| Dolphins say Griese is 'last major need' By Michael Cunningham Dolphins Correspondent Posted June 10, 2003 DAVIE Brian Griese seemed relieved to escape the pressures of following John Elway in Denver, while Miami Dolphins Coach Dave Wannstedt is determined to handle the pressures of coaching a former Pro Bowl quarterback as the backup to Jay Fiedler. In that sense, the Dolphins and Griese, who was introduced Monday after signing a two-year contract, look to be a good fit. Griese, 28, will earn $530,000 in base salary this season, plus a $1 million signing bonus. The second year of the deal will cost Miami more than $6 million in salary-cap space, meaning the team either would have to release Griese, restructure his deal or make him the starting quarterback. Wannstedt and team owner H. Wayne Huizenga have cited the play of 2002 backup Ray Lucas as a major reason the Dolphins missed the playoffs. Now they have a backup who has won recently as a starter, a luxury that few NFL teams enjoy. "This was probably the last major need that we had," Wannstedt said. "We could line up tomorrow and play." For the first of what figures to be many times, Wannstedt stressed that the Dolphins would do it with Fiedler as the starter and Griese and Sage Rosenfels backing him up. Griese sounded as if that's the way he prefers it, expressing support for Fiedler, a willingness to fill any role and an eagerness for a fresh start. In Denver, Griese was criticized because he couldn't stay healthy, ran into trouble off the field and, most important, couldn't lead the Broncos to a playoff victory after Elway had won two Super Bowl titles. Coach Mike Shanahan eventually gave up on Griese, and the Broncos released him June 2. That led to what Griese called a surreal scene. After a week of stalled negotiations, he finally joined the team that his Hall of Fame father, Bob, led to two Super Bowl titles as quarterback from 1967-80. Michael Cunningham writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Publishing newspaper. |