In Week 17, the Miami Dolphins traveled to Foxboro to face the Patriots in a game with nothing on the line except for the chance to beat a division rival. As it turned out, though, there was no fire in the Dolphins. The defense allowed Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer?.yes, Brian Hoyer?to pick them apart for three touchdowns, and special teams allowed a punt return for another score. But worst of all, the offense squandered opportunities and only managed to eek out seven points against the New England defense. It was a desperate touchdown that came in the last three minutes of the game against the Patriots? second team defense. While Miami?s season ended with a deflating loss that summed up the team?s play in 2010, the new year started with a bang. After rumors that Tony Sparano had coached his last game with the Dolphins, news broke that the team was courting Stanford?s Jim Harbaugh and was prepared to make him the league?s highest paid coach. A few days later, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and GM Jeff Ireland were on their way back to South Florida without a new coach. The process halted quite abruptly and there was never any explanation as to where the deal hit a snag. Soon enough, Harbaugh was hired by the 49ers at a fraction of the price the Dolphins were said to have offered and Sparano was given a 2-year extension and an apology. While the entire affair was baffling to fans, it was nothing compared to the confusion they would soon endure. Offensive coordinator Dan Henning left the team shortly after the season ended and will most likely remain retired. The offense he ran in Miami was one of the worst in the league, ranking 30th out of the 32 teams. The plays he called were always bland and predictable. Opposing defenses didn?t need long to figure out his gameplan if they hadn?t already determined it from watching film. The lack of offensive production haunted the Dolphins throughout the season and sent them on their way to a losing record. As a result, the search for a replacement offensive coordinator would seem thorough. The team interviewed a number of candidates including former Vikings head coach Brad Childress. But as the smoke cleared, the hired man was Browns? OC Brian Daboll. Yes, you read that correctly. Why on would a team with the 30th ranked offense in the league decide to hire a man who coached the 31st ranked squad? Especially after the comments Ross made just days before about establishing a more up-tempo and exciting offense that would do more than just move ?four yards and a cloud of dust.? But if you watched Cleveland play this season, you know that Daboll?s offense was exactly what Ross wanted to move away from. He coached the 29th ranked pass offense and the 20th ranked rushing offense, thanks to a superb talent in Peyton Hillis. Still, he was brought into the organization like he had just coached a team to the Super Bowl. Sparano and Ireland are overjoyed with their choice because, but the media and fans are skeptical, confused, and angry. At his introductory press conference, he was asked about his lack of offensive success with the Browns over the last two years. Daboll responded by saying, ?We didn?t do as well as we wanted to do there.? I?m sure that earned him a vote of confidence from Dolphins? fans everywhere. In fact, I haven?t found a single Miami fan that?s pleased with Daboll being selected as the offensive coordinator. What?s more, I?ve heard from many Browns? supporters who are thrilled to be rid of him. The big problem is that a high-powered offense does not match Sparano and Ireland?s system. Their mentor, now departed Bill Parcells, taught them to build a team with line-play and defense. Having a flashy offense was never part of his scheme. So they went out and hired a man with the same pedestrian offensive gameplan as Henning. The bigger problem is that their system doesn?t work. If it did, the offense would have scored 25-plus points more than 3 times last year. It seems that the Dolphins? organization is perfectly content with an offense that relies on short run and pass plays rather than one that pushes the ball down the field and challenges defenses to keep up. Even if the Dolphins defense does continue to improve as it should, the offense will remain stagnant under Brian Daboll and the team will continue to have mediocre seasons that will neither get them into the playoffs or a game-changing draft pick.