New From The Post
Wannstedt Planning to Resign
Dolphins Expected to Name Defensive Coordinator as Interim Coach
By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 9, 2004; 8:49 AM
Dave Wannstedt plans to announce his resignation as coach of the Miami Dolphins today, an NFL source confirmed this morning.
The Dolphins are expected to name defensive coordinator Jim Bates as their interim coach for the rest of the season and then hire a new coach for next season.
Wannstedt's resignation first was reported by several South Florida media outlets, including the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. It is the first coaching change of the NFL season, and midseason switches are rare in the league.
The team's candidates for its next permanent coach likely will include former Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and LSU Coach Nick Saban.
Owner Wayne Huizenga might overhaul the entire organization after the season. Team president Eddie Jones is expected to retire and could be replaced by longtime NFL executive Jim Steeg. Huizenga could restructure the front office and perhaps replace General Manager Rick Spielman, who got the title of GM last offseason only after the club was rebuffed by other candidates.
Wannstedt met Monday at the team's training facility with Huizenga and was told by the owner that a coaching change would be made at the end of the season, the source confirmed, speaking on the condition of anonymity because Wannstedt's resignation had not yet been announced.
The Dolphins, hurt by the abrupt retirement before training camp of tailback Ricky Williams, lost their first six games of the season and have the NFL's worst record at 1-8. They're on their way to missing the playoffs for the third straight season and are one loss from ensuring the franchise's first losing season since 1988.
Wannstedt appeared in jeopardy of being fired at the end of last season, but had his contract extended by Huizenga for two years through the 2006 season. Huizenga did strip Wannstedt of his final authority over personnel issues as part of a restructuring in which he gave Spielman the GM title and temporarily hired Dan Marino as senior vice president of football operations.
But the former quarterback resigned before actually beginning the job after initially accepting it. Wannstedt was only the fourth coach in franchise history and had the second-longest tenure, behind only Don Shula.
He was in his fifth season as the Dolphins' coach since taking over for Jimmy Johnson and averaged 10 victories per year over the previous four seasons. But he totaled only one playoff win after reaching the postseason in each of his first two seasons in Miami. He missed the playoffs the previous two seasons.
He had a 43-33 record with the Dolphins (including 1-2 in the playoffs) and is 84-90 as an NFL head coach, including six seasons with the Chicago Bears. He was fired by the Bears after a second straight 4-12 season in 1998.
The Dolphins are on their bye week and next play on Nov. 21 at Seattle.
Wannstedt's tenure ended with last Sunday's 24-23 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals, who ended a 17-game road losing streak.
A chaotic offseason for the Dolphins led to a dreadful season. Wannstedt changed offensive coordinators twice after losing Norv Turner to the Oakland Raiders.
Wide receiver David Boston suffered a season-ending knee injury after being obtained in a trade with San Diego. The Dolphins never found a productive starting quarterback after acquiring A.J. Feeley in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to go with Jay Fiedler.
Wannstedt previously had said he would not resign, and Huizenga previously had indicated he would not make a coaching change during the season. But Wannstedt's departure was inevitable. His news conference Monday drew a crowd of reporters based on the possibility that he might resign or be fired.
"You have free pizza. Back off,'' Wannstedt, smiling, told reporters after being asked about his job status. ". . . . I'm focused on the team and the players. This is a tough situation, but we're doing what we can and dealing with what we can control.''
Spurrier's associates say he is highly interested in the Dolphins' job after withdrawing his name from the University of Florida's coaching search. He went 12-20 in two seasons with the Redskins.
Huizenga seemed interested in Spurrier at the end of last season and apparently remains interested. Wannstedt's resignation allows him to begin talks with Spurrier or any other candidate without having to be quite so secretive.
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