In Miami, Adam Beasley wrote Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross "values continuity" and "understands how disruptive -- from personnel to scheme -- that a coaching change would have been to the organization." Ross, who said coach Joe Phillbin will return next season, "knows the league's least successful teams are usually the ones with the most turnover." So "it's safe to assume" that Philbin and GM Dennis Hickey "will together have at least one more year to fix the Dolphins" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/22). ESPN.com’s James Walker wrote, “You cannot fault Ross for choosing continuity. He has tried the other way and it hasn't worked.” Walker noted Philbin “would have become the third high-level executive to be let go in four years” if he were fired (ESPN.com, 12/21).
JERRY! JERRY! ESPN DALLAS' Tim MacMahon wrote, "So many times over the Past 17 years -- a span that features only one playoff win -- Cowboys fans have lamented that the businessman owner [Jerry Jones] believed he was a wise enough football man to also run the team as a general manager." Jones "should be applauded for listening to the football men around him," such as his son and Dir of Player Personnel Dir Stephen Jones, Assistant Dir of Player Personnel Will McClay, coach Jason Garrett and the team's scouts (ESPNDALLAS.com, 12/21). In Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw writes, "What this season has taught Jones is that there are alternative ways of building a roster, that it's not always about paying top dollar to lock up premier players." The owner-GM approach "never made any sense when this club was slogging along through one 8-8 season after another. Does an 11-4 record and an NFC East title change any of that?" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/22).
CLEANING HOUSE? In Chicago, Mike North examined the state of the Bears front office. He wrote "good judgment is needed by a general manager, a scouting department and a head coach to succeed in the NFL, but no one in the Bears organization seems to have it." North: "I blame the players, the ownership and team president Ted Phillips for this debacle. How long does Phillips get a pass anyway? Who's going to be held accountable?" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 12/19). Also in Chicago, Rick Morrissey wrote Bears owners the McCaskeys "have a death grip on this franchise." Morrisey: "They don’t know football, which isn’t a cardinal sin for an owner, and they don’t know how to hire the right football people, which is. ... We’ll find out if the McCaskeys are paying attention to the outrage of the fan base. My guess is that they aren’t and that [GM Phil Emery] will be back." If Chair George McCaskey "pulls the plug" on both Emery and coach Marc Trestman, it "shouldn’t be cause for celebration" (Chicago SUN-TIMES, 12/21). The CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Steve Rosenbloom wrote if McCaskey is the one with "serious buyer's remorse" over QB Jay Cutler's seven-year contract extension, then "Emery's done" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 12/21).
MERRY & BRIGHT? In N.Y., Seth Walder notes Jets Owner Woody Johnson during the team's 17-16 loss to the Patriots at MetLife Stadium "appeared on the video screen, along with his wife and two sons, to wish fans a happy holiday." The fans, who root for a now 3-12 football team, "didn’t have quite the festive spirit, booing the owner and his family on the big screen" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/22).
