Special Teams Coach John Bonamego fired by Dolphins after fiasco on MNF..

DAVIE, Fla. -- The Miami Dolphins fired special teams coordinator John Bonamego on Tuesday, only 12 hours after a calamitous prime-time performance against the New England Patriots.

Special teams cost Miami 21 points in a 41-14 loss Monday night. Two blocked kicks led to touchdowns, and the Patriots returned a kickoff 103 yards for another score.
The Dolphins (2-2) also had a punt blocked a week earlier in a loss to the New York Jets. The back-to-back divisional defeats have dropped Miami to third place in the AFC East.

Assistant special teams coach Darren Rizzi will replace Bonamego, coach Tony Sparano said. Bonamego was in his 12th NFL season and had been with the Dolphins since Sparano became head coach in 2008.

"It's a hard decision to make," Sparano said. "I know how hard this guy works. Nobody works harder than him at what he does."

Lapses by Bonamego's units turned a close game into a rout. The Patriots trailed 7-6 before Brandon Tate returned the second-half kickoff untouched for a score. Pat Chung blocked a punt to set up a touchdown, then blocked a field goal that Kyle Arrington returned 35 yards for a touchdown and a 34-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Sparano said Miami's breakdowns went beyond coaching.

"Our players also need to take responsibility," he said.
The Dolphins endured their most lopsided defeat since 2007, when they went 1-15. They lost even though they outgained the Patriots by 135 yards, limited them to 146 yards passing and held Randy Moss without a catch.

Rizzi took his first NFL job when Sparano hired him last year. He'll have extra time to sort out the situation because the Dolphins have a bye this week.

ESPN.com

The head coach should be taking part of the blame for going for a 52 yard field goal that was blocked. In that spot when you're down 13 points, you either go for it on fourth down or punt. It was pretty long to try for it on fourth down so you punt in that spot. I don't think their kicker had any shot to make that 52 yarder. You either end up missing it and give the Patriots a short field or it gets blocked. That whole fiasco is squarely the head coaches fault.

maybe Sparano should Look in the Mirror .......

Just saying. :drink:

Maybe they should "fire" some of the special team players... I dont think the coach missed any of the blocks.

Bye week has taken on a new meaning, bye bye Coach John.

brutal game last night (I was there). you have to do something when your special teams fails you the way they did last night. they sure miss Mike Westoff.

I posted in the third quarter last night the coach could get fired for that. The reason I say that is if that game was at noon on a Sunday he probably survives. But on MNF, it's a death sentence. Probably not fair but you could see it happen.

Who made this call - J Lo??? One bad game and seeya later? What a stupid, superficial move by Dolphins. Am I missing something? Have they been bad on special teams for a long time now or what? I have not heard anyone ever say that Miami needs to get right in the special teams department and I tune into alot of these NFL shows. It sounds like an overreaction to appease fans or something.

I never caught onto this if it is the case jgrif, they looked pretty good to me againt the Vikes a couple weeks back. In general, I'm very suspicious of moves like this now. Everyone seems to be on a shorter leash as compared to 10 years ago. If it came from Sparano I guess I respect it.