DAVIE—

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor began by saying the moment was unfortunate.

He then quickly corrected himself.

He considered Wednesday’s retirement announcement as a fortunate day in his personal life. After 15 seasons, 13 with the Dolphins, Taylor will play his final game Sunday against the New York Jets at Sun Life Stadium.

“This will be my last game as a Miami Dolphin as a professional football player,” Taylor said. “I look forward to enjoying this week and soaking it all in for the next few days. We have a game left to play. There will be time for thank yous and goodbyes. This is not the time for that.”

Taylor will end his career against the team he played for during the 2010 season. He spent another year with the Washington Redskins, but will always be remembered for his days with the Dolphins. He recorded most of his success in Miami, where he put up numbers worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.

“In my opinion, that’s a no-brainer Hall of Fame player,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “What a guy. He was a phenomenal teammate here. We only had him the one year, yet he affected the team so positively.”

Taylor ranks sixth in NFL history with 139.5 sacks. The league began counting the statistic in 1982. His 131 sacks with the Dolphins are the most in franchise history. Taylor was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, winning the Defensive Player of the Year in 2006.

He said he made the decision after consulting with friends, including former Dolphins teammates and brother-in-law Zach Thomas.

“I figured out this was the right move to make, the right time to do it,” Taylor said. “It’s been a tough year, unfortunately. We’ve had some good times, we’ve had a lot of bad times, too.”

Taylor said the lone regret of his career was never winning a championship with the Dolphins. Team owner Stephen Ross released a statement saying Taylor “will always remain an integral part of the Dolphin family.”

“We congratulate him for all he has done and we are looking forward to continuing to work with him as he begins the next chapter in his life,” Ross said.

Taylor compared his locker-room experiences with the Dolphins as a fraternity. He spent many days playing dominoes with teammates after practice, building a friendly rivalry with receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall jokingly said he let Taylor win a game Wednesday so that “he’s going out a winner.”

“I played dominoes with the guy every day,” Marshall said. “There are only a few guys that have that fire that loves to compete that hates to lose. The thing I noticed about J.T. when we’re playing dominoes is that it doesn’t matter, it’s a friendly game, there’s nothing on the line but he hates to lose.”

Taylor said his future plans are unknown, but they won’t involve returning to football.

“I’m not even going to leave the door open for any of that stuff,” Taylor said. “I might even change my cell phone number so they can’t get me.”

DAVIE—

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor began by saying the moment was unfortunate.

He then quickly corrected himself.

He considered Wednesday’s retirement announcement as a fortunate day in his personal life. After 15 seasons, 13 with the Dolphins, Taylor will play his final game Sunday against the New York Jets at Sun Life Stadium.

“This will be my last game as a Miami Dolphin as a professional football player,” Taylor said. “I look forward to enjoying this week and soaking it all in for the next few days. We have a game left to play. There will be time for thank yous and goodbyes. This is not the time for that.”

Taylor will end his career against the team he played for during the 2010 season. He spent another year with the Washington Redskins, but will always be remembered for his days with the Dolphins. He recorded most of his success in Miami, where he put up numbers worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.

“In my opinion, that’s a no-brainer Hall of Fame player,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “What a guy. He was a phenomenal teammate here. We only had him the one year, yet he affected the team so positively.”

Taylor ranks sixth in NFL history with 139.5 sacks. The league began counting the statistic in 1982. His 131 sacks with the Dolphins are the most in franchise history. Taylor was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, winning the Defensive Player of the Year in 2006.

He said he made the decision after consulting with friends, including former Dolphins teammates and brother-in-law Zach Thomas.

“I figured out this was the right move to make, the right time to do it,” Taylor said. “It’s been a tough year, unfortunately. We’ve had some good times, we’ve had a lot of bad times, too.”

Taylor said the lone regret of his career was never winning a championship with the Dolphins. Team owner Stephen Ross released a statement saying Taylor “will always remain an integral part of the Dolphin family.”

“We congratulate him for all he has done and we are looking forward to continuing to work with him as he begins the next chapter in his life,” Ross said.

Taylor compared his locker-room experiences with the Dolphins as a fraternity. He spent many days playing dominoes with teammates after practice, building a friendly rivalry with receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall jokingly said he let Taylor win a game Wednesday so that “he’s going out a winner.”

“I played dominoes with the guy every day,” Marshall said. “There are only a few guys that have that fire that loves to compete that hates to lose. The thing I noticed about J.T. when we’re playing dominoes is that it doesn’t matter, it’s a friendly game, there’s nothing on the line but he hates to lose.”

Taylor said his future plans are unknown, but they won’t involve returning to football.

“I’m not even going to leave the door open for any of that stuff,” Taylor said. “I might even change my cell phone number so they can’t get me.”

DAVIE—

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor began by saying the moment was unfortunate.

He then quickly corrected himself.

He considered Wednesday’s retirement announcement as a fortunate day in his personal life. After 15 seasons, 13 with the Dolphins, Taylor will play his final game Sunday against the New York Jets at Sun Life Stadium.

“This will be my last game as a Miami Dolphin as a professional football player,” Taylor said. “I look forward to enjoying this week and soaking it all in for the next few days. We have a game left to play. There will be time for thank yous and goodbyes. This is not the time for that.”

Taylor will end his career against the team he played for during the 2010 season. He spent another year with the Washington Redskins, but will always be remembered for his days with the Dolphins. He recorded most of his success in Miami, where he put up numbers worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.

“In my opinion, that’s a no-brainer Hall of Fame player,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “What a guy. He was a phenomenal teammate here. We only had him the one year, yet he affected the team so positively.”

Taylor ranks sixth in NFL history with 139.5 sacks. The league began counting the statistic in 1982. His 131 sacks with the Dolphins are the most in franchise history. Taylor was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, winning the Defensive Player of the Year in 2006.

He said he made the decision after consulting with friends, including former Dolphins teammates and brother-in-law Zach Thomas.

“I figured out this was the right move to make, the right time to do it,” Taylor said. “It’s been a tough year, unfortunately. We’ve had some good times, we’ve had a lot of bad times, too.”

Taylor said the lone regret of his career was never winning a championship with the Dolphins. Team owner Stephen Ross released a statement saying Taylor “will always remain an integral part of the Dolphin family.”

“We congratulate him for all he has done and we are looking forward to continuing to work with him as he begins the next chapter in his life,” Ross said.

Taylor compared his locker-room experiences with the Dolphins as a fraternity. He spent many days playing dominoes with teammates after practice, building a friendly rivalry with receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall jokingly said he let Taylor win a game Wednesday so that “he’s going out a winner.”

“I played dominoes with the guy every day,” Marshall said. “There are only a few guys that have that fire that loves to compete that hates to lose. The thing I noticed about J.T. when we’re playing dominoes is that it doesn’t matter, it’s a friendly game, there’s nothing on the line but he hates to lose.”

Taylor said his future plans are unknown, but they won’t involve returning to football.

“I’m not even going to leave the door open for any of that stuff,” Taylor said. “I might even change my cell phone number so they can’t get me.”

The stuff that Todd Bowles is concerned about this week seems on the surface important because a victory against the hated New York Jets is the first thing on his mind. So he’s worried about Jake Long’s health and making sure his replacement is ready. He’s thinking about how to get the Dolphins to play hard because they didn’t do that in the season finale last year. He’s concerned about getting tight end Anthony Fasano back in the lineup, something everyone expects.

But all those thoughts rattling around in the interim coach’s head are basically much sound and fury signifying nothing.

The stuff everyone is truly interested in and talking about today is which direction the Dolphins are going in the next month, not next weekend.

Yes, this team might be focused on Sunday, but fans and the team’s brain trust are probably more focused on what happens after this final game is played — because the memory of one game will soon fade but what happens this offseason will affect the franchise for years.

If the Dolphins plan it right — something that isn’t always a certainty — there should be a news conference next Monday or Tuesday and at that point owner Stephen Ross will announce a grand new direction for his franchise.

On a rare occasion when Ross spoke to me privately this season, he promised to “not be passive” this offseason. He promised “smart moves that will cause people to sit up and take notice.”

He also, in a bolder moment, said he has been “thinking about the offseason for a while, talking to a lot of people,” and suggested big things are about to happen.

The sense I got is Ross intends to win the offseason and have that carry over into next season.

So maybe next week he introduces Carl Peterson as the club’s new president in charge of bridging the divide between football operations and the business side of the organization. Maybe that announcement is followed by a well-thought and carefully executed plan for hiring Miami’s 10th coach, a man fans will find competent and capable and worthy of respect.

Or maybe the league sources who insist Peterson is being hired are wrong and there is no Peterson introduction — ever.

Quick launch

But if Ross is on his game, he’s still in front of the media 24 to 48 hours after the season ends to announce the launch of that coach search that will capture the imagination of fans for days if not weeks.

The point is the Dolphins at some point after Sunday should turn the page on what has been a terribly disappointing time and signal a new day and new direction is about to dawn.

Ross, a man who loves orange carpets and glitz at his football stadium, should realize this is the right time for a big gathering to announce the start of what we all hope is a big showing this offseason.

Ross in the coming month or so will interview a handful, maybe more, of candidates to fill Miami’s coaching vacancy. It is only the most important decision the owner must make since he committed $1.1 billion to purchase the team.

And, of course, it will be a difficult decision.

I know Ross values experience. He values a person’s history when he’s hiring. He values a person’s name. He values energy and charisma.

Feeling the heat

I also know Ross feels pressure to get this right because his franchise’s future in both the standings and in the stands hang in the balance.

If Ross doesn’t find the right man to coach the Dolphins now, fans will continue to stay away as they did this year. If Ross doesn’t land the right guy, the losing will continue as it has throughout an ownership tenure that has yet to taste a winning season.

There is no room for error here.

So whom is Ross going to hire?

Everyone says a star — a Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher or Jeff Fisher. It is interesting, however, that the candidate list general manager Jeff Ireland will hand over to the owner will include all types of candidates.

That means past Super Bowl winners will be on it, but so will hot coordinators, and so will some retreads, such as Brian Billick. It’ll be a comprehensive list that Ross must pore over.

I wouldn’t expect Ross to give any hints in which direction he’s headed. He’ll have his advisers give their opinions. He’ll listen to Ireland. But this decision will belong to him.

And that hire and the decision to hire Peterson or not will set the stage for next season and beyond. It certainly will make us forget the small detail of playing one more game this season.

 ”We must be the best team to start 0-7 (in NFL history).”

The Dolphins have looked like a totally different team during that stretch, but Dolfans may be excused if they do not share Burnett’s enthusiasm. Miami’s improved play could have as much to do with it’s soft second-half schedule than its inherent talent.

Miami’s first seven opponents, all of whom beat the Dolphins, sport a combined .561 winning percentage. Their next seven opponents have not fared as well, with a .440 winning percentage (The 5-9 Bills were only counted once, though the Dolphins have beaten them twice).

Beating the teams you’re supposed to beat (and losing to the teams that are supposed to beat you) does not make you the “best team to start 0-7.” It just makes you a mediocre team that happened to start 0-7.

The Dolphins are riding high thanks to their current hot streak, but make no mistake, the team as it is currently constructed is not good enough to compete for a playoff spot next season.

There are some important pieces already in place, like WR Brandon Marshall, CB Vontae Davis, and LB Cameron Wake, to name a few. If general manager Jeff Ireland can draft a good quarterback and acquire some help in the offensive line and defensive secondary over the offseason, then the Dolphins might actually be able to take a step forward next season, as opposed to the steps back the team has taken in recent years.

Ironically, each win this season makes it more difficult for the Dolphins to draft the quarterback of their dreams come April. With top prospect Andrew Luck expected to be gone after the first pick is made, the Dolphins might not be able to get the highly-touted Matt Barkley, Robert Griffin III, or Landry Jones by the time they make their first pick in the draft. 

If the season ended today, the Dolphins would have the tenth pick in the draft, with at least three teams ahead of them in need of a quarterback of the future.

These wins in November and December may feel good now, but if the Dolphins lose out on a top-flight quarterback in April because of their draft position, they will be the football equivalent of a box of donuts: tasty now, but full of empty calories that will haunt you later.

Allen Eyestone/The Palm Beach Post

Through 13 games, Reggie Bush has a career-high 770 rushing yards on 4.6 yards per carry. He needs to average 76.7 yards over his last three games to reach 1,000 for the season.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – It doesn’t matter to linebacker Chris Kelsay whether the Miami Dolphins changed coaches this week, or which quarterback — Matt Moore or former Bills player J.P. Losman — will start against Buffalo on Sunday.

Kelsay instead has payback on his mind because don’t think for a moment the Bills’ usually even-keeled veteran has forgotten how the Dolphins rubbed it in following their 35-8 win at Miami a month ago.

“Basically, they just told us that we laid down. They told us that we threw in the towel, we quit. I don’t care who you are, that stings,” Kelsay said this week. “The way they kind of called us out after the game, we don’t have a good taste in our mouth, so we’re going to give them everything we got.”

Kelsay was referring to safety Yeremiah Bell who, following the game, was quoted as saying the Bills “laid down.”

On Thursday, Bell stood by what he said.

“I like to talk noise,” Bell said. “You’ve got to go out and back it up. We know what happened the first game, and we know they’re going to come out with a vengeance.”

In the big picture, Bell’s comments don’t come anywhere close to matching the vulgar gesture former Dolphins linebacker Bryan Cox made to fans prior to a game in Buffalo in 1993 during the heyday of this once intense AFC East rivalry. And Cox, a first-year Dolphins assistant coach, will be on the sideline Sunday.

Bell has at least provided some much-needed flavour to a meaningless matchup in the NFL’s only game this week between two teams with no shot at making the playoffs.

“If that gets (the rivalry) riled up, I’m all for that,” Bell said.

The Bills (5-8), who will miss the playoffs for a 12th straight season, are searching for a win after having lost six straight.

The Dolphins (4-9) have much larger concerns. Miami’s in the midst of its fourth coaching search since 2004 after Tony Sparano was fired this week and replaced on an interim basis by Todd Bowles.

And if that’s not enough to stir anyone’s fancy, there’s the prospect of Losman — the Bills 2004 first-round draft pick — facing his former team in what would be his first start since 2008, his final season in Buffalo.

Moore, who sustained head and neck injuries in a 26-10 loss to the Eagles last weekend, took a majority of the snaps in practice Thursday, but stopped short of saying whether he’ll start against Buffalo.

Bowles said no decision has been made.

Quarterback is but one of the first-time head coach’s many concerns in trying to salvage what’s left of the Dolphins’ fifth losing season in six years.

“We have three games left. It’s not really about me,” he said. “It’s just about trying to keep the team afloat.”

As for revisiting Bell’s comments from a month ago, Bowles shrugged them off.

“I don’t think that’s a big deal one way or the other as far as we’re concerned, or probably where they’re concerned,” he said.

Bowles might want to think again, because Kelsay isn’t the only Bills player who made note of what was said.

“They felt they needed to come out and say stuff that wasn’t relevant, and it started a little fire in me,” receiver Stevie Johnson said. “You don’t let anybody come into your place and talk crap about you.”

Of course, the injury-riddled Bills will have to back that up with more than words. And they’re going to have to perform much better than they did in Miami, when Buffalo was held to a season-low 245 yards, went 0 for 12 on third-down, had a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and lost its top offensive threat, running back Fred Jackson, to a season-ending leg injury.

The Bills are a shell of the upstart, swaggering team that got off to an impressive 5-2 start. Aside from Jackson, Buffalo’s also without its top defensive player, tackle Kyle Williams (left foot).

Their defence has allowed an average of 32 points while managing just five sacks and five takeaways in its past six games.

And their offence is no better. After averaging 31 points an outing through its first seven games, Buffalo has a total of 66 points in its past six.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is taking the brunt of the criticism, and coming off one of the worst starts of his career in a 37-10 loss at San Diego. Fitzpatrick went 13 of 34 for 176 yards, and threw two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.

“I think any time you have a bad effort like I did last week, you want to get back on track,” Fitzpatrick said. “These last three games are very important to all of us in getting some of that confidence back: Not only for me, but for everybody on the team.”

___

AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Davie, Fla., contributed to this report.

Despite denials by both sides, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and former Chiefs president Carl Peterson continue to discuss the idea of Peterson joining the team in an executive position, multiple league sources said this week.

“Both want to make it work,” one NFL source said. “[Stephen] Ross wants more management experience” in the organization.

One source said no deal had been struck as of early Wednesday, with the sides needing to work out exact responsibilities and compensation. But several people said momentum is building toward Peterson joining the team, potentially as executive vice president/football operations.

If the talks do not materialize into a formal job, Peterson would still consult Ross as a close friend.

If he takes the job, Peterson would be the top executive on the football side, above general manager Jeff Ireland. But Ireland still could remain in charge of day-to-day personnel decisions, with Peterson offering input. Peterson once hired Ireland as a scout in Kansas City, and the two men get along.

If the job materializes quickly, Peterson could join the team’s search for a new coach. Peterson was the Chiefs’ president, CEO and general manager from 1989 to 2008, during which Kansas City was 176-141-1, with nine playoff appearances.

ESPN initially reported this week that Peterson would join the Dolphins. Though Peterson said the report was inaccurate, Ross did not rule it out during his Monday news conference, saying only that it had not been discussed.

Coaching updates

Dan Marino told the Dolphins’ website on Wednesday that he doesn’t expect Miami to lure Bill Cowher, who was an assistant coach with the Chiefs during Peterson’s tenure.

“I would love to see him be the Dolphins coach, but I don’t think his mindset is that he wants to coach again,” Marino said. “He may change that over time but my feeling is that he’s a pretty straight-forward guy that tells the truth all the time. And he said on TV that he doesn’t have any plans to come back [and coach]. I believe him.”

• Peterson has high regard for Marty Schottenheimer, 68, who was 101-58 during Peterson’s tenure in Kansas City, and 200-126 overall (but just 5-13 in the playoffs). Schottenheimer, who won a title in the UFL this year, cannot be ruled out as a fallback possibility, though he is not considered among the team’s top targets.

• LSU coach Les Miles — who would be considered by the Dolphins if they cannot lure a big NFL name such as Cowher, Jon Gruden, Jeff Fisher or Brian Billick — has tried to diffuse any such speculation. “He wanted everyone to know that he is not interested in the Miami job,” LSU spokesman Michael Bonnette said.

Draft talk

The Dolphins enter Week 15 holding the seventh spot in the first round of the draft, behind Indianapolis (0-13), the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings (both 2-11), the Washington Redskins (4-9), Carolina Panthers (4-9) and Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9).

Six teams, including the Dolphins, are 4-9. Of those six, the teams whose opponents have the worst winning percentages would get the highest picks among the six. The Dolphins should be most concerned with potential tiebreakers with Washington and Cleveland because both teams also need quarterbacks. The Redskins have a significant lead over the Dolphins in that strength of schedule tiebreaker (.456 to .524), meaning Washington likely would pick ahead of Miami if both teams finish tied. If the Dolphins and Browns finish tied, it will be a tossup. Miami’s opponents this season are 109-99. Cleveland’s are 110-98.

Among quarterbacks, ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Andrew Luck first among all prospects, Matt Barkley sixth, Robert Griffin III 11th and Landry Jones 14th. But many expect Griffin will rise into the top 10. Barkley, Griffin and Jones — all juniors — have not said whether they are turning pro.

The three final mile in the marathon the Miami Dolphins have been running just got harder.

Todd Bowles’ candid approach will test the Dolphins.

The players lost their leader Tony Sparano, who also doubled as their motivation.

Now the season shifts from “Save Sparano” to “Save Yourself” heading into the final three games, which begins with Sunday’s road contest against the Buffalo Bills.

I don’t envy interim coach Todd Bowles, who has never stood in front of the whole team before TODAY.

In my column, which ran in Wednesday’s  newspaper, I explain the mindset of the players – from the young (Jared Odrick), to the powerful (Karlos Dansby), to the aged veteran (Will Allen) who has been there and done that.

Make no mistake about it, Bowles will have to fight against an every man for himself mentality, which doesn’t exactly work well in a team sport.

However, from what I know about Bowles and his approach, he’ll be just fine.

Allen said he’s doubtful Bowles will change that approach, which is candid and honest.

“Todd is no nonsense. It may appear that he’s an easy going coach sometimes, but that’s only if you’re doing things right,” Allen said. “He’s not afraid to call you out. If you’re doing something wrong you’ll hear about it first hand. He’s not going to pull you to the side. Everyone in the room is going to hear him do it.”

Bowles does a post game breakdown for every player in the secondary, outlining their positives and negatives for the past game performance.

He gives ALL the breakdowns to every player. He goes over the performance of every play in front of every player and it forces them to be accountable for their actions, decisions and performance.

Life earlier this season was rough for members of the Dolphins secondary, which were allowing opposing quarterbacks to produce a cumulative 103.1 QB rating during the team’s 0-7 start. However, the secondary has tightened up since November, dropping that QB rating to 85.4 during the past six games.

I’m told Bowles has a no nonsense, take no prisoners approach that can be humbling.

“As a player it makes you know where you stand at all time,” Allen said. “For the rest of the team its going to be difficult and awkward, but for us (members of the secondary) its going to be business as usual.”

Coincidentally, Bowles becomes the 10th African-American coach in the NFL this season. That’s 10 out of 32, which you have to believe is an all-time high. And 11 coaches (if you include Carolina’s Ron Rivera, who is Hispanic) are minorities.

Talk about progress being made!

Unfortunately, three of those coaches – Romeo Crennel in Kansas City, Mel Tucker in Jacksonville and Bowles in Miami – are interim coaches.

But everyone has to start somewhere, and its refreshing to see progress being made from a diversity standpoint.

Coincidentally Bowles, who has interviewed for head coaching jobs in Detroit and St. Louis, was a candidate to become defensive coordinator in Dallas and Arizona this past offseason.

The Dolphins blocked those lateral moves because they didn’t want to lose Bowles. This is his opportunity to show the rest of the NFL what he’s all about and a strong performance could make him the next Perry Fewell or Leslie Frazier.

It’s best to let things digest for a couple of hours before trying to break it down, regurgitate what you’ve just swallowed. That approach keeps us from jumping to any hard and firm conclusions.

It also allows us to avoid foot in mouth disease, which Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross has battled since purchasing the team.

Those who have followed me for a while should know I’m not a knee jerk kind of guy. Jerk maybe….but not knee jerk.

I have to dissect things, and to do that you need more information, you need to understand people’s thought process. You need to take a step back and see the full portrait. Quick glances won’t do it.

Honestly, I can’t say I’m there at this point. Here’s why.

I still don’t understand why General Manager Jeff Ireland survived the Davie nuking of the Trifecta. Wasn’t he part of the problem?

Didn’t Ireland play a part in the hiring of Tony Sparano, and the selection of Chad Henne and Pat White, the two quarterbacks this regime drafted, and struggled developing.

My research allows me to give Ireland a pass on White since he was the person who fought his selection the most. But not Henne.

While Ireland might have signed Matt Moore, he also sanctioned Moore not being allowed to compete with Henne for the starting spot during training camp, which was a colossal mistake.

Also, I still don’t understand why Ross needed to fire Sparano on Monday. Removing Sparano from this team and promoting Todd Bowles likely won’t improve its performance. But then again, do the individuals in charge want the Dolphins to improve, or get worse so late in the game?

That’s the question that keeps lingering in my head, especially with three top tier draft prospects at quarterback – Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Robert Griffin III – likely being in play for the 2012 draft?

Excuse the conspiracy theorist in me.

Here’s what I’m comfortable enough to conclude.

Ireland has been endorsed by Ross’ adviser Carl Peterson, and the fact his additions (except for right tackle Marc Colombo, whom he must have blamed on Sparano) turned it around during the team’s four wins hinted the Dolphins’ problems in 2011 was coaching.

As for the timeline, which didn’t exactly come out of left field considering Ross openly admitted Sparano couldn’t produce a losing season, they needed to fire Sparano NOW because it was going to be done anyway.

Ross couldn’t chance Sparano rallying the troops again and winning the final three, making this decision a more difficult sell.

Ross handed Sparano the pink slip when the coach, and team were at a low following the blowout to the Eagles, which featured a troublesome back injury to Jake Long, and Matt Moore suffering a concussion that might force him to miss Sunday’s game against Buffalo.

Is Jeff Fisher the front runner to become the Dolphins’ next coach?

Ross also couldn’t get behind the rest of the teams – Jacksonville and Kansas City right now….San Diego, St. Louis and maybe Indianapolis and Philadelphia later – looking for head coaches.

It’s never a bad idea to be first in line, especially when you can begin these discussions right now, getting a jump start on the other desirable destinations (San Diego is the one that concerns me the most because of their supposedly elite quarterback, solid defense and great location).

However, can’t say I’m absolutely comfortable with the individuals picking the next head coach and quarterback for the Dolphins. But I’ll wait until I we have a better view of the landscape.

I will say this…..the Dolphins job has former Titans coach Jeff Fisher written all over it.

Here’s what else the Sun-Sentinel is saying….

Sun-Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde says Dolphins owner Steve Ross made his biggest hire yesterday — Jeff Ireland.

Dolphins need to go for the splash hire. That’s Steve Ross’ style.

Here’s MY LIST of 10 hot coaching candidates for the Dolphins…from veterans, to hot assistants, to the college coach.

Tony Sparano’s yearly highs and lows. He started out so how….what happened?

With Sparano fired, where do Dolphins turn now? Mike Berardino points out Steve Ross’ instincts were right last time.

So…where should the Dolphins go from here?

G.G.A.T.G.

When the Dolphins’ offensive line was giving up sacks at a league-worst pace, the Dolphins were 0-7.

Recent improvement led to four wins and one solid performance in a loss at Dallas.

It wasn’t a shock then that the unit’s worst performance of the season stalled the team’s recent momentum in a 26-10 home loss to the Eagles on Sunday.

An early injury to star left tackle Jake Long contributed to a dismal outing in which the Dolphins gave up nine sacks and starting quarterback Matt Moore was knocked out of the game with an unspecified head injury in the third quarter.

The Dolphins had given up only eight sacks over the previous five games.

After Sunday’s game, none of the linemen had clear answers.

“You know, until we watch the film we can’t really tell what happened,” guard Richie Incognito said. “We gave up way too many quarterback pressures and hits, and too many sacks.”

Only days after being recognized as the league’s best offensive line in Week 13 by John Madden, the line could not stop the Eagles’ consistent pass rush.

The Dolphins pushed the Raiders’ defense around last week, which led to a 209-yard rushing performance and a 34-14 victory. Reggie Bush finished with 103 yards on 14 carries Sunday. But it was overshadowed by the lack of pass protection.

The nine sacks allowed tied a franchise-worst for a single game, last occurring against New England on Oct. 17, 1999.

The performance was reminiscent of the team’s play during its 0-7 start, during which it gave up 27 sacks — a league-worst during that span.

“You never want to see your quarterbacks go down,” Incognito said. “That’s on us, and it’s just an unfortunate situation.”

Long injured his lower back on the team’s second drive of the game and did not return.

That started the downward spiral, as the Dolphins gave up eight of the nine sacks in his absence. Nate Garner, a guard, was brought in to replace Long at tackle. But Garner was overmatched. He was penalized for holding and for a face mask.

“I get some repetitions at the position in practice,” Garner said. “I just have to play better.”

Mike Pouncey was also penalized twice for holding. Vernon Carey appeared to re-injure his ankle and left the game briefly. He returned, but neither he nor Marc Colombo was very effective.

Incognito refused to make excuses about the injuries.

“Jake’s our cornerstone out there,” Incognito said. “To be missing him means an uphill battle from there.

“[The injuries] played [no part] whatsoever. This is professional sports. Guys go down, and other guys have to step in. It’s a tough deal when guys get hurt, but guys have to come in and step up.”

Had the Philadelphia Eagles traveled to sunny South Florida to meet the Miami Dolphins in the first half of the season, the Eagles would have been massive favorites to return with a win.

The Dolphins opened the season looking like they were playing for the
No. 1 draft pick rather than a Super Bowl, losing seven games in
succession. After a brutal overtime loss to Denver in October that kicked off the Tim Tebow carnival, Miami stood 1-10 in its last 11 home games and seemed ready for an utter collapse.

But since then, Miami is 4-1 — and the loss came on the final play at Dallas — and confidence is soaring among the Dolphins.

“I think this team, we definitely haven’t played up to our capability,” Miami running back Reggie Bush said.

The same could be said about the 4-8 Eagles, of course, but this may be a case where Miami’s on-an-upswing 4-8 record looks a lot better than Philadelphia’s slumping 4-8 as the teams meet today (1 p.m.) in a must-win for the Birds to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.

Quarterback Michael Vick will return for the Eagles after missing three games in which Philadelphia went 1-2, but Vick is 3-9 in last 12 games as a starter.

The quarterback situation may be more significant for Miami. Since quarterback Matt Moore has found his touch after taking over for the injured Chad Henne, the Dolphins seem to have found the unity of purpose that has eluded the Eagles for much of 2011.

“I think we’re a lot stronger, a lot better team than what we’ve been able to show and what we showed early on,” Bush said. “And I think when you see when we’re are all on the same page and clicking you can see how dangerous we can be from the receivers, to the tight ends, running backs, quarterback, everybody across the board and then you throw the defense in there and they’ve been doing a great job of really limiting the other team from scoring touchdowns this past month or so. So I think all across the board when we focus down and we focus on the task ahead which is just being aggressive, attacking the whole game. I think that’s what we do best when we’re all on the same page. And when we do that we’re a force to reckon with.”

Bush’s play has been a spark for Miami, with 332 yards rushing and five TDs in the last five games.

“You talk about a spark plug for a team and he’s the guy,” said Moore,
who has thrown eight touchdown passes and just one interception in the Dolphins’ five-game turnaround. “He’s just been doing a heck of a job. You got to give a lot of credit to Reggie but you got to give a lot of
credit to the offensive line as well. They’re doing a good job for him
and opening up holes. I think naturally Reggie is just seeing it. He’s
got a great instinct for the game and he’s doing what he does best. He’s taking it outside when he needs to but he’s just been doing all the
right things. It’s nice to see a good guy play well and do those things
for a team. He does a ton in the locker room as well. He’s a leader and
a veteran guy. He’s doing it right.”

Eagles’ defensive end Trent Cole said the same about Moore.

“The quarterback’s stepped it up,” Cole said. “I think that’s a big part of the reason that whole team is doing what they’re doing now. They’ve been playing well and the quarterback has contributed a lot to their team.”

The Dolphins have scored 139 points in the last five games after managing just 107 in the first seven games, and while Moore’s improvement and Bush’s nose for the end zone have helped, Miami is getting it done up front.

Miami won the John Madden Protectors Award for boasting the best offensive line in Week 13 in last week’s 34-14 rout of Oakland, where the Dolphins ran for a 2011-best 209 yards and allowed just one sack. During that 0-7 disaster of a start, Miami allowed 27 sacks and scored just two rushing TDs. Since then, the Dolphins have surrendered just eight sacks and run for eight TDs.

“I think our communication has really improved,” Miami left guard Richie Incognito told the Miami Herald. “I think as the season has gone on we’ve really grown together. We’ve taken our growing pains together. Now, we’ve played against a lot of defenses, seen a lot of looks and it’s nice to have all five of us on the same page.”

Miami coach Tony Sparano, on the hottest of hot seats in October, said
the miserable start made him change his ways to keep his locker room
together.

“I wouldn’t say it challenged how I lead as a coach, but I would just
tell you that it force me to re-evaluate some things that I’ve done,”
Sparano said. “Obviously, I have my own way of doing things and the way I kind of have been brought up in this business. It forced me to look at some things a little bit differently, that’s all. And made some changes and made some changes that I think that were relatively dramatically changes compared to what I was comfortable with. Also, I listened to some of my players. I’m fortunate to have good veteran players here on this team and they had some input in some of this and it worked out well for us.”

Miami’s turnaround is precisely what Eagles fans had hoped for when the Birds beat Dallas … and it didn’t come. And then beat the New York Giants … and it didn’t come. Sparano says it still might.

“I see dynamic players all over the place (on the Eagles),” he said. “They have obviously a ton of talent, but I was 0-7 here people watching my film and I felt strong about the talent I had too. So it’s just where we are right now so both teams are at 4-8 going into this game. We can’t change where we are, at least I can’t.”

But Sparano and the Dolphins changed enough to to turn their season around — something the Eagles seemingly cannot do.

“It makes it tough anytime you lose because you put so much into it,”
said the Eagles’ ex-Miami running back Ronnie Brown. “And of course we didn’t have an offseason like we usually do for everybody to get close and get a camaraderie or whatever. So I think as a team the way that we worked during camp we put a lot into it, and to come and not be successful that’s always tough because you know how much you put into it as far as two-a-days. And to know that we could have had a couple of games here and there, and of course it didn’t work out. And I don’t think a lot of games we played the way we’re capable of playing as a football team.”

BIRD SEED: Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (hamstring), the Eagles’ leading receiver with 46 catches, was downgraded from probable to questionable for Miami. He has traveled for the game.

Brad Wilson can be reached at 800-360-3601 or bwilson@express-times.com.