*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***

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Jan 18, 1996: -- Olivadotti Fired --

The Associated Press is reporting this morning that Jimmy Johnson has fired Dolphins defensive coordinator Tom Olivadotti as he continues the housecleaning of the Dolphins coaching staff.

Olivadotti, who was the Dolphins defensive coordinator for 9 years under Don Shula, was widely blamed for the problems with the Dolphins' defense over the last few years. During his 9 year tenure, the Dolphins' defense was ranked in the bottom half of the league's defenses for 7 of those years.

In addition to Olivadotti and Joe Greene, Johnson has also reportedly sacked running backs coach Tony Nathan, but the AP is reporting that Johnson has decided to keep Gary Stevens as offensive coordinator and Mel Phillips as defensive backs coach.

So far, Johnson has hired Pat Jones, Bill Lewis, Bob Ackles and Gary Godette as his first assistants. Jones, formerly of OSU, will coach the the tight ends and Lewis will be the "defense nickel package" coach.

Bob Ackles, from the Philadelphia Eagles, will be Johnson's top aide in personnel matters, while serving as assistant General Manger. Ackles is credited with teaching Johnson the administrative ropes of the football business.

Cody Godette, the defensive line coach of the Carolina Panthers this past season, will take over for Joe Greene as Dolphins' defensive line coach. Godette has coached at North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, Wyoming and the University of Cincinnati.

My Comments:

It's a sign of the times that the Dolphins have a coach just to be the "defense nickel package" coach.

The only comment I have so far on any of these coaches is that the Carolina Panthers had a surprisingly good defense this year, and Godette was at least partially responsible for that.

As far as Olivadotti is concerned, we'll probably never really know if his schemes were as bad as they seemed or if he never had the right personnel. Nevertheless, as Jimmy Johnson says, it's the bottom line that matters and the bottom line is that Olivadotti's defenses were never very good, especially in important games.

I think it will be interesting to see where Olivadotti winds up.