Looking back - in 2015

Miami, January, 2015

After struggling to finish under .500 for the 6th consecutive season, the Dolphins owner again embarks on a journey to find "a young Don Shula" and the "next Dan Marino"...along with a new GM.

"I guess this team really is cursed, I mean, who would have thought signing Peyton Manning would be a bad thing? And I never would have guessed that a guy with virtually no coaching experience wouldn't work out.  That baffles me." he said.

As the "fates" would have it, that off-season in 2012 was pivotal.  Manning came to the team and played in all of 6 games after being introduced as the temporary savior of the franchise, before suffering a series of injuries that ended his career.

But the story doesn't begin and end there.  Allowing a fair number of their own players hit free-agency after vowing they would "build from within" didn't help Ireland's cause.  And using first round picks on offensive and defensive lineman didn't help, either.

"I guess I should have paid more attention to facts," said Ireland.  "Only 3 QBs in the history of the NFL have won a SuperBowl who were not drafted in the 1st round [Brady, Kurt Warner, and Brad Johnson], and only one QB has won a SuperBowl after starting elsewhere [Brees].  We should have invested into a QB for the future, by selecting one in the first round, rather than trying to make something big happen."

The Dolphins also announced a "sit with a celebrity" program.  Renewals on season tickets will be mailed out this week, along with an opportunity to purchase the seat next to yours for a B-list celebrity.  Yes, you too can sit next to someone who guest-starred on the "Love Boat" in the 1970s, for a nominal fee.