Final Four NFL Teams, Four Big What-Ifs for the Dolphins

The AFC and NFC title games might look different had it not been for decisions made by the Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins again won't be involved in a conference championship game Sunday, but they do have a connection to the four teams left standing.

And in some cases it's fair to wonder whether the final four of the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers would look the same without certain Dolphins decisions.

CAMPBELL DELIVERS AS HEAD COACH

The most direct connection involves Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who once upon a time served as interim head coach of the Dolphins for the final 12 games of the 2015 regular season.

Campbell performed well enough as head coach — the Dolphins finished 5-7 after starting 1-3 — to be interviewed for the full-time opening after that season, but the Dolphins instead went with Adam Gase.

Anybody who watched that 2015 Dolphins team could see a drastic difference in intensity after Campbell took over, and it's what has become his trademark as Lions head coach — and, yes, it goes beyond talking about biting kneecaps.

Almost a decade after the fact, who can say with conviction that Campbell wouldn't have been a better choice for the Dolphins, that he could have grown on the job the way he did in Detroit. And who can say with certainty he still wouldn't be the Dolphins head coach had he been given that job in January 2016 instead of Miami being on its third coach since then.

Regardless, the Lions are extremely thankful the Dolphins didn't give him that shot and he instead worked his way to Detroit by way of New Orleans and learning under Sean Payton.

THE TYREEK TRADE

It's difficult to complain about the Tyreek Hill from a Dolphins standpoint considering he was the team MVP in his first two seasons in Miami as well as an All-Pro selection.

But the trade also accomplished a goal for the Chiefs, who gained financial flexibility along with additional draft capital.

The Chiefs got five picks from the Dolphins for Hill — in the first, second and fourth rounds in 2022, and in the fourth and sixth in 2023 — and parlayed those into wide receivers Rashee Rice and Skyy Moore along with cornerback Trent McDuffie.

Rice and McDuffie have become key contributors for the Chiefs, but perhaps just as significant the Hill trade helped K.C. be able to retain their best defensive player, Chris Jones.

But, yes, it sure helps when you have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.

THE LAMAR JACKSON CALL

The players talking about having a chip on their shoulder is a tired cliché, but we could forgive Lamar Jackson in this instance.

After all, we're talking about a player who's likely to be named NFL MVP for the second time in his six-year career, this after being the last pick in the first round of the 2018 draft and after being ignored by NFL teams everywhere this offseason when he was a free agent.

The Dolphins weren't in the QB market this past offseason because they were fully committed to Tua Tagovailoa, but that wasn't the case in 2018 when Ryan Tannehill was coming off a season spent on IR because of a torn ACL.

We've heard the stories by now about how owner Stephen Ross threw out the idea of selecting Jackson in the first round but the Dolphins instead drafted defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick out of Alabama.

While there is no denying that Fitzpatrick is a great player — his premature departure from Miami aside — a great QB is better than a great DB, so we can say the Dolphins dropped the ball on this one.

The Ravens, meanwhile, have made the playoffs in five of Jackson's six seasons and are a step away from their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2012 season.

THE 49ERS TRADE FALL-OUT

This one connection isn't nearly as direct because it's a case of the 49ers being so deep that they were able to overcome a trade for which they otherwise would get blasted.

This is about the 2021 draft-day trade where the 49ers gave the Dolphins two extra first-round picks to move up from 12 to 3 in the draft so they could select QB Trey Lance, the same Trey Lance who ended the 2023 season third on the Dallas Cowboys depth chart.

Of course, the 49ers were fortunate to be able to get their successor for oft-injured Jimmy Garoppolo anyway when they landed Brock Purdy in the seventh round of the 2022 draft — and we can debate how much San Francisco's overall talent helps its QB another time.

And given they got nothing out of that third overall selection in 2021, it's a good thing for the rest of the league that the 49ers did make that trade because they likely could have gotten a stud by staying put at No. 12 — like maybe Micah Parsons, who indeed was that 12th overall pick that year.

As for the Dolphins and that trade, they were able to parlay it (including additional picks) into Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb. Tough to complain about that one from a Miami standpoint, although it still hasn't helped them win a playoff game.