual Super Bowl champion. Like a lightning bolt, the Dolphins and their fans see their future as Marino lights up the final moments of that game with 11 completions for 90 yards, with touchdown passes to Joe Rose and Mark Duper. Marino makes one more relief appearance, and then takes the wheel for 17 glorious seasons.

3. Raiders 28, Dolphins 26 (Dec. 21, 1974)

The Dolphins, looking to extend their record run of consecutive Super Bowl appearances to four and set a mark with three straight Super Bowl wins, are beset early on as star safety Jake Scott injures his knee. Ken Stabler throws three touchdown passes but still trails 26-21. While being wrapped up by Vern Den Herder, he shot-puts a ball from the Miami 13 an instant before his knee hits. The pass finds its way to Clarence Davis, among three Dolphins in the end zone, with 26 seconds left.

2. Raiders 23, Dolphins 14 (Sept. 2, 1966)

As if a harbinger of the series and spectacular plays that were to ensue, the Raiders and Dolphins played in the Orange Bowl in Miami’s first game ever. Incredibly, on the opening kickoff, the Dolphins’ Joe Auer forever became a part of franchise folklore when he took the ball 95 yards for a touchdown. The Dolphins held the lead until there was less than five minutes left in the half, but then the experienced and talented Raiders, who would play the following season’s Super Bowl at the Orange Bowl, took over.

1. Dolphins 27, Raiders 10 (Jan. 30, 1973)

Aiming to win their third consecutive AFC Championship and set the stage for a Super Bowl repeat, the Dolphins, powered by Larry Csonka, bludgeon the Raiders in the Orange Bowl for 266 rushing yards. Csonka plows into the end zone for three touchdowns three months after the Raiders had ended the Dolphins’ 18-game win streak in Oakland. Csonka finishes with an exceptional postseason, rushing for 333 yards and six touchdowns, earning Super Bowl VIII MVP honors.

Dolphins running game vs. Cowboys run defense: The one reddest of flags that has popped up has been the drying up of the Dolphins’ between-the-tackles run game. With rookie Daniel Thomas struggling to find his early-season effectiveness, the running game has been limited to 198 yards on 68 carries (2.9 yards per rush) against the Redskins and Bills. Reggie Bush continues to have an excellent nose for the end zone with all four of his rushing touchdowns coming during the win streak. EDGE: Cowboys

Dolphins passing game vs. Cowboys pass defense: Matt Moore much more resembles the quarterback who put together an exceptional five-start stint in Carolina in 2009 (98.5 passer rating) than the one who had a putrid 55.6 rating over five starts last year with the Panthers. Moore has made the occasional play in the deep passing game while taking care of the ball (six touchdown passes with only one interception in the win streak). The line has been excellent, too, allowing only three sacks in that time, including one against the Bills where Moore had plenty of time to throw the ball away. Tight end Charles Clay looks like a draft-day steal. Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware (14 sacks) is on pace to tie Michael Strahan’s season sack record. EDGE: Dolphins

Cowboys running game vs. Dolphins run defense: While Dolphins fans have been wondering if the coaches started the wrong quarterback at the season’s start, the Cowboys’ Jason Garrett’s evaluation has been similarly held up to question as rookie DeMarco Murray has come in for an injured Felix Jones and simply dominated, with 787 total yards in his five starts (over 16 games, that would extrapolate to an NFL-record 2,518). The Dolphins’ 3.71 yards allowed per run is the fifth-best mark in the NFL. In the past four weeks, the Dolphins have found their 2010 run-defense mojo, allowing a mere 3.00 yards per carry. EDGE: Dolphins

Cowboys passing game vs. Dolphins pass defense: As hot as Moore has been, Tony Romo has been even better during November, with eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions and his worst passer rating during Dallas’ three-game win streak being a 112.2. That said, Romo hasn’t played against a defense with anywhere near the ability of the Dolphins’ since Halloween. Can you remember the last time the Dolphins’ secondary brutalized a receiving corps like they did last week against Buffalo? Nothing wrong with getting rung up with a couple fines. The team desperately needs the toughness that safeties Tyrone Culver and Yeremiah Bell have shown. EDGE: Cowboys

Dolphins special teams vs. Cowboys special teams: Cowboys punter Mat McBriar has struggled since missing the Seahawks game a couple weeks ago, with an unsightly 27.6-yard net average in the last two games (8 punts). Dallas’ return game has also been made more pedestrian this season with Dez Bryant getting relieved of his punt-return duties as he has ascended to become the Cowboys’ most dynamic weapon in their passing game. Meanwhile, the Dolphins finally made a huge positive play with their specials with the blocked-punt TD against the Bills. EDGE: Dolphins

Intangibles: The NFL loves putting the Super Bowl VI rematch on the national Thanksgiving stage whenever it can as each of the Dolphins’ past four visits to Dallas has been on Turkey Day. Miami has won two of the previous three games on the holiday. Tony Sparano returns to the city where he built his credentials as an offensive line coach, but also the place where he made the grievous mistake of starting Jake Long in the final exhibition last year, where he injured his knee. Some say he hasn’t been the same player since. EDGE: Cowboys

PREDICTION: Cowboys 17, Dolphins 16

PORT ST. LUCIE — Bob Griese says the answer to the Miami Dolphins’ problems is rather simple — their defense needs to take the ball away more.

Griese, the Jupiter resident and former Miami Dolphins star quarterback, was the guest of honor for the VanDuzer Foundation’s Blood Bowl trophy presentation at the Legacy Golf and Tennis Club on Thursday.

Griese, a long-time TV football announcer, is now in his first season as an analyst with the Dolphins Radio Network.

He talked about the Dolphins, top quarterbacks in the college game and his former teammate and good friend, Jim Mandich, who passed away last April.

Q: Why are the Dolphins now winning?

A: I don’t know, but they ought to bottle it and sell it. Really, I just think after Chad Henne got hurt, they had to get used to a new quarterback and I think Matt Moore is playing well now. Plus, the defense is playing like they did last year. They haven’t allowed a touchdown in the last couple of games and the offense is finishing off drives. Think about it, they could have won three or four of those games they lost. They just weren’t finishing at the end. They lost at the end to Cleveland and they lost at the end to Denver. And the Giants came back on them in the second half. Now, I think, they are a lot more confident, too.

Q: What was missing in the first seven games — all defeats?

A: When Miami was 11-5 back in 2008, when they went to the playoffs, they consistently took the ball away. They were first in the league (plus 17) in turnover margin and (Chad) Pennington was the quarterback and he didn’t throw interceptions. If you don’t give it away and you are taking it away a lot, you are going to be right up there. This (2011) defense had only two interceptions in the first eight games, then they had two last week. They don’t seem to take the ball away much and they need guys that can come in and make those plays.

Q: Who are your Super Bowl teams?

A: You have to say (9-0) Green Bay, and hopefully they will lose a game — or two — and you know what I’m referring to there (the 17-0 1972 Dolphins). On the other side, every team in the AFC has lost at least three games, which to me is surprising. But when push comes to shove at the end of the season, I think the Patriots — because of (QB Tom) Brady and that offense — will be the best team in the AFC. Defensively, I don’t think (New England) will be strong enough to beat Green Bay, or even a San Francisco, who is playing well right now. But if I had to pick two teams for the Super Bowl, it would be Green Bay and New England.

Q: Outside of Stanford’s Andrew Luck, who are the top college quarterbacks?

A: Well, I think there are several. I think the (Landry) Jones kid out of Oklahoma is going to be good, and so is the kid out of Oklahoma State, (Brandon) Weeden. And that Houston quarterback, (Case) Keenum, too. But you know the one who I think would be really good, if he were three or four inches taller, is the Wisconsin quarterback, (Russell) Wilson. This is his first year at Wisconsin, as he was at N.C. State before and was a baseball player there, too. He’s only 5-10 and I remember covering him when he was at North Carolina State. As a quarterback, he can run, he can throw and this kid is really good. If only he were a few inches taller, he would be going in the first round (of the NFL Draft) for sure.

Q: What’s wrong with the Big 3 — Florida, Miami, Florida State?

A: Well, it’s hard to stay at the top forever, especially when you change coaches. It’s a new system for all three of them and the kids have to learn a lot of new terminology from these new coaches. It will take them a while, but I do think Miami has a great coach in (Al) Golden.

Q: Your thoughts on Jim Mandich?

A: “Mad Dog” (Mandich) always had a smile on his face and something intelligent to say. He was a lot brighter than he acted. He liked to go crazy at times, but he was a really great guy.

BOB GRIESE

Born: Feb. 3, 1945 in Evansville, Ind.

Resides: Jupiter

College: Purdue (two-time All-American QB, also played for Boilermakers’ basketball and baseball teams; inducted into College Football Hall of Fame in 1984)

NFL: 1st-round (4th player overall) pick of Miami in 1967 — played all 14 seasons for Dolphins, passing for 25,092 yards (192 TDs), running for 994 yards (7 TDs); was a two-time Super Bowl champion, six-time Pro Bowl selection and six-time Dolphins MVP

Broadcasting: Has worked as football commentator for ABC, ESPN and NBC. Now in first year with Dolphins Radio Network, replacing former teammate Jim Mandich.

Did you Know: The Dolphins had the highest winning percentage of any professional sports team in the 1970s with Griese at quarterback.

Dolphins running game vs. Redskins run defense

Perhaps no player on the Dolphins utilized the off week to greater effect than Reggie Bush. Heading into the bye of Oct. 7, Bush hadn’t had a run or reception of longer than 23 yards since before Christmas of 2009. Since coming off the break, Bush has ripped off five plays that have gained at least 27 yards. Still, they need a healthy Daniel Thomas to establish the inside running game, or the same pass-happy play-calling tilt will be required to move the offense (19 of the Dolphins’ first 25 plays in Kansas City were passes as they built a 21-3 lead). Washington allows a gaudy 4.5 yards per rush. EDGE: Dolphins

Dolphins passing game vs. Redskins pass defense

This is perfect timing for the Dolphins as Matt Moore has been excellent over the course of his past three starts, completing 52 of 78 passes (66.7 percent) for 579 yards (7.42 yards per attempt) with four touchdown passes and only one interception for a passer rating of 100.3. Meanwhile, in the Redskins’ past three games, quarterbacks have completed 56 of 74 for 672 yards with four touchdowns and only one pickoff (115.4 passer rating). Brandon Marshall is on pace for 1,288 receiving yards at 14.0 yards per catch in 2011. EDGE: Dolphins

Redskins running game vs. Dolphins run defense

The Redskins  turned to rookie Roy Helu as their starter in the backfield over Ryan Torain last week against San Francisco. While Torain is a more traditional between-the-tackles runner (running for 135 yards last month against the Rams), Helu is more of a dual threat. The fourth-round pick had 24 touches last week, but only 10 of them were runs (for 41 yards). The Dolphins, meanwhile, have tightened up. In the first four games of the season, running backs averaged 4.31 yards per rush. Since then, that average has fallen to 3.52 a carry. EDGE: Dolphins

Redskins passing game vs. Dolphins pass defense

With Santana Moss out with a broken hand and Anthony Armstrong nagged by a hamstring pull, ex-Dolphin John Beck, who replaced Rex Grossman as the starter on Oct. 23, has leaned heavily on Helu and tight end Fred Davis, who has become one of the league’s underrated tight ends. With Beck smarting from 13 sacks in his two starts on the road, coach Mike Shanahan shortened the passing game and targeted Helu an astounding 17 times against the 49ers. The Dolphins have logged 12 of their 20 sacks in the past three games. EDGE: Dolphins

Dolphins special teams vs. Redskins special teams

Brandon Fields’ net punting average took a hit against the Chiefs as Dexter McCluster averaged 15.0 yards a return and Fields also found the end zone for a touchback. The 34.2-yard net at Arrowhead trimmed his season average to 40.7, ninth-best in the NFL. Dan Carpenter, meanwhile, has rebounded from a shaky 3-for-6 start to convert his past 13 field goal attempts. Redskins kicker Graham Gano crushed a 59-yard field goal last week, but has missed on four attempts of less than 50 yards. EDGE: Dolphins

Intangibles

Mike Shanahan returns to the site of his 1999 triumph in Super Bowl XXXIII while coach of the Broncos. Suffice to say, though, that The Mastermind looks a lot less smart nowadays without John Elway, Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe and Rod Smith lining up for him. A Dolphins loss would give them a franchise-worst eight-game home losing streak. EDGE: Redskins

Prediction: Dolphins 27, Redskins 13

The closest Miami coach Tony Sparano has been to the 0-7 start in which his club finds itself now was back in 2001, when he was a member of Marty Schottenheimer’s coaching staff at Washington.

That club started 0-5 but rallied to win its next five and finished the season 8-8 in Schottenheimer’s only season in Washington.

The Dolphins had a similar chance to bounce back from an 0-5 start Oct. 23 but blew a 15-0 lead in the final 3 minutes at home to Tim Tebow and Denver, and lost 18-15 in overtime. Then they went on the road Sunday and led the New York Giants 17-10 after three quarters before losing 20-17.

The season is now unsalvageable. All the Dolphins have left to play for is pride and to avoid the ignominy of being the first franchise in NFL history to go unbeaten (17-0, including playoffs and the Super Bowl in 1972) and winless.

That’s what makes Sunday’s game between the Dolphins and Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium so interesting. Aside from maintaining the momentum from their four-game winning streak and keeping at least a share of the lead in the AFC West, the Chiefs don’t want to be the first team to lose to Miami.

Recalling the 0-5 start with Washington, Sparano said, “We won one, then we won two, and then we won eight. So I just think we just got to win one. And not worry about eight right now. We’re worrying about winning one, and that’s the Kansas City Chiefs.”

It’s already a foregone conclusion in the Dolphins’ locker room that they’re playing for a lame-duck coach. After Miami went 7-9 for the second straight season, club chairman and managing general partner Stephen Ross went coach-hunting while Sparano was still on the payroll.

When Ross came up empty in his attempts to lure then-Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, Ross sheepishly extended Sparano’s contract for another year.

Now, with plenty of empty seats in Sun Life Stadium and a winless team, Ross, with some advice and counsel from his good friend, former Chiefs president Carl Peterson, is looking for some star power as his next head coach. Former Super Bowl champion Bill Cowher, who is close to Peterson from Cowher’s days as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator in 1989-91, was emphatic on CBS’ pregame show that he is happy in his role as a television analyst and plans to return to the studio next year.

But he never said never about returning to coaching.

Midseason coaching changes almost never work, though the Dallas Cowboys got a little bit of a lift from the dismissal of Wade Phillips and promotion of Jason Garrett at the halfway mark of last season.

Dolphins defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has head-coaching experience at San Francisco and could be an interim candidate, say if Miami heads into its nationally televised Thanksgiving Day game at Dallas with an 0-10 mark

Sparano was a lot better coach in his first season in 2008 when he had a heady veteran quarterback in Chad Pennington, and the Dolphins went from 1-15 to an 11-6 record and qualified for the playoffs. But Pennington proved injury-prone, and successor Chad Henne was inconsistent and is out for the season after suffering a shoulder injury.

So Sparano, with Matt Moore as his quarterback, is 14-25 in the last 2 1/2 years, and his message isn’t getting across anymore.

“There are only so many times you can go in the room and you can say to them we made progress … but we don’t have a win to show for it,” Sparano said. “But it’s fact; that’s where we are. We’re 0-7. Nobody likes it; it stinks.

“The effort they put out there (Sunday) was a heck of an effort. That easily could have been a win.… We’ve got to figure out a way to get ourselves over the hump in those kinds of games.… And when we do, this team’s confidence will all of a sudden jump to another level. I ain’t giving up on that. I believe wholeheartedly that they’re going to figure out a way to win.”

That is, if they’re not trying to figure out who their next head coach may be.

“I tell them to stop reading the newspapers,” Sparano told reporters. “But other than that, you people are the only ones writing their funerals, OK? So at the end of the day, those guys in that locker room believe they’re going to win games.…”

The Chiefs won’t need convincing. They knew that feeling all too well when they started 0-3. And look at them now.

From their beginning in 1966 as an expansion franchise in the old American Football League, the Miami Dolphins have given their fans great memories including an undefeated season, two Super Bowl wins and five appearances in the ultimate game. Relive five of the numerous great moments in Dolphin lore with the following game winning plays.

THE LONGEST GAME

Christmas Day 1971 brought together the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs for an AFC divisional playoff game. At the end of regulation the teams were tied 24-24 so it was on to overtime. The overtime rules in effect required the teams to start a fifth quarter and play until one team scored. The first overtime was scoreless so the game went to a second overtime or sixth quarter. The Dolphins won by a final score of 27-24 on a 37 yard field goal by Garo Yepremian ending 82 minutes and 40 seconds of football. The Dolphins would go to play in and lose the Super Bowl but they set the stage for the 1972 season.

THE 1972 DOLPHINS REMAIN UNDEFEATED

1972 is remembered as the season the Dolphins went 17-0 and won the Super Bowl. In the first round of the playoffs in game 15 they faced the Cleveland Browns and needed a fourth quarter touchdown to win the game. The game was played in Miami on December 24th. With 4:24 remaining in the game the winning play came on an 8 yard run by Jim Kiick to clinch a 20-14 win.

SUPER DUPER RETURNS

Dolphin wide receiver Mark Duper was known as Super Duper but in 1985 he was known more by his absence. He had not played since game 2 and the Dolphins were 5-4 going into an Orange Bowl showdown on November 17th with division rivals New York Jets who were 7-2. The Dolphins led late in the game until the Jets scored with 1:06 left in the game to make the score 14-10. With 49 seconds left the Dolphins found themselves at midfield when quarterback Dan Marino and Duper took over. According to an article reprinted from Sports Illustrated on markduper.com the Jets blitzed and Duper found himself in one-on-one coverage. Marino delivered the ball and Duper made the catch for a 50 yard touchdown that snatched the win from the Jets.

MARINO FAKES THE SPIKE

November 27, 1994 is the date. Giants Stadium-Miami Dolphins versus the New York Jets. The Jets lead 24-21 with less than 30 seconds left on the game clock. The Dolphins are on the Jets 8 yard line. Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino hurries his team to the line of scrimmage and yells “Clock!Clock!Clock!” and signals a spike to stop the clock according to a game report in the Sun-Sentinel. The Jets fall for the fake and Marino hits Mark Ingram(notes) in the end zone for game winning touchdown.

MARINO’S LAST WIN

Dan Marino’s final win as a Dolphin came on January 9, 2000 in a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. Down in the fourth quarter and deep in his own territory, Marino led his team to a game winning drive to finish off the hopes of the home team with a 20-17 win. The drive took 11 plays and covered 85 yards with the final play being a 2 yard run by J.J. Johnson, all accomplished despite the noise of a Seattle crowd.

Sources:

CBSSports, Miami Dolphins http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/history/MIA

Pro Football Hall of Fame, NFL’s Longest Game http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1970s/longest_day.aspx

Sports Illustrated, Simply Perfect http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1004411/6/index.htm

markduper.com, It’s Bombs Away Now That Duper Is O.K. http://www.markduper.com/si1985.html

Sun-Sentinel.com, Remember when? Marino fake-spikes Jets. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/sfl-dolclock121208,0,2966660.story

cnnsi.com, Florida Sunshine http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/2000/playoffs/wc_afc_gm2/news/2000/01/09/dolphins_seahawks_ap/

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The Miami Dolphins have had their fair share of amazing moments, from two Super Bowl wins to their record setting quarterback, Dan Marino. Here are the Dolphins’ top five greatest moments.

Miami’s Undefeated 1972 Season - This season went down in history as currently the only undefeated season. Miami finished the regular season 14-0 before winning close games against the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs before defeating the Washington Redskins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII.

Miami Becomes First Team to Reach Three Straight Super Bowls - Miami lost the first Super Bowl they were in back in 1971, but their perfect 1972 team gave them their first title. 1973 had similar results, although they might not have been perfect. The Dolphins finished the regular season with a 12-2 record before taking down the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders in the playoffs before defeating the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 in Super Bowl VIII.

Dan Marino’s Magical 1984 - Sophomore slump my rear! Marino put together an MVP season, and one of the best seasons ever by a quarterback. Marino completed 362 of his 564 passes (both league highs) for 5,084 yards (an NFL record) and 48 touchdown passes (an NFL record at the time). Dapper Dan led Miami to a 14-2 record before losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Miami Pulls a 180 in 2008 - Miami was just dreadful in 2007 as they went 1-15. 2008 brought about changes that saw Bill Parcells in the front office and new head coach Tony Sparano righting the ship. With the help of New York Jets castoff Chad Pennington(notes), Miami turned around completely, going from 1-15 in 2007 to 11-5 in 2008 and making the playoffs.

Marino’s Record Setting 1995 - Marino had himself a nice record setting year in 1995 as he broke Fran Tarkenton’s records for yards, touchdowns, and completions all in the same season. Miami went on to a 9-7 record and grabbed a playoff berth before they bowed out in the first round.

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REFS:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/

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The Miami Dolphins need to hire Gruden as their head coach.

The Jacksonville Jaguars need to hire Gruden as their head coach.

He brings buzz and offensive imagination. He’s won a Super Bowl ring and many other championships. He has Florida ties and knows how to coach young quarterbacks.

No, knuckleheads, I’m not talking about Jon Gruden.

I’m talking about Orlando’s own Jay Gruden, the first-year offensive coordinator for the shockingly good Cincinnati Bengals.

Jon, his more famous brother, just signed a lucrative 5-year extension to continue being an analyst on Monday Night Football, but not to worry. Now there is another Gruden whose name will soon be white-hot and mentioned for every NFL head-coaching vacancy that comes along. It would behoove the Jags or Dolphins to hire him while they still can.

“I have a long way to go before that happens,” says Jay, whose Bengals are 4-2 and one of the surprise teams in the league heading into their bye week. “I’m just trying to figure out a way to beat Seattle in our next game. I don’t think about what might be four or five years down the road. I’ve never worried about any job except the one I have.”

I’ve been saying for years Jay is the best coach in the Gruden family. Except he never self-promoted or went after big-time jobs. He was always satisfied being his own man — a championship head coach with the Orlando Predators in the Arena League or the Orlando Tuskers in the United Football League. He got his NFL fix by being a part-time assistant on his brother’s Super Bowl-winning staff with the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Jay just wanted to coach ball and run his own show, even if the show played off-Broadway. The only reason he stopped coaching the Predators and Tuskers is because both their leagues would eventually go belly-up. He admits now it’s nice to be in the NFL, where he knows his paycheck isn’t going to bounce.

“That’s certainly a benefit,” he says and laughs. “I was in the Arena League and it went bankrupt. I was in the UFL and it started having financial problems. Then when I came to the NFL, there was a lockout. For a while, it was like I was a black cat.”

He also wondered what sort of mess he was getting into when — as soon as he took the offensive coordinator’s job in Cincinnati — franchise quarterback Carson Palmer announced he would rather retire than play another minute for the perennially pathetic Bungles. An extended standoff ensued in which Palmer forfeited his $11 million salary and moved back home to California.

At one point, Gruden was going to fly out west, introduce himself and try to persuade Palmer to come back and play in a new offensive system. Palmer sent word that he didn’t want to talk to anybody from the Bengals about football.

“If he didn’t want to talk about football, I wasn’t going to fly out to California to talk to him about his family,” Gruden says now. “I never talked to Carson one time, not once. But in the end, it worked out best for both parties.”

Gruden, of course, is talking about the blockbuster trade earlier this week in which the Bengals got two potential first-round draft picks from the Raiders in exchange for Palmer. It was, in my opinion, the shrewdest deal since Peter Minuit acquired Manhattan Island from the Algonquin Indians for $24, a dozen otter pelts and six bottles of firewater.

The Bengals already have a good, young nucleus of talent and now get two potential first-round picks for an aging, injury-prone quarterback who quit on his team. Are you kidding me? This was gridiron grand larceny by the Bengals, who already have a rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton, who may turn out to be the best of all the young quarterbacks starting this year (see Cam Newton, Tim Tebow, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, et al), and A.J. Green, the rookie wide receiver from Georgia who is a superstar in the making.

And, putting all the offensive pieces together is Gruden, one of the brightest offensive minds in football. I hate to say I told you so, but when Gruden was coaching the Preds and Tuskers, it was clear to me that he was way too talented to stay in Orlando forever.

“It would be like Kenny Chesney spending his entire career as a lounge singer at the Yeehaw Junction Holiday Inn or Picasso working in the paint department at Lowe’s,” I once wrote of Gruden coaching minor league football in Orlando.

Back then, I urged one of the state’s big-time college teams to hire him as a head coach or offensive coordinator, but they ignored me.

Their mistake.

Hopefully, the Jags and Dolphins don’t commit the same gaffe.

It’s time for one of our pitiful NFL teams to go get a Gruden as their next head coach.

Not Jon but Jay.

mbianchi@tribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at BianchiWrites. Listen to his radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on 740-AM.

It truly is one of the NFL’s better, bitter rivalries by any measure, and might be the best of all if one starts with the animus each city’s fans feel for the other. Welcome to Jets Week, Dolfans, except this latest renewal of Miami vs. New York limps in with the usual bravado nowhere to be found

The swagger has been thoroughly slapped from both teams.

The matchup is Embarrassment vs. Calamity.

So if the Dolphins and Jets are both down so low, why are the stakes so deliciously high?

This Monday night’s game at New York would be bigger if it involved unbeaten teams or playing for the AFC East lead, sure, or certainly better for TV ratings, at least. But for me the direness and the desperation swirling around the two teams’ 92nd meeting give it an element every bit as compelling.

Success is fine, but panic and failure have a macabre attraction all their own.

The Jets have lost three games in a row, the blustery wind knocked out of bodacious coach Rex Ryan. It is a good thing the team mascot is Fireman Ed because there are plenty of fires to put out up there.

Ryan’s supposedly vaunted defense has been beaten up for 98 points in those consecutive losses. And receivers have complained about the play-calling of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer in what The New York Daily News described with its customary back-page headline subtlety as:

MUTINY!

The Jets were among preseason Super Bowl favorites but now are at a loss to explain the losses, leaving us to savor and enjoy what once seemed impossible: Rex Ryan, humbled if not speechless.

Of course the Dolphins trump NYJ’s calamity with their own embarrassment of an 0-4 record, a head coach on the firing line and fans flocking onto the “Suck For Luck” bandwagon that advocates finishing awfully enough to gain the overall No. 1 draft pick and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

That Chad Henne’s shot in Miami is now likely past tense seemed obvious from the moment the club placed him on injured reserve last week, ending his season. The Henne era ebbing ranks up there in the Goes Without Saying category with coach Tony Sparano fighting for his job and the bulletin that Miami might not make the playoffs.

Gathering clouds

Sparano working for his coaching future Monday night alone makes this game’s stakes compellingly higher than any that would exist this early in a normal season.

The Dolphins lead the league in unhappiness (edging the Rams, Eagles, Colts and hard-charging Jets), but lead the state in football woe as well. Which is saying something.

We are — right now, at this very point in time — the state of sadness in football.

The Miami Hurricanes, Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles all lost Saturday on the same weekend for the first time since Oct. 30, 2004. And before that it had not happened since Oct. 14, 1978.

The rare weekend-gone-to-L meant none of our state’s college Big 3 is ranked in the latest Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since Dec. 6, 1982, breaking a remarkable streak of 472 consecutive poll weeks with at least one state school (and often all three) represented.

The weekend was just as bleak in our NFL division, where the Jacksonville Jaguars blew three leads and lost to Cincinnati; the Tampa Bay Bucs were embarrassed, 48-3, in San Francisco; and only a blessed bye week spared the winless Dolphins.