*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jan 14, 1999: -- JJ Will Stay! --
In a press conference at the Miami Dolphins training facility
in Davie, Florida this afternoon, head coach Jimmy Johnson announced
that he is NOT resigning as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He did
state that he was going to bring in Dave Wannestedt as the Assistant
Head Coach of the Dolphins and that Wannestedt would share his head
coaching responsibilities. Wannestedt reportedly will not be named
Defensive Coordinator, nor will he become a position coach. His sole
responsibility will be to be JJ's assistant head coach.
According to JJ, the reason that he had initially decided to
resign was that recent events convinced him that he could not
adequately do the job of head coach and still fulfill his family
obligations. He spoke repeatedly of the difficulty of putting in 15
hour days as the head coach and trying to have a family life at the
same time. His impending marriage to girlfriend Rhonda Rookmaaker
and his father's illness both had an impact on his decision, but the
main catalyst was his mother's death about a month ago. This event
weighed very heavily on him, since he couldn't fully participate in
his mother's memorial because of his obligations to the team.
As a result, JJ had decided to resign and was going to
announce that decision today. However, upon hearing the news, owner
Wayne Huizenga returned to South Florida from San Diego and talked to
JJ this morning. Together, they agreed that the best way to handle
the situation was to bring in Dave Wannestedt to be JJ's assistant and
to take over for JJ whenever JJ needed a break or to take time off to
be with his family.
In addition to meeting with Wayne Huizenga, JJ met with Dan
Marino, his assistant coaches and other players, all of whom
reportedly asked JJ to stay. In meeting with JJ, Dan Marino
reportedly said "We are so close, coach", referring to the possibility
that the Dolphins will get to the SuperBowl soon.
With that solution in hand, JJ agreed to stay on as head
coach of the Dolphins. Kippy Brown and George Hill will stay as the
offensive and defensive coordinators respectively and Dave Wannestedt
will assist JJ and take over for JJ in his absence. There was no
mention of any other deals for JJ, such as a contract extension or an
increase in salary and, in fact, JJ denied that any such deal had an
effect on his decision.
The bottom line is that JJ will be the Dolphins head coach for
at least the coming year. He declined to speculate what he would do
beyond that time.
My Comments:
Well, the furor is over and JJ is staying.
I listened to the press conference this afternoon and JJ was
clearly in a very emotional state. The death of his mother and his
father's illness has clearly been a strain on him. He used to say
that he wanted to be single for the rest of his life, but now he's
marrying Rhonda and that has also got him thinking.
So he decided that he couldn't give his family the attention
they deserved and be the best football coach he could be. Right now,
his family is more important to him and so he decided he should
resign.
In steps Huizenga with his skills at manipulating people and
convinces JJ that a better solution would be to bring in JJ's best
friend Dave Wannestedt and have him and JJ split the coaching duties.
That will give JJ more time off to spend with his family while adding
a capable football coach to the staff.
So everybody wins - except JJ's detractors. They will now be
disappointed that they almost - but not quite - managed to get rid of
JJ.
Personally, I'm very happy with these results. Wannestedt
will add a lot to the coaching staff and will help JJ deal with the
pressure better. JJ will get to spend more time with his family but
still stay on as the Dolphins' head coach.
So now I can uncross my tired fingers and get back to doing
some real work...
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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