The 2010 season was the Miami Dolphins' 41st in the National Football League (NFL), their 45th overall and their third under head coach Tony Sparano. The Dolphins matched their 7–9 record from 2009, and placed in third in the AFC East.
Offseason personnel moves
Staff Changes
In September 2010, Bill Parcells, stepped down as Vice President of Football Operations, but remaining as a consultant.Miami Dolphins consultant Bill Parcells might be advising another NFL team, too, Dec 29, 2010, palmbeachpost.com, Accessed November 24, 2011 He was later criticised for not making the right choices to improve the team.Atmosphere polluted around Parcells’ successors, 08.07.11, forbes.com, Accessed November 24, 2011
The Dolphins lost their first coach of the offseason—outside linebackers coach Jim Reid—on January 8, when Reid was named defensive coordinator and associated head coach under Mike London at the University of Virginia.
That same week, inside linebackers coach George Edwards was named defensive coordinator at the University of Florida under Urban Meyer and acting head coach Steve Addazio. He would later go on to fill the Buffalo Bills' defensive coordinator position. On January 11, the Dolphins fired defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni after the team finished 25th in the league in points allowed during the season. He was quickly replaced by former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator, Mike Nolan, less than 24 hours after resigning his post in Denver. Former New York Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was named linebackers coach to replace both Edwards and Reid.
Players
Re-signings June 17 — Re-signed linebacker Tim Dobbins to a two-year extension. June 18 — Re-signed punter Brandon Fields to a two-year extension, and signed long snapper John Denney to a three-year extension. July 27 — Re-signed kicker Dan Carpenter to a three-year extension. August 6 – Re-signed tight end David Martin. Martin had missed the entire 2009 season with a knee injury, and was released from the team in December. August 16 – Re-signed defensive end/outside linebacker Ikaika Alama-Francis to a one-year extension.
Signings March 5 – Signed linebacker Karlos Dansby (Arizona Cardinals). March 17 – Signed guard Richie Incognito (Buffalo Bills). May 20 – Signed linebacker Zach Thomas to a one-day contract (Kansas City Chiefs). May 24 – Signed Offensive Lineman Cory Procter (Dallas Cowboys). July 25 – Signed defensive tackle Montavious Stanley (Jacksonville Jaguars). July 27 – Signed defensive end Marques Douglas (New York Jets). July 30 – Signed defensive end Charles Grant (New Orleans Saints). September 6 – Signed inside linebacker Bobby Carpenter (St. Louis Rams). September 8 – Signed running back/kick returner Clifton Smith (Tampa Bay Buccaneers). September 21 – Signed tight end Jeron Mastrud from the practice squad.
Departures
March 5 – Released linebackers Joey Porter, Akin Ayodele and safety Gibril Wilson. May 20 – Announced the retirement of linebacker Zach Thomas. May 27 – Terminated the contract of linebacker Reggie Torbor. July 15 – Announced the retirement of defensive tackle Jason Ferguson. September 4 – Released quarterback Pat White, guard Donald Thomas, tight end David Martin and wide receiver Patrick Turner among final roster cuts. September 5 – Released defensive ends Marques Douglas and Charles Grant. September 6 – Terminated the contract of outside linebacker Charlie Anderson. September 8 – Terminated the contract of center Jake Grove.
Trades April 14 – Traded a 2nd round selection in the 2010 NFL draft (43rd overall, traded to Baltimore – Sergio Kindle) and the 2011 NFL draft for Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall. April 16 – Traded wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers for a fifth round selection in the 2010 NFL draft (145th overall – Nolan Carroll). April 22 – Traded the 12th overall selection (Ryan Mathews), a 4th round selection (110th overall, Darrell Stuckey), and a 6th round selection (173rd overall, traded to San Francisco – Anthony Dixon) in the 2010 NFL draft to the San Diego Chargers for the 28th overall selection (Jared Odrick), a 2nd round selection (40th overall, Koa Misi), a 4th round selection (126th overall, traded to Dallas – Akwasi Owusu-Ansah) and linebacker Tim Dobbins. May 24 – Traded guard Justin Smiley to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 7th round selection in the 2011 NFL draft. August 25 – Traded wide receiver Greg Camarillo to the Minnesota Vikings for cornerback Benny Sapp. September 3 – Acquired offensive tackle Pat McQuistan from the Dallas Cowboys for a conditional 7th-round draft choice in the 2011 NFL draft.
2010 NFL draft
After finishing the 2009 season with a record of 7–9, the Dolphins were slotted for the 12th overall pick in the draft. However, on draft day, they ended up trading down with San Diego for the No.28 pick.
Draft Name Position College Height Weight Rnd Pick 1 28 Jared Odrick DE Penn State 6'5" 296 2 40 Koa Misi OLB Utah 6'3" 251 3 73 John Jerry G Ole Miss 6'5" 328 4 119 A. J. Edds ILB Iowa 6'4" 246 5 145 Nolan Carroll CB Maryland 5'11" 204 163 Reshad Jones FS Georgia 6'1" 214 7 212 Chris McCoy OLB Middle Tennessee 6'3" 251 252 Austin Spitler ILB Ohio State 6'3" 234
Notes Miami traded their 2010 first-round pick (12th overall), a fourth-round selection (110th overall), and a sixth-round selection it acquired from Kansas City (173rd overall) to San Diego for a first-round selection (28th overall), a second-round selection it acquired from Seattle (40th overall), a fourth-round selection (126th overall), and linebacker Tim Dobbins. Miami traded their second-round pick (43rd overall) and its 2011 second-round selection to Denver for wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Miami traded their fifth-round pick (142nd overall) to Kansas City for quarterback Tyler Thigpen. San Francisco traded their fifth-round pick (145th overall) to Miami for wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. Kansas City traded their sixth-round pick (173rd overall) to Miami for offensive linemen Andy Alleman and Ikechuku Ndukwe. Washington traded their sixth-round pick (174th overall) and a 2009 second-round selection (44th overall) to Miami for defensive end Jason Taylor. Kansas City traded their seventh-round pick (212th) to Miami for a 2009 seventh-round selection (237th overall). Seventh-round pick (252nd overall) is a compensatory pick. Washington traded their fifth-round pick (163rd overall) to Miami for a sixth-round selection (174th overall) and a seventh-round selection (219th overall).
Staff Miami Dolphins 2010 staff Front office Chairman/managing general partner – Stephen Ross Vice chairman/partner – Jorge Perez Vice chairman – Don Shula CEO – Mike Dee General manager – Jeff Ireland Senior vice president of football operations – Dawn Aponte Assistant director of player personnel – Brian Gaine Director of college scouting – Chris Grier
Head coaches Head coach – Tony Sparano Assistant head coach/secondary – Todd Bowles
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Dan Henning Quarterbacks – David Lee Running backs – James Saxon Wide receivers – Karl Dorrell Tight ends – George DeLeone Offensive line – Dave DeGuglielmo Offensive quality control – Steve Bush Coaching intern/offense – Dan Campbell Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Nolan Defensive line – Kacy Rodgers Linebackers – Bill Sheridan Assistant secondary – Joe Danna Defensive quality control/assistant linebackers – David Corrao
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – John Bonamego fired on October 5th Assistant special teams coordinator – Darren Rizzi
Strength and conditioning Head strength and conditioning – Evan Marcus Assistant strength and conditioning – David Puloka
Team Captains
Yeremiah Bell, Patrick Cobbs, Karlos Dansby, and Jake Long.
Roster
Schedule
Preseason The Dolphins preseason schedule was announced on March 31, 2010. Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 August 14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 10–7 1–0 Sun Life Stadium Recap 2 August 21 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–26 2–0 EverBank Field Recap 3 August 27 Atlanta Falcons L 6–16 2–1 Sun Life Stadium Recap 4 September 2 at Dallas Cowboys L 25–27 2–2 Cowboys Stadium Recap
Regular season The 2010 regular season schedule was announced on April 20, 2010.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 September 12 at Buffalo Bills W 15–10 1–0 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 2 September 19 at Minnesota Vikings W 14–10 2–0 Mall of America Field Recap 3 September 26 New York Jets L 23–31 2–1 Sun Life Stadium Recap 4 October 4 New England Patriots L 14–41 2–2 Sun Life Stadium Recap 5 Bye 6 October 17 at Green Bay Packers W 23–20 3–2 Lambeau Field Recap 7 October 24 Pittsburgh Steelers L 22–23 3–3 Sun Life Stadium Recap 8 October 31 at Cincinnati Bengals W 22–14 4–3 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 9 November 7 at Baltimore Ravens L 10–26 4–4 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 10 November 14 Tennessee Titans W 29–17 5–4 Sun Life Stadium Recap 11 November 18 Chicago Bears L 0–16 5–5 Sun Life Stadium Recap 12 November 28 at Oakland Raiders W 33–17 6–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 13 December 5 Cleveland Browns L 10–13 6–6 Sun Life Stadium Recap 14 December 12 at New York Jets W 10–6 7–6 New Meadowlands Stadium Recap 15 December 19 Buffalo Bills L 14–17 7–7 Sun Life Stadium Recap 16 December 26 Detroit Lions L 27–34 7–8 Sun Life Stadium Recap 17 January 2 at New England Patriots L 7–38 7–9 Gillette Stadium Recap
Standings
Conference
Game results
Week 1: at Buffalo Bills
The Miami Dolphins began their season at Ralph Wilson Stadium for an AFC East duel with the Buffalo Bills. In the first quarter, Miami struck first when kicker Dan Carpenter nailed a 32-yard field goal, which was increased in the second quarter when running back Ronnie Brown got a 1-yard TD run. The Bills replied when kicker Rian Lindell made a 51-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, Miami scored first with Carpenter hitting a 43-yard field goal. Then, the Bills replied with quarterback Trent Edwards making a 31-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Roscoe Parrish. The final score was made when long snapper Garrison Sanborn fumbled out of bounds for a safety.
With the win, the Dolphins began the season at 1–0.
Week 2: at Minnesota Vikings
Hoping to increase their winning streak, the Dolphins flew to Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for an interconference duel with the Vikings. In the first quarter, the Dolphins got the early lead as QB Chad Henne made a 5-yard TD pass to WR Brian Hartline. In the third quarter, the Dolphins increased their lead when LB Koa Misi recovered a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown, but Minnesota scored with RB Adrian Peterson completing a 1-yard TD run. The Vikings tried to fight back in the 4th quarter with kicker Ryan Longwell nailing a 28-yard field goal, but Miami's defense prevented anything else from happening, giving Miami a win. It was the Dolphins' first road win over the Vikings since 1979.
With the win, Miami improved to 2–0.
Week 3: vs. New York Jets
Coming off their win over the Vikings, the Dolphins went home, donned their alternate uniforms, and played their Week 3 home-opener against their AFC East foe, the New York Jets, on Sunday night. Miami trailed early in the first quarter as Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dustin Keller. The Dolphins' deficit would increase in the second quarter as Sanchez hooked up with Keller again on a 3-yard touchdown pass. Miami would respond with quarterback Chad Henne completing a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Anthony Fasano, followed by kicker Dan Carpenter making a 44-yard field goal.