Patriot's director of pro personnel Nick Casserio interviewed for the GM job.

This surprised me because Casserio turned down the Colts two years ago to interview for their then open GM position when they had the overall #1 draft pick. Casserio, after getting boss Bill Belichick's approval to interview with his AFC East rival, came in yesterday to interview for the position.

Even though the Patriots draft quality has declined since Scott Pioli left, they have still put together a good team. Sure, the Patriots are all about Tom Brady. He carried that offense this year despite the lack of talent at the wide receiver position. Maybe it's youth as we know it takes time for receivers to develop in the NFL. But, that offensive line is one of the best in the NFL, and the Patriots have paved the way for the new look tight ends in the NFL. So, I would be ok with Casserio as our new GM if he took the position.

Now, hold on to your aqua jock straps. I do not think he is interested in the job. First off, he would be competing against his mentor and the person who gave him a job in the first place: Bill Belichick. I think he interviewed for the position as it is a good position: it is a GM job in charge of buying the groceries. Also, he is young at only 38 and he has many years ahead of him in the NFL .... it would make sense to interview and get to know the Dolphins owner. Next, as ESPN's Mike Reiss stated , it would "smash the perception he wouldn't leave should another opportunity arise in the future" and give him better standing with the Patriots. One last thing, as Armando Salguero reported today , Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Patriots owner Bob Kraft do not like each other. Interviewing with the Dolphins could also add up to a nice raise.

Here's a video clip of Casserio trading out of the first round last year in the Patriots war room:

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BTW, Casserio will get a second interview today, so, he must have impressed Ross and his posse. When looking at the war room video clip, it would seem to me that Casserio needs more seasoning with the Patriots.

Is the Dolphins GM position attractive?

I think it is, and I do not understand why Cleveland Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer turned down an opportunity for a second interview.

Something really stinks about this. As irritating as Ross has been about the length of the hiring process, I cannot believe that Farmer didn't get a clear answer about the structure. We all knew that it was a 3 headed power structure that the GM, Aponte, and Philben will report directly to Ross. None of the 3 wants the others' jobs. The GM is in charge of picking the personnel ... which is more power than Licht gets at Tampa Bay since Lovie Smith gets final say over the personnel there.

The only issue is that Aponte and Philben ganged up on Ireland, and he was fired. Maybe that's the question he has about the structure, because everything else has been spelled out. I think Ross should hang around here and listen to what the bulk of us say. This is the internet age ... we know what are talking about. Philben should have been fired as well. The positive about Ross keeping Philben is that once you are "in" with Ross, you'll have a job for many years. Under Ireland's watch as GM, the image of the Dolphins has taken a real nosedive.

So, with Brian Gaine getting a second interview yesterday, Cassario getting a second interview today,

Mistakes, Mistakes ....

What kept the Dolphins out of the playoffs this year? I would say that their offensive line was the main culprit. I think it would be safe to say that if the Dolphins made the playoffs, it would be a good chance that Jeff Ireland would still be our GM ... provided the Martin/Incognito issue comes to a more positive light.

If Jeff Ireland would not have nixed on Philben's request to trade a 2nd round pick for Chiefs LT Brandon Albert, our OL would have been in much better shape.

Who to root for in the Pro Bowl?

With the Pro Bowl this year no longer being AFC vs NFC, it should be interesting to choose a team to root for. The draft concluded Wednesday, and the Dolphins are split up on both teams:

TEAM RICE: DE Cameron Wake

TEAM SANDERS: CB Brent Grimes, C Mike Pouncey, P Brandon Fields.

All are starters.What is interesting is that aside from Grimes, the Dolphins drafted Pouncey and Fields, and added Wake from the CFL. That's a real improvement and a step forward for the Dolphins.

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Bill Lazor the new OC in Miami.

As you know, HC Joe Philben hired Eagles QB Coach Bill Lazor as the Dolphins new offensive coordinator. I really like this move for 4 reasons: (1) the Dolphins will have an offensive coordinator that can help mold Ryan Tannehill to take the next step forward; (2) Lazor has experience with implementing the Pistol into Miami's west coast offense; (3) Lazor saw a balanced attack at Phildelphia; (4) Lazor has worked under several good coaches in his career.

One of the concerns about letting former OC Mike Sherman go was how that would affect Tannehill as he has quarterbacked throughout his entire collegiate and NFL career under Mike Sherman. To ensure that Tannehill develops it would only help him to have someone that successfully oversaw another young quarterback (Nick Foles) to develop him, too. Lazor will have to continue Tannehill's development by going in with a fresh outlook knowing that it will take time to know what kind of a quarterback that Tannehill is and that it will be a learning in progress.

I think we can generate a little excitement (though cautiously) about the impact that Lazor can have with Tannehill. Keep in mind that Lazor is not a miracle worker, but hopefully he will maximize the potential that he finds in Tannehill. As Rich said on the forum this week, "All I know is that in college, Foles would throw interceptions in bunches, wasn't good at reading defenses and would lock onto his receivers. All of a sudden, he plays a very clean game, doesn't make too many mistakes and looks like a franchise QB."

"The biggest thing that you don't know about a quarterback is the stuff that shows up on game day, which is his demeanor on the sideline and his ability to see. Some quarterbacks can come to the sideline and can't tell you what happened out there, and some quarterbacks can come and tell you exactly where the defense was, how they turned their hips, who jumped the route. Those are the things you don't know until you go through it. Nick's done a great job of communicating on game day and seeing what the defense is doing." (Bill Lazor )

You have to be impressed with the coaches that Lazor has worked with: Dan Reeves, Joe Gibbs, Mike Holmgren, and Chip Kelly. Reeves, Holmgren, and Gibbs are lengendary head coaches that have all won Super Bowls. Chip Kelly has fresh and innovative ideas ... so much that even Patriots Bill Bellichick has called him on occasion throrough the years to pick his brain.

Joe Philben is a disappointment.

Majorly. We heard this week that HC Joe Philben considereed quitting when he was told that he needed to fire Mike Sherman. I am sure Ross made it an either/or decision for Philben. Why did it take Ross for him to make this decision? It was the obvious one even though Sherman was a friend and mentor to Philben.

Two more decisions needed to be made this offseason: fire linebacker coach George Edwards and offensive line Coach Jim Turner. Edwards took talented players and made them worst. Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett played very well before coming to Miami. Once they came here they played worst. Once they left this year they played outstanding. Dannel Ellerbe and Phillip Wheeler played very well before coming to Miami ... so well that they did very well in free agency. They come to Miami and become the problem to where one needs to be replaced. While OL Coach Jim Turner had personnel issues thanks to Jeff Ireland, the players never came around to having any kind of chemistry. Free Agent offensive linemen (McKinney and Clabo) came to Miami and played worst. I understand that they are aging, but to drop that far in production shows that something is wrong. Jonathan Martin did not improve much, and I would guess the pressure built up on him to where he had his meltdown.

Thankfully the Vikings new head coach Mike Zimmer hired his buddy George Edwards and gave him a promotion as his defensive coordinator. Mark my words, that defense will take a slide backwards. Zimmer will view his experience with the Bengals zone defense that Croyle implemented in Miami to be a "plus". Will someone please promote Jim Turner, too? The reason is that Philben's loyalty to his staff will over-ride common sense.

I'll be honest, I think head coaches need 3 years to get their system in place, but with Philben and Cam Cameron I see (saw) the writing on the wall: they are not head coaching material. Philben's main job is put a staff around him to implement his system. I give him a big "F". .

Maybe Fins Nation should have stuck around for another year to start flying a "Fire Philben" banner over the stadium.

Don't mess with Texas ... or Lauren Tannehill.

Ryan Tannehill's wife, Lauren, forgot to retrieve her AR-15 rifle from the back seat of a rental car this week. It was found by the next person. No kidding. To that, I say, WHAT A BABE!

Before this happened, I considered her the best looking wife/girl friend that any Dolphins player has had a relationship with. Now, I also consider her the hottest of them all!

Shannon Sharpe is an idiot.

Speaking of likeable idiots, mule-faced Shannon Sharpe took a shot at Dan the Man on national television. By doing so he also threw another co-host, Boomer Esiason, under the bus as well.

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I wasn't a big Shannon Sharpe fan when he played for the Broncos and Ravens ... primarily his comments directed at Dan Marino when he was with the Broncos. He was a tremendous athlete and that at times makes them feel they have the license to insult other players.

I do think he does a good job on the CBS Sports show, but I wouldn't have minded if Dan decided to fire a bullet at his big mouth.

Great quarterbacks accumulate great stats. When they break NFL records then they deserve to be in the conversation of who is the greatest. Super Bowls are won with Super teams.

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