As the Dolphins prepare to host the Bills, who have beaten Miami three straight times including a pair of consecutive 19-point trouncings, a fresh type of dysfunction lingers in the organization.
This time, it has nothing to do with Richie Incognito or Jonathan Martin or the Philbin-Aponte-Ireland power struggle or the perpetual inability of owner Stephen Ross to hire his first choice for various vacancies. The latest batch of bad karma comes from the man who replaced 2013 scapegoat Mike Sherman -- offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.
NFL Media reporter and fellow blink-and-you-missed-us-Draft-Day-extra Jeff Darlington reports that Miami players have gotten miffed with Lazor’s style. Here’s the key quote from Darlington’s current assessment of the franchise he previously covered while at the Miami Herald: “During involved conversations with four players (and text exchanges with multiple others), all parties made it clear that Lazor’s relationship with the players is currently rocky. His abrasive tenor with several starters has worn thin on some, and an inconsistent identity on offense is internally magnifying the issue.”
Darlington is careful not to place exclusive blame on Lazor. After all, Lazor possibly wouldn’t need to be abrasive if the players would do what Lazor wants them to do. Or if the players were able to do it better.
While Darlington doesn’t name names, it’s likely not a major leap of logic to suspect that receiver Mike Wallace stands at the front of the anti-Lazor line, given that Wallace repeatedly has complained publicly about the team’s offense.
Regardless, the burden now falls on head coach Joe Philbin to figure out how to get everyone on the same page, and quickly. Otherwise, that circle of Buffalo wagons will be rolling over the Dolphins again, and Ross eventually will be hiring his fourth or fifth choice to be the head coach in 2015.