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Sunday’s 26-10 loss to the Eagles put the brakes on the feel-good story the Dolphins were fashioning over the last few weeks.

They looked a lot like the team that lost their first seven games of the season. They made a ton of mistakes on both sides of the ball, the offensive line leaked like a poorly fashioned canoe and they didn’t look particularly competitive after opening up a 7-0 lead. It’s little surprise, then, that another mainstay of the early part of the season returned on Sunday night.

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that the team plans to replace head coach Tony Sparano once the season comes to an end. There had been some talk in recent weeks that a strong ending could buy Sparano another season on the sideline, but, per Salguero, the chance of that happening is rapidly nearing zero. There’s no hint about who the next coach might be, but a big one about who will be leading the search process.

According to Salguero’s report, “barring some unforeseen circumstance,” general manager Jeff Ireland will return for the 2012 season. Salguero reports that Ireland will not be fired come the end of the season because owner Stephen Ross believes the team is underachieving despite having a lot of talent on the roster. The run from 0-7 to 4-8 likely helped cement those feelings and the strong play of Reggie Bush, who few other than Ireland believed could be a feature back, doesn’t hurt either.