The Miami Dolphins haven’t been a trendy pick for any futures forecasts in the NFL in quite some time. The last time Miami was a popular team and considered a year away from contending for a Super Bowl was probably in the mid-2000s when the team got hot in 2005 to finish 9-7 in their first season under former head coach Nick Saban. Of course, Miami would whiff at quarterback that offseason and Miami’s progress under Saban flatlined so dramatically that by the end of the following season, Saban had jumped ship back to the University of Alabama.
It was a brutal blow to the Dolphins, one the team never recovered from. By 2007, Miami was 1-15.
But the optimism is starting to return for the Dolphins thanks to the new direction the team is attacking the future with courtesy of Brian Flores and Chris Grier. The Dolphins are one of the youngest teams in football, they’ve already drafted their potential franchise quarterback and the team has a ton of NFL Draft picks this spring.
Oh, right. And the Dolphins are 8-4 and very much in the thick of the AFC playoff race. As a result, people are starting to notice, including former NFL quarterback and CBS’ Phil Simms; who offered this glowing review of where the Dolphins currently sit — and just how high their ceiling may be.
CBS' Phil Simms on the Dolphins: "They have already established what they are going to be in the future. They are a very young and very talented team. I think at this time next year we could be talking about them as a Super Bowl contender."
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) December 10, 2020
If the Dolphins were to touch anything close to what Simms suggested should be on the table for this franchise, the Dolphins would be thrilled. Miami hasn’t won a playoff game since before Saban served as a their coach and they’ve only made the playoffs twice since Saban jumped ship, too. There’s so much that this Dolphins organization simply hasn’t touched in terms of success; but there’s no reason to doubt that Miami is on the right track to revive the glory days of old. And if they do, Simms can be one of the ones who said he properly called his shot despite nearly 20 years of evidence suggesting that he not.