Posted on Thu, Jan. 06, 2005 DOLPHINS NOTEBOOK Saban meets with coaches BY DAVID J. NEAL [email protected] Dolphins coach Nick Saban met with the current Dolphins assistants individually during a busy, meeting-filled Wednesday and gave them freedom to roam for employment. Saban didn't give them freedom of speech, mind you. On the record, present and possibly future Dolphins assistants smiled and all but took the Fifth Amendment when asked whether they knew more about their futures. ''It's in my best interest to keep my mouth shut at this time,'' one Dolphins assistant told reporters as he headed to his car. Privately, two Dolphins assistants confirmed that Saban told assistants they could look around the NFL for jobs while he figures out who he wants on his staff. That is in line with Saban's statement Tuesday, that he planned to ''make haste slowly'' in deciding on coaches. A source close to LSU said LSU wide receivers assistant Bobby Williams definitely has accepted an offer to join the Dolphins staff. It is unknown what Williams will handle, but his background is in wide receivers and running backs. Jim Bates, the Dolphins interim coach for the last seven games after Dave Wannstedt resigned, also is taking time to decide whether he would consider returning as the Dolphins defensive coordinator, if asked by Saban, or if he wants to pursue a head-coaching job. LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher is weighing offers from the Dolphins, North Carolina State and LSU. It generally is believed he is more likely to stay in the college ranks. Should Bates not be Saban's defensive coordinator, Houston defensive line coach Todd Grantham is a likely preference. But, as of Tuesday, the Dolphins had not asked for permission to talk to Grantham, a former Saban assistant at Michigan. Saban spent Tuesday night at Pro Player Stadium, where USC defeated Oklahoma to win the national title. USC split the title with Saban's LSU team in 2003. SUCCESSFUL SURGERY Defensive end Jay Williams underwent surgery on his right knee Wednesday to clean up a torn meniscus, agent Ron Del Duca said. Chief team physician George Caldwell did the surgery at Broward General Hospital. Williams, a 10-year NFL veteran in his third Dolphins season, played in all 16 games and had 52 tackles, two sacks and one interception. He is due a $400,000 roster bonus on March 1. His base salary next year will be $900,000. THE OTHER SIDE Two Dolphins will spend part of the playoffs as members of the electronic media. Sunday, cornerback Sam Madison will be on NFL Network's NFL Total Access program providing postgame reports and analysis from the Denver-Indianapolis game. Total Access airs at various times during the day and evening. Sunday morning at 8:30, defensive end Jason Taylor will be a guest analyst on ESPN's EA Sports NFL Matchup with Sal Palantonio, Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge. Herald sports writers Jason Cole and Armando Salguero contributed to this report.
Posted on Fri, Jan. 07, 2005 DOLPHINS Saban set to shear wealth Nick Saban must trim $17 million from the Dolphins' salary cap just to meet the NFL mandate. But there are a few obvious targets. BY JASON COLE [email protected] Talk about getting an early lesson in cap-onomics. As new coach Nick Saban learns the ins and outs of the NFL's salary cap, he and the Dolphins face the task of lopping at least $17 million in salaries for the 2005 season. That's just to get under the projected cap of $85 million. As of now, the Dolphins rank second-worst in the NFL among six teams that exceed the cap for next season, according to the NFL Players Association. As bleak as that might sound, it shouldn't be hard for the Dolphins to get under the cap. However, doing a lot of shopping in free agency might not be so simple. The Dolphins have slightly more than $102 million in cap money allotted for next season. Not all is guaranteed, and the team could make four relatively simple moves to get under the cap. FIEDLER A GONER? For instance, backup quarterback Jay Fiedler is scheduled to count more than $9.17 million against the cap and has two years remaining on his contract. If the team cuts him, it would save approximately $6.5 million against the cap, a good first step toward saving $17 million. ''Do I expect the team to talk to us? Yes, but what is there to really say?'' said agent Brian Levy, who represents Fiedler. ``I think we all know what's going to happen, and that's fine. Jay will be fine.'' In fact, there already is some talk in NFL corners that Fiedler could earn more than $2 million a year as a backup with another team. Unlike many teams, the Dolphins will be pressed to have a lot of salary cap room for shopping. By contrast, San Diego is expected to be $20 million under the cap. That gives the Chargers room to spend at will and keep quarterback Philip Rivers, the No. 4 overall pick last year, and starting quarterback Drew Brees. SMART BOX CAP ISSUES The following six teams are the only ones currently over the salary cap for the 2005 league year, according to NFL Players Association figures. Those teams must get under the cap by March 1. The cap is projected to be $85 million per team: TEAM CAP MUST FIGURE TRIM Tennessee $111M $26M Miami $102M $17M Atlanta $99M $14M Tampa Bay $97M $12M Kansas City $92M $10M Green Bay $88M $3M COMING SOON The following Dolphins players figure to have their contracts cut or restructured by the team in order to get under the salary cap by March 1: CUTS POS. PLAYER SAV. QB Jay Fiedler $6.5M FS Arturo Freeman $3.3M WR David Boston $3.16M LB Junior Seau $2.7M RESTRUCTURE POS. PLAYER SAV. WR Chris Chambers $4M Total savings in cuts and restructures: $19.66 million. It's a freedom the Dolphins don't figure to have this season. That's all part of the learning for Saban, who must get up to speed on the cap within the next two months. Saban has some formative experience with the cap from his days as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns in the early 1990s, but there is much to catch up on. ''In 1993, we knew we had a salary cap coming,'' he said, ``and it was really kind of the beginning of free agency, and in 1994 we really did have a salary cap. I had one year of experience with it. ``I think we have some really quality people in this organization who certainly can educate me on the things that we need to know to make quality decisions about how we pay the players moving forward so that we don't have problems in the future.'' Some decisions might not be tough this year. EASIER SITUATION Last year, the Dolphins had to juggle a lot of contracts, including those for Pro Bowl players Zach Thomas, Sam Madison and Jason Taylor. The guarantees on those contracts have made it harder for the team to cut or trade them. This year, more of the moves likely will be straight cuts. Aside from Fiedler, free safety Arturo Freeman has a $300,000 roster bonus due in March and a $3 million base salary for 2005. Cutting him would save $3.3 million against the cap. Wide receiver David Boston's situation is slightly different. He has a base salary of $540,000, a workout bonus of $100,000, and likely-to-be-earned incentives of $2.52 million based on technically having been on the roster for 12 games this season while on injured reserve. The bottom line? Boston, who had knee surgery in August and was suspended for the final four games for violating the league's steroid policy, will count for $3.16 million next season against the cap. The team can save an additional $2.7 million if it releases linebacker Junior Seau on or before March 1, and $4 million if, as expected, it restructures wide receiver Chris Chambers' roster bonus so it counts as signing bonus. Put it all together, and the Dolphins save approximately $19.66 million. The Dolphins, who will need more cap room to sign their draft picks, likely will tender contracts to their restricted free agents: center Seth McKinney and defensive tackle Dario Romero. But those are expected to be minimum tenders, and the Dolphins aren't expected to designate a franchise player. The team could save significantly more money by signing cornerback Patrick Surtain to a contract extension or trading him. But such a move only would be necessary if the Dolphins do extensive shopping in free agency.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2005/01/08/a8c_fins_0108.html Practice facility media room closed to reporters By Joe Schad Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Saturday, January 08, 2005 DAVIE — The Dolphins have banned reporters covering the team from working in the media room at the team's practice facility beginning today and until further notice, spokesman Harvey Greene said. Greene said the decision was "organizational" and he would not say who made the final call. Nick Saban, who was introduced as the Dolphins coach Tuesday, was in Louisiana on Friday signing copies of his new book, How Good Do You Want To Be? Since moving to Davie in 1993, the Dolphins have provided a media work room for use throughout the year. But with coaches from the last staff in limbo and other coaches about to be interviewed, the team prefers to keep away the media. "The media room will be accessible only when there are regularly scheduled media announcements or availability until we finalize our policy," Greene said. "This will allow us to get accurate information to our fans." Miami's media policies have become more stringent in recent years. Last season, assistant coaches were not available for interviews on Mondays and Tuesdays. Reporters were told not to loiter in the lobby or outside the team facility. And since this season ended, at least one assistant coach has complained that he was approached outside the team facility. The Dolphins have claimed that access is a competitive issue and have used the New England Patriots' strict policies as an example. Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who is a mentor for Saban, as well as former Patriots coach Bill Parcells, now with the Cowboys, have had success with strict media policies. Greg Aiello, the NFL's vice president of media relations, said the league has no rule or policy addressing this situation. "This is yet another attempt by the Dolphins to restrict access to players and coaches," said Tim Burke, deputy managing editor of The Palm Peach Post and former president of the Associated Press Sports Editors. "For the benefit of our readers who expect the full story, we will continue to work around their latest plan to control and filter information." John McClain, president of the Pro Football Writers Association, said: "PFWA hopes that Nick Saban understands the importance of having a good working relationship with the media and before he finalizes his media policy that he would meet with many of those who cover the Dolphins." Saban has not met individually with media members. Jerry Micco, president of the Associated Press Sports Editors and Assistant Managing Editor for Sports at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, said he'll write a letter of complaint to the Dolphins. "Any action to keep media away from a complex hurts the coverage of the team and in the long run hurts readers of newspapers," Micco said. "If somebody doesn't want to talk, they can tell us to go fly a kite, they don't have to talk to us. That sounds like more of a problem for Nick Saban. Tell your coaches not to talk to the media."
