Leadership is one of the most underrated aspects of sports, but it is something that determines a large part of the fortunes of teams.
Leaders, whether they’re coaches or players, need to keep people focused on the correct vision and the proper manifestation of that vision while holding people accountable and creating a winning culture.
It has been a while since the Miami Dolphins had such a culture, and though they have talent, Ray Lewis, who as a player was the unquestioned leader of the Baltimore Ravens, feels the Dolphins are lacking in the leadership department.
“When you think of the Dolphins, what’s their identity? Speed? Great, but that’s just a tangible thing. … Who’s the leader? There’s no defined leader,” Lewis said, according to Samantha Rivera of CBS News Miami, via FinsXtra.
🗣 Ray Lewis on the Miami Dolphins: “When you think of the Dolphins, what’s their identity? Speed? Great, but that’s just a tangible thing… who’s the leader? There’s no defined leader.” (@JSamanthaRivera) #GoFins pic.twitter.com/tT9iMsKrmV
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) January 31, 2025
A season ago, Miami had the NFL’s most explosive offense, thanks largely to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, while quarterback Tua Tagovailoa led the league in passing yards.
This season, Tagovailoa had a league-high 72.9 percent pass completion rate, but he missed six games because of injury, and Miami wasn’t able to hold things down when he was out, leading to it missing the playoffs.
The outlook for the immediate future is now murky after Hill made a comment that implied he would like to be traded.
In addition, there are those who feel Tagovailoa should retire after he suffered the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career this season.
Miami hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2000 season, which was the season after Dan Marino’s farewell campaign.
