65-83. This is the record Miami Dolphins currently sit with during the 2010s. It feels just about right, doesn’t it? Miami has spent nearly the entire decade floating between 6-10 and 8-8. Checking in with an average of 6.5-7.0 wins this decade is going to be right on the button in terms of the product the Dolphins have delivered under Tony Sparano, Todd Bowles, Joe Philbin, Dan Campbell, Adam Gase and now Brian Flores.
Heck, even when the Dolphins managed to finish the season at 10-6 in 2016, the team still had a -17 point differential on the season. Only two Dolphins teams this decade have managed to finish the season with a positive point differential — the 2014 squad (+15 points) and the 2011 squad (+16 points).
Perhaps the most amazing part of the Dolphins’ last decade of football? They’re still the second best team in the AFC East behind the New England Patriots! The Buffalo Bills currently own a worse record by half a game (65-84) and by the time the 2019 season is over, Buffalo (who is 4-1) will assuredly have passed Miami for that mantle. The rival Jets? They’re 61-87 and passing Miami is no sure thing, given how bad the Jets have looked in starting the season 0-4.
None in the AFC East can hold a candle to the New England Patriots, of course — who have won 82% of their games this decade to date and boast a 118-31 record over that timespan. For some perspective, the Cleveland Browns have won 38 games this decade.
Miami’s tussle with mediocrity is exactly why the team has embraced an aggressive rebuild approach, enough is enough. Because sooner or later, Tom Brady is going to retire. And when he does, the Dolphins can’t be marginally below average. The Dolphins can’t afford to continue to sit on their hands and tread water, even if it means sinking to the bottom before rising on a new foundation.
