Hall of Fame Revelations: Zach, Emmitt and the Dolphins
Zach Thomas with the New England Patriots? How about with the Green Bay Packers?
Yep, that's almost where his career took him once he left the Miami Dolphins on his way to the Hall of Fame.
Thomas always has made it a point to stay away from the media as much as possible, but he accepted a couple of radio interview requests involving former Miami Dolphins players Joe Rose and Channing Crowder.
And it was during those two interviews that he made some interesting revelations, ones just as interesting as Emmitt Smith talking about how he once pushed to be traded for the Dolphins at the peak of his own Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys.
ZACH TALKS POST-DOLPHINS DAYS
Thomas played for the Dolphins from 1996-2007 before spending one season with the Dallas Cowboys.
But, as it turns out, Dallas ended up being the third possible team for Zach.
Thomas was the quintessential 4-3 middle linebacker, able to use his instincts and quickness to make plays sideline to sideline, but the Dolphins were switching to a 3-4 scheme when Nick Saban arrived as head coach in 2005.
Thomas revealed that Saban engaged in trade talks with the Green Bay Packers before those fell apart, forcing Saban to keep Thomas.
It was a good thing for Saban and the Dolphins that the trade didn't materialize because Thomas made the Pro Bowl in that 2005 and then not only made the Pro Bowl but was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2006 — a feat that's easy to forget considering Jason Taylor was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year that season.
After an injury-shortened 2007 season, Thomas was released by the Dolphins after Bill Parcells came on the scene in 2008 and he told Crowder and his co-host Marc Hochman he had a meeting with Bill Belichick, who was ready to offer him a contract until Thomas decided he simply just couldn't play for the Dolphins' AFC East rivals.
Thomas added that the talks got far enough that Belichick told him he'd have to change from his Dolphins number 54 because that belonged to Tedy Bruschi and Thomas said he'd want to wear 53, the former number of close friend Larry Izzo.
EMMITT SMITH AND THE DOLPHINS
Thomas' stories aren't quite as crazy as what Emmitt Smith said on a recent appearance on "The Pivot" podcast, which also features Crowder.
Older NFL fans will recall that Smith sat out the first two games of the 1993 season — after the Cowboys had won their first Super Bowl titles under Jimmy Johnson — because of a contract dispute.
Smith was a restricted free agent at the time.
“I picked up the phone and called Don Shula myself and told him I wanted to come to Miami and play for Miami,” Smith said. “Because I knew Dan Marino didn’t have a running game.”
Smith's pitch to Shula was simple: “I want to help you and help Dan get a championship. Bring me back to the state of Florida.’
"He said, ‘Well, I don’t know if I could make that offer.’ He said, ‘If I do make this offer and you don’t come, all my other players will see what I put on the table for you and it’s going to mess up my chemistry.’ ”
Smith’s response was he wanted Shula to “just put something on the table” that would make Cowboys owner Jerry Jones say, “I cannot match it.”
Still, Smith said, Shula wouldn’t budge, saying, “I can’t do that.”
Smith eventually re-signed with the Cowboys, who went on to repeat as Super Bowl champs despite losing against the Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day.
This, of course, was the season when Marino ruptured his Achilles tendon.
The reflex would be to suggest that Smith coming to Miami would have meant at least one Super Bowl title for Marino and possibly more, though Marino's passing numbers no doubt wouldn't have been the same had the Dolphins run the ball more often.
It's also fair to wonder whether Jones actually would have let Smith leave for Miami by not matching an offer sheet, no matter how big the cost.
One thing for sure, Marino never played with a running back anywhere near the caliber of Emmitt Smith, and the possibilities with him on the roster most definitely would have been interesting.
