*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***

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Jan 17, 1996: -- "Mean" Joe Green loses Job --

The Dolphins announced today that Jimmy Johnson has fired former Dolphins defensive line coach "Mean" Joe Greene as he makes changes to his coaching staff for the upcoming season.

Joe Greene has been the Dolphins' defensive line coach for 4 years after leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers where he also coached the defensive line.

Also on Wednesday, the Philadelphia Enquirer reported that Bob Ackles, currently the director of football administration for the Philadelphia Eagles, will leave that job to become the assistant General Manager of the Dolphins.

Ackles, 57, is a longtime friend of Johnson and will apparently be doing most of the more mundane tasks that a General Manager must do for the Dolphins.

My Comments:

"Mean" Joe Greene was a legend as a player and was highly regarded as a coach by the fans. However, if you look at the defensive line under Greene's tenure, it hasn't really improved significantly in the 4 years Greene has been the coach.

He did bring in Tim Bowens, last years' defensive rookie of the year, and the defensive line has been getting better in run defense, but the pass rush has not improved at all and the line was completely overmatched by the tougher teams in the league.

Overall, I'm not too disappointed that Greene is going. I'm sure he'll find work elsewhere.