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The trouble in Miami may go beyond the departed General Manager Jeff Ireland and offensive coordinator Mike Sherman.

A report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald suggests that there are deep problems within the team, and that the locker room doesn’t think highly of the coaches.

“There’s not great respect for the coaching staff there,” one person described as “a close associate of several Dolphins players” told Jackson.

Two other unnamed sources told Jackson similar things.

“Criticism of the coaches is consistent with everyone I talk to on the team,” one source said. “You have some assistants who weren’t experienced or comfortable in their jobs. Some players said they didn’t learn much. It’s pretty disconcerting.”

Added another source, “There’s not a lot of great teaching there.”

In fairness to Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin and his staff, we have no idea which players these unnamed sources are talking to, and we have no idea whether that’s a majority opinion within the locker room — it could just be a few disgruntled Dolphins who are grousing about their coaches.

Or, it could be a sign of a significant problem in Miami. At the end of the season, with the playoffs on the line, the Dolphins looked like a team that had quit. These comments don’t do anything to change the perception that the coaches aren’t getting through to the players in Miami.