Amid the myriad reasons Joe Philbin is no longer the head coach of the Miami Dolphins -- slow starts, lack of leadership, poor record, lack of improvement -- you might add a blown call in the last game against the New York Jets.

That's right, a blown call against the Dolphins may have helped seal Philbin's days in Miami.

In that Jets game, the Dolphins trailed 27-7 entering the fourth quarter. Then they scored a TD on a Ryan Tannehill pass to Kenny Stills with 10:05 to play. So 27-14.

The next time Miami got the ball, the offense drove for another touchdown. Tannehill threw a 2-yard scoring pass to Jarvis Landry to make it 27-21 with over six minutes to play. Except the scoring play was nullified by an offensive interference penalty against DeVante Parker.

And the Dolphins failed to make up the score or the time, throwing an interception several plays later, losing their momentum, and losing the game.

Problem is the penalty call was wrong. That, according to a Dolphins source, is what the NFL admitted to the Dolphins when the team turned in its officiating report the day after the game.

The Dolphins indeed should have been down 27-21 with six minutes to play and momentum on their side.

So there's this: What if the Dolphins had carried that momentum to a 28-27 win? It is not a far-fetched notion because, if you recall, the next time the Dolphins got the football they marched from their 16 yard line to the Jets 26. What might have changed if instead of being down 13 at that point, they'd been down only six with the ball on the New York 26?

We'll never know what would have happened. But this much is certain: If Miami had been able to pull out a 28-27 win, Philbin would still be the coach today. That is a fact. Stephen Ross would not have fired his coach if the team was 2-2 after a win rather than 1-3 and on a three-game losing skid.

And, yes, I know what many (most?) of you are saying now: You're happy the official blew the call which helped get Philbin fired.

That doesn't change the fact the blown call might have played a role in his ouster.