It probably will come as no great surprise to Chicago football fans that Dave Wannstedt can’t win down here either. Imagine what might happen when he actually calls signals for the Dolphins in a real game.
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Since succeeding Jimmy Johnson immediately after last season, Wannstedt has managed, or mismanaged, his way into public disfavor by being the wrong coach in the wrong place while a local demigod cleans out his locker.
It is one thing to be remembered as a man who hired Rick Mirer for the Bears. It is quite another thing to go down as the man who fired Dan Marino in South Florida, where sports junkies worship the past with a devotion that would make the Windy City proud.
Granted, nostalgia is newer here than in Chicago. Still, bereaved baseball buffs yearn every day for those halcyon times when the Florida Marlins paid their dues and seized the 1997 World Series after five seemingly endless years on the planet. Who can forget the next morning’s headline? “The Long Wait Is Over!!” Oh, how these people suffered.
Now it is Marino who feels tortured. At 38, he is legend non grata with the Dolphins, whom he served for 17 winters as arguably the purest NFL passer ever. Problem is, Marino is calling audibles in private, two months after his ex-bosses wanted him to retire.
It appears that mundane moment finally will occur Monday, despite a tempting proposition from the Minnesota Vikings, who promised him a starting role. The Dolphins offered him nothing of the kind, though they have responded to prevailing outrage by saying, well, of course, he will always be welcome in training camp, because we love Dan.
Most of the damage control was spun by Wayne Huizenga, the Dolphins’ owner who recently played golf with Marino, and Eddie Jones, the team president who tried to put out fires with a wet kiss of a speech.
Where does all this leave Dave Wannstedt? Alone on Interstate 95, sticking out like a sweaty palm tree. His dear friend and predecessor, Johnson, didn’t want Marino around but had the good sense to vanish after the Dolphins surrendered to Jacksonville 62-7 in their last playoff assignment.
Wannstedt–and this will shock folks in Chicago–has uttered nary a substantive word about his stance on Marino. However, Marvin Demoff, Marino’s agent, has tossed a grenade into Wanny’s lap anyway. Demoff disclosed that at a recent heart-to-heart meeting with Marino, Honest Dave didn’t even grant the bereaved quarterback eye-to-eye contact.
According to Demoff, Wannstedt kept looking out the window and gazing at the floor. At the very least, Wannstedt could have drawn on his meritorious service in the NFC Central Division and dissed the Vikings, whom he outwitted occasionally during his five-year plan that lasted six.
Generally, Marino is accessible regarding intramural matters. But he has been strangely silent, perhaps because he is hurt, angry, confused or all of the above. If he is conscious, however, he cannot avoid the mess the Dolphins need pooper scoopers to clean up.
Huizenga, who made a fortune in the trash industry, at least tees it up with Marino and Jones calls a press conference to tell enraged citizens what they want to hear. But Wannstedt declines to comment and, fairly or unfairly, fans want his mustache on a platter.
Instead of a limp finish such as Joe Namath endured in Los Angeles or Johnny Unitas in San Diego, Marino apparently will opt for a healthier exit now. His skills are eroded. Minnesota has nice receivers, but Miami has nicer golf courses. Not that local fans, like their whiplashed counterparts in Chicago, wouldn’t welcome a tearful reunion.
The Dolphins play Minnesota next season. Maybe that’s why Wannstedt has made himself so scarce lately. He’s been looking at films, hoping Marino will just say no to rugs.