2009 Miami Dolphins season
The 2009 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 40th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 44th overall and the second under head coach Tony Sparano. The Dolphins entered the 2009 season as the reigning AFC East champions after posting an 11–5 record in 2008. Dropping by four more games, the Dolphins failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007, marking the 25th consecutive year that the region hosting the Super Bowl did not see its host team play in, thus it set off a playoff drought that lasted until 2016 (not counting years where Super Bowls have been played on neutral sites). Offseason personnel moves Coaching staff The Dolphins fired offensive line coach Mike Maser on January 14, 2009, just one year after he was hired to head coach Tony Sparano's staff. During Maser's lone season with the Dolphins, the team had the 12th-best offense in the league with 345.6 yards per game. A day after firing Maser, the team hired Dave DeGuglielmo, who had been the assistant offensive line coach for the New York Giants, as their new offensive line coach. After kicking coach Steve Hoffman left the team to join the Kansas City Chiefs, the Dolphins hired University of Rhode Island head coach Darren Rizzi as the assistant special teams coach on February 21. Players Re-signings January 5 – Re-signed wide receiver Anthony Armstrong, cornerback Scorpio Babers, cornerback Will Billingsley, fullback Chris Brown, defensive tackle Joe Cohen, running back Lex Hilliard and wide receiver Todd Lowber. February 20 – Re-signed offensive tackle Vernon Carey. February 25 – Re-signed linebacker Channing Crowder. February 27 – Re-signed safety Yeremiah Bell. May 16 – Signed fullback Lousaka Polite to a multi-year extension. May 26 – Signed cornerback Will Allen to a multi-year extension. June 22 – Signed safety Tyrone Culver to a multi-year extension. Signings January 6 – Claimed linebacker Tearrius George off waivers from the New Orleans Saints. January 19 – Signed safety Ethan Kilmer (Bengals) and linebacker Cameron Wake (BC Lions). February 25 – Signed safety Gibril Wilson (Raiders). February 27 – Signed guard Joe Berger (Cowboys). March 3 – Signed center Jake Grove (Raiders). March 12 – Signed cornerback Eric Green (Cardinals). April 25 – Signed punter Jy Bond (Australia). May 13 – Signed linebacker Jason Taylor (Redskins). Departures February 10 – Waived guard Matt McChesney and linebacker Kelvin Smith. March 2 – Terminated the contract of defensive end Vonnie Holliday. April 27 – Released quarterback John Beck. June 1 – Released wide receiver Todd Lowber. June 15 – Released cornerback Scorpio Babers and punter Jy Bond. Trades March 19 – Acquired defensive tackle Tony McDaniel from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for seventh-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. March 23 – Traded center Samson Satele to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a sixth-round pick and a swap of fourth-round picks in the 2009 NFL Draft. Free agents UFA: Unrestricted free agent, RFA: Restricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive-rights free agent 2009