Shield in Dolphins locker room is a symbol of leadership and one team

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Every year, coaching staffs around the NFL create a theme for their team to follow throughout the season. We’ve seen things such as lobster traps from Dave Wannstedt, a tree and an axe from former Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, a TSHIRT that talked about feeding the wolf under Tony Sparano and countless others.

This year, the 2014 Dolphins will have a shield in their locker room throughout the season. According to head coach Joe Philbin, it’s a symbol of leadership and one team.

"As in a lot of things in life there's certain rituals and symbols," Philbin said. "We wanted to kind of make it a special occasion for them, and so the shield is kind of the symbol of everybody together, one team."

Defensive Lineman Jared Odrick elaborated more on it and talked about the deep symbolism that it represents. Safety Jimmy Wilson followed up about how the theme started.

"It's a Spartan shield where you're supposed to protect your brother," Odrick told the Miami Herald. "So you hold that shield over somebody else before you. That's what it symbolizes, and there's a lot you can take from that and utilize in your life and in and around the building."

"We got it from (the movie) '300,' where you want to play for the guy next to you, and all the guys around you," Wilson. "You've got leave on your shield. No man leaves his shield behind, and that's just a visual for us to lock back into our credo and what we stand for as Dolphins."

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