*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***

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Feb 15, 1996: -- Belichick Fired by Modell --

The team formerly known as the Cleveland Browns has announced that they have fired head coach Bill Belichick. The former Browns, who are moving to Baltimore, made the announcement on Wednesday, after it was disclosed on Tuesday that Don Shula had rejected Art Modell's request to join the organization.

The firing of Belichick comes as no surprise and has been expected for some time now.

The Dolphins are known to be interested in hiring Belichick as defensive coordinator, a position that remains open since the firing of Tom Olivadotti.

Also interested in hiring Belichick are the New England Patriots, which are coached by former Belichick associate Bill Parcells. The Patriots, however, are only going to offer Belichick the position of linebackers coach. They plan to keep Al Groh as their defensive coordinator.

Belichick was the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants when they won their SuperBowl titles in 1986 and 1990. In the past 5 years, Belichick has compiled a 37-45 record as head coach of the Browns.

My Comments:

Originally, I thought that Belichick would probably be going to New England, because he's an old friend of Bill Parcells and has coached with him when Parcells was the head coach of the Giants.

However, it now appears that the Dolphins can offer a lot more as they will want him to be their defensive coordinator, whereas the Patriots only want him for a linebackers coach. Most of the "experts" say that Miami now has the inside track on hiring him.

If Belichick wants to be a head coach again, it would be a shorter path to a head coaching job from a defensive coordinator position than it would be from being a linebackers coach.

Personally, I would be in favor of hiring Belichick as defensive coordinator. His record with the Giants and the Browns as a defensive planner is excellent. He is also a tough, no-nonsense guy and would kick a few butts on defense.

The only possible drawback I could see would be if Belichick has problems dealing with JJ's ego. However, he dealt with Parcells well enough, so that might not be an insurmountable problem.