Super Bowl LIV: The Dolphins should take inspiration from San Francisco, which went from four wins to the Super Bowl

MIAMI — At the welcome to Super Bowl LIV press conference, Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel said Sunday’s matchup between the Chiefs and 49ers will hopefully be the best we’ve ever seen.

“The only one that’s going to be better is the next one that the Miami Dolphins are playing in,” Garfinkel said.

How does the 2022 Super Bowl in Los Angeles sound? Because the feeling here is that is a realistic goal for the Dolphins.

Sound absurd? It shouldn’t. Consider the 49ers were one of the worst teams in the league three years ago. And they won only four games last season (fewer than Miami’s five in Brian Flores’ first).

And yet, here they are, those flailing 49ers, on center stage, at the pinnacle of sport in our nation, in the stadium Garfinkel and Miami owner Stephen Ross worked so diligently to renovate into a world-class destination.

Yes, Miami tore it all down. We’ve been over that for the entire last calendar year. Now it’s time to think about what it might build back up.

In the NFL, worst-to-first is no uncharted course. San Francisco completely changed the fortunes of its organization with three years of solid drafting, combined with a few game-changing trades and savvy free-agent signings.

Of the 53 players on the 49ers roster for the Super Bowl, only seven - seven! - were around prior to 2017. Miami’s future may be similar.

This week, Garfinkel re-tweeted an NFL analyst, Lee Sharpe, who presented an axis graph incorporating salary cap space and draft pick value to illustrate 2020 offseason resources.

The Dolphins were so far into the upper right-hand corner of this graph (that’s really, really good) that it seemed as though their logo was swimming alone in the Atlantic Ocean.

General manager Chris Grier and Flores have a remarkable opportunity to rebuild the roster in a vision they’ve always imagined. And for some ideas on how they might do that best, they can look no further than the 49ers.

The franchise quarterback? Yes, a trade of a second rounder to New England for Jimmy Garoppolo.

Picking the right quarterback is, of course, essential. The 49ers considered pursuing Kirk Cousins in free agency, but this was the more prudent move.

“If you don’t have a quarterback who can win in big games and big moments, it’s really, really hard to get to this point,” 49ers owner Jed York said.

Miami must add its Garoppolo in the next three months.

Power and skill in the trenches? Yes, on both sides of the ball.

A defensive lineman in the first round in 2017 (Solomon Thomas).

An offensive lineman in the first round in 2018 (Mike McGlinchy).

A defensive lineman in the first round in 2019 (Nick Bosa).

Grier is committed to rebuilding the trenches. Nobody should be surprised if he uses extensive draft capital on offensive tackles and defensive ends in the next two drafts.

Miami desperately needs a pass rush. The Dolphins also desperately need offensive linemen who can protect the passer and create push in the run game. Have you noticed how Garoppolo is pretty before and after games?

That’s the goal.

Grier has shown an ability to hit on prospects in rounds 4-7. So has Niners general manager John Lynch, with the brightest gem former Iowa tight end George Kittle in the fifth.

Free agency? It’s money thoughtfully spent on tough, physical players like fullback Kyle Juszczyk, gritty players like offensive lineman Ben Garland, and speedy players like linebacker Kwon Alexander.

It’s adding a savvy veteran corner in Richard Sherman, who was 30, but not yet actually close to done. And smart trades for impactful pass rusher Dee Ford and savvy veteran receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

Miami must invest, and very likely will invest, on the offensive and defensive lines. This season, the 49ers were second in the NFL in defensive line spending, and boast first-rounders Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Bosa and Ford.

And San Francisco was sixth in the league in offensive line spending, stockpiling athletic linemen who can maul when needed.

In the first year of Lynch and Coach Kyle Shanahan, the Niners started 0-9.

In the first year of Grier and Flores, the Dolphins started 0-7.

This can be done, folks.

The 49ers struggled so badly last season (yes, Garoppolo was injured) that they coached at the Senior Bowl, an honor offered to the leaders of the two worst teams in the NFL.

But nobody in the San Francisco organization wavered. With Grier and Flores (who, like Shanahan possesses a long-term contract) Miami feels it has a partnership based on trust, respect and shared beliefs.

The 49ers plotted year three as the major turn, and they did, like a Porsche.

At a dinner in Mobile, Alabama, at the 2019 Senior Bowl, a San Francisco employee coined the phrase “Mobile to Miami,” which may have sounded insane to some, considering the club had just gone 4-12.

“Sure enough, here we are,” Lynch said. “It’s pretty awesome.”

During this season, Grier held a news conference in which he spoke boldly about Miami’s plan to execute a long-term plan but with an aggressive approach.

“I don’t know if you really put a time frame with it,” Grier said. “For us, it’s – we’ve positioned ourselves to where we think the organization will be in a good place here shortly.”

The wheels should be set in motion in 2020, as Miami begins to deploy up to 14 draft choices and some of about $100 million in cap space.

The plan? Why not Miami to Inglewood? Why can’t the Dolphins attempt to improve their roster so dramatically that a visit to the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood actually occurs?

That should be a goal. That should be the target. Contention among the very best in the league, then. A real Hollywood story.

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@schadjoe

jschad@pbpost.com