Changing seasons and chasing dreams in the NFL

A strange season is coming for National Football League teams and fan bases as we move past Super Wild Card Weekend.

That season is the season of change. The season of change comes every year after a long and hard-fought regular season. NFL fan bases are left with the heartbreak of either not making the playoffs or getting blown out week one by a significantly better team.

The lost hope of your favorite franchise not holding the Lombardi trophy aches for a few days. Hot takes get thrown around left and right. Then something magical happens, and the hope returns. Hope returns in the form of looking at what pick in the draft you have.

Hope returns in firing your head coach or general manager. Hope returns in looking at possible replacements for your now fired head coach or general manager. Hope returns during the season of change because, while right now might not be the time for a championship, next year could always be the one.

In total there have already been seven head coaches fired. The Vikings, Bears, Giants, Texans, Broncos and technically Jaguars all parted ways with their head coaches during the 2021-2022 NFL season. Some of these firings were expected, some of them weren’t.

Some of them hurt but all of them are necessary. They’re necessary to turn the page of a franchise to a hopefully more successful chapter, unless you’re the Miami Dolphins.

Reports of an apparent power struggle between head coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier surfaced after the formers surprising firing. Flores has brought a talent-deprived team to the playoff picture two times in three total seasons.

While the Dolphins missed the playoffs each year, it was clear they had no business being close. That circumstance usually comes when the coach wills a subpar team to be competitive every week.

Additionally, the Dolphins went on an amazing seven-game losing streak and seven-game winning streak in the same season this year. That’s something that has never been done in NFL history.

With question marks all over the roster and still no clear report card on young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, being on the bubble of the playoffs for the last two seasons should bode nicely for Flores. On the other hand, Grier has been with the organization for 21 years.

He has been in an executive role since 2007 and was promoted to general manager in 2016. The last time the Dolphins won a playoff game was in 2000, and they have never won with a team constructed by Grier.

The decision to stick with someone who has made you a dysfunctional team for the last two decades over the man who brought some life over the last two years is a head-scratching one.

This decision likely will not help the struggling Dolphins in the years to come. However, Flores’s coaching skills should be in high demand this offseason, and he will likely help another struggling organization over the next few years.

For the teams chasing dreams instead of changing seasons, anything can happen. The divisional round scheduled for this weekend should be very entertaining.

There are truly only contenders left and each team has a good opportunity to lift the coveted Lombardi trophy. However, only one has a king returning to the throne. The Tennessee Titans fully expect Derrick Henry to be available this weekend against the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals.

Henry led the NFL in rushing yards for weeks even after going down with a Jones fracture in his right foot in week nine. Before the serious foot injury Henry was on pace for yet another historical rushing season. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to aid an already powerful Titans offense.

The ability to run the football in the playoffs is critical. Often in January teams play in cold environments, which aids run-centric teams. Additionally, in the postseason controlling the clock and establishing dominance along the line often leads to success.

There is something that boosts the confidence of a football team to run the ball down the opposing defenses’ throat. In such a high contact, physical sport, knowing you have the ability to simply push a defense back also allows for the offensive line to play better.

This ability to run the football also pays dividends in the passing game, as it allows for more compelling play action. Establishing the run is a cliché used nearly weekly by football teams. In the playoffs, however, it is a proven formula to win championships.

So, while many teams are changing seasons and stock-piling hope, the Titans will be chasing the dream with the help of one of the most dominant players in the league.