In Joe Philbin’s absence, it’s business as usual for the Dolphins

Written by Matthew Cannata at 9:30 AM EST | Twitter: @PhinManiacs

Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has been away from the team for his father’s funeral but it’s been business as usual for the team. Kevin Coyle, who is running the team in his absence, said that Philbin did a great job of laying everything out for the entire coaching staff and players and the team hasn't missed a beat in the time that he's been away.
 
“Joe is such a steadying influence on everybody. You always know exactly (where to be), I’ve got to pick up the schedule 10 times every hour to figure out where I’m going. With Joe, you just kind of follow his lead and you know exactly every minute of every day is planned out. He’s got that quiet leadership about him and I think it lends itself to players and coaches just having great confidence in the plan that we have. We talked about it a little bit this morning as a group. Our plan, the way we do things, from starting today right on through the end of the week and into game day, there’s a method to it, there’s a philosophy that is in place that we follow and we know that it’s a proven one. And when we do it the right way, we’ve got a chance at the end of the day to be successful.”

Coyle said that he hasn't been in contact with Philbin for obvious reasons but upon his return to the team, they'll sit down and go over everything that has been done over the past few days.

"We’ll be speaking here later about the practice and about the plans for Thursday. But Joe laid out everything for us here prior to this morning’s meetings with the players. I relayed his message to the players in the meeting this morning. Although he’s not here physically, they know exactly what Joe’s approach to this game is and what reflections he had on last week’s game. He’ll be back here soon with us and we’ll just continue to move forward.”

Ryan Tannehill says that the leadership in the locker room and the veteran presence has kept the team on a steady course and not much has changed in Philbin's absence.

“It’s been great, not because he hasn’t been around, but I just think it goes to the leadership of the team, the character, the desire we have to win. We’re preparing just like we would if he was here and I’m glad that’s he’s able to step away and spend time with his family in this tough time. He’s always preaching about family and how important that is and, unfortunately, he has a tough situation arise. But you see his character come out whenever he does take the time to step away, especially when I know his desire is to be here and to prepare.”   

Prior to leaving on Monday for a few days, Philbin gave a message to the team in hopes that it would resonate with them in preparation for the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

“To improve as a team, to build on what we did a week ago. We have felt that, if we hit all cylinders, offense, defense, kicking game, we’re a tough team. I think that was proven last week and I think it’s been proven at times throughout the season, whether it’s one side of the ball or the other. Now we’re at the point where the consistency in all three phases is paramount to our success. We’ve got to go out and do it.”

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