Monday, January 14, 2002
Dolphins say they're intent on signing Fiedler
ESPN.com news services
DAVIE, Fla. -- Jay Fiedler, who has played for two years in
the shadow of Dan Marino's legacy, now must endure comparisons with
another likely Hall of Famer: Troy Aikman.
The Miami Dolphins' offseason commenced with a quarterback
controversy Monday, thanks to broadcast reports that Aikman might
come out of retirement and join the team.
Coach Dave Wannstedt said he wants Fiedler back and denied that
the Dolphins have talked to Aikman. But Wannstedt, who was
defensive coordinator in Dallas during Aikman's prime, declined to
say whether Miami would be interested in him if he wants to play
next season.
Aikman, 35, led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in
a 12 seasons before retiring last April. Ten concussions and
problems with his back contributed to his decision, and on Jan. 6
he said it was "extremely doubtful" he would play next season.
Last week, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that Aikman would be interested in returning to the league. Aikman later told ESPN's Ron Jaworski that he would be interested in returning to the league next season -- but only if he could work with offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who worked with Aikman in Dallas.
Turner is still under contract with the San Diego Chargers, but could leave the Chargers to take an NFL head coaching position or another coordinator job if the Chargers select another head coach. Head coach Mike Riley was fired in December after four seasons.
Unless the Dolphins and Fiedler come to an agreement in the next week, the quarterback likely will excercise an option to become a free agent. Fiedler is scheduled to earn $1.2 million next season and would certainly earn more than that with a new Dolphins deal or on the free-agent market, reports ESPN.com's John Clayton.
Fiedler said his preference is
to remain with the Dolphins, and he shrugged off the possibility
that they'll sign Aikman.
"If they go in that direction, then my opportunities will lie
somewhere else," Fiedler said. "Certainly they're going to look
into every opportunity. That's the nature of the business. They've
never told me they didn't have faith in me and that they were
automatically trying to replace me."
Wannstedt denied that there have been discussions between the
Dolphins and Aikman, who spent this season as a television analyst
for Fox.
"I promise you that is not true," Wannstedt said. "There's
nothing to it."
Aikman's agent, Leigh Steinberg, said Monday he's not heard from
the Dolphins -- but he would listen if they called.
"Troy has said if a really intriguing offer come's along, he'd
certainly consider it," Steinberg said. "It really is a function
of whether the right team and the right situation come along."
If Fiedler returns, would it be as the starter, with no
anticipation of competition for the job?
"Yeah. Definitely. Sure," Wannstedt said.
Would the Dolphins have any interest in Aikman if he does come
out of retirement?
"It's a hypothetical question," Wannstedt said. "Troy is
retired. I wouldn't even comment on that."
Lending impetus to the speculation: Aikman's offensive
coordinator in Dallas, Norv Turner, is a leading candidate to
succeed Chan Gailey as the Dolphins' offensive coordinator. Gailey
has been hired as head coach at Georgia Tech.
The idea of Aikman in aqua is sure to keep phone lines buzzing
on South Florida sports radio shows. But it's unclear why the
Dolphins would gamble on the fragile, immobile veteran _ the sort
of quarterback they had in Marino's final seasons.
Fiedler showed improvement during his second NFL season as a
starter. In the final seven regular season games he threw 11
touchdown passes with just four interceptions, one of the league's
best ratios.
"Jay made progress as the year went on," Wannstedt said. "The
second half of the season, he obviously got a lot better. If you
run the ball, it's going to take some pressure off the quarterback,
and we struggled with that all year. He had as much pressure on him
as you could put on a quarterback in a lot of games."
Given that description of the job, one wonders why Aikman would
want it.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
