Dolphins History Lesson: In-Season Coaching Changes
The Houston Texans' decision to fire head coach (and GM) Bill O'Brien on Monday grabbed the headlines around the NFL, and what made the move noteworthy is that the season is only four weeks old.
But this wasn't the first time a head coach was fired after four games because the Miami Dolphins did it just five years ago.
Joe Philbin's tenure as Dolphins head coach ended after the team's 27-14 loss against the New York Jets in London. It came as the Dolphins were heading into their bye.
The one big difference is that O'Brien guided the Texans to four division titles in his first six years as head coach, Philbin hadn't had nearly that kind of success in his first three seasons with the Dolphins.
The Dolphins went 7-9, 8-8 and 8-8 in Philbin's three seasons and there was a lot of speculation about his job security late in the 2014 season until owner Stephen Ross made an announcement in the locker room after a 37-35 victory against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16 that pushed their record to 8-7, though the team already was eliminated from playoff contention.
The 2015 season began with a 17-10 victory against Jacksonville, but was followed by losses against Jacksonville (23-20), Buffalo (41-14) and the Jets.
Dan Campbell was promoted from tight ends coach to serve as interim head coach, and the Dolphins responded with convincing victories against Tennessee (38-10) and Houston (42-26) coming off their bye to even their record at 3-3.
But that momentum didn't last and the Dolphins ended the season 6-10.
Campbell was among those interviewed to become full-time head coach in 2016, but the job went to Adam Gase.
The 2015 season was one of three where the Dolphins made an in-season coaching change, though the other two took place much later.
In 2004, the Dolphins fired Dave Wannstedt and replaced him with interim head coach Jim Bates after nine games; in 2011, Tony Sparano was fired and replaced by interim head coach Todd Bowles after 13 games.
