Zach Thomas no longer a Dolphin

After 12 glorious seasons, Zach Thomas is no longer a Miami Dolphin. The seven-time Pro Bowler was cut yesterday after an injury-plagued year. Thomas had at least 100 tackles in 11 of his 12 seasons and led the team in tackles in 10 of them.

Personally, I'm sad to see him go. Zach Thomas has been my favorite Dolphin since Dan Marino's retirement. However, the move may turn out to be a blessing for him. The one glaring hole in Thomas's Hall of Fame career is a Super Bowl appearance, and he now has a better chance of fulfilling that dream than if he stayed with the Dolphins.

Dolphins cut 9 players

The Miami Dolphins cut nine players yesterday. They were Trent Green, Marty Booker, L.J. Shelton, Keith Traylor, Anthony Alabi, Anthony Bryant, Marion Dukes, Marquay Love, and Joe Toledo. The first four players on the list were starters, and with the release of Green and Booker, the Dolphins have solidly put their offensive futures in the hands of youngsters John Beck, Derek Hagan, and Ted Ginn Jr.

Perhaps the team will pick up veteran free agents to man the positions, but we've seen how well that's worked out (Green, Daunte Culpupper, and Gus Frerotte come to mind).

Dan Henning is new offensive coordinator

Amid all the Super Bowl buzz, you might have missed the news that the Dolphins hired a new offensive coordinator, Dan Henning. Henning is another old Parcells acquaintance. The two served on the Florida State staff together in 1970, and most recently, with the Jets in 1999, when Parcells was head coach and Henning was the quarterbacks coach.

Old Dolfans (like me) may remember Henning from Super Bowl XVII, where Henning served as the offensive coordinator on the Redskins team that beat the Dolphins.

Happy happy, joy joy

Thank you, New York Giants!

No more talk of 19-0, or whether the Patriots are the best team ever. The 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only perfect team in NFL history.

The champagne wasn't just popping in New York. Members of the 1972 Dolphins were undoubtedly celebrating the Giants' upset as much as the victors themselves. In this worst of all Dolphins seasons, a silver finally appeared at the end.