Back in 2003, former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman hired a young, promising coach to be an assistant offensive line coach. Joe Philbin, who had served as an offensive line coach at Ohio, Northeastern, Harvard, and Iowa in mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, had received his first NFL coaching job.
And it did not take long for him to rise up the ranks of Green Bay’s coaching staff. The next year, in 2004, he was named the Packers tight ends coach, as well as the assistant offensive line coach. In 2006, when Mike McCarthy took over as head coach, he kept Philbin on staff as the offensive line coach.
In 2007, McCarthy promoted Philbin to offensive coordinator. In that role, he oversaw the final year of Brett Favre‘s tenure in Green Bay and then helped guide a young Aaron Rodgers when he took over as the starting quarterback in 2008. He was also the Packers’ offensive coordinator when they last won the Super Bowl.
Former Green Bay Packers Coach Joe Philbin Had a Tumultuous Tenure with the Miami Dolphins
After the Packers went 15-1 in 2011 with one of the best offenses in the NFL, Philbin was hired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately, he only held that role for four seasons, went 26-30, and never made the NFL Playoffs.
What is more, his tenure in Miami is remembered mostly for a bullying scandal that rocked the NFL in 2013. Then offensive lineman Jonathan Martin accused teammate Richie Incognito of bullying him. A report by Fox Sports at the time read:
“Martin left Dolphins headquarters on Monday when finally reaching his limit with the persistent bullying and teasing from some teammates that has plagued him since joining Miami as a 2012 second-round draft choice. As first reported by FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer, the latest taunt – a group of players stood up and left when he tried joining them for lunch – led to Martin getting up himself and walking out the door.”
Incognito was suspended indefinitely by Philbin and the Dolphins following the report. In the weeks, months, and years that followed, Philbin was criticized for letting the scandal, known as Bullygate, happen on his watch. After a 1-3 start in 2015, Miami fired Philbin, who has never had another head coaching job in the NFL since.
He spent a couple of years on staff with the Indianapolis Colts before returning to the Packers in 2018 as offensive coordinator. He also served as interim head coach when McCarthy was fired that year.
Since then, Philbin has worked for the Dallas Cowboys, as an analyst for Ohio State, and is currently on staff with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Former Green Bay Packers Coach Joe Philbin’s Head Coaching Career Was Marred by a Lie
As mentioned, Philbin’s reputation as a locker room leader was heavily damaged by the Bullygate scandal. In a groundbreaking report posted today, though, it turns out that scandal, and the accusations in it, were all a lie.
Anthony Olivieri of ESPN has spent the last year interviewing Martin about the bullying he claimed to have endured, and as it turns out, none of it happened.
“In a series of interviews starting in late 2023, he was determined to emphasize what he’s doing now and to communicate that his plans for the future are how he should be judged. His job now might be harder than protecting a quarterback from 300-pound pass rushers.
“He edits himself in real time, texting updates and changes to previous comments. He sways from being assertive to being cautious. He describes himself as an alpha and wants to assure you he wasn’t a fully formed person in his 20s. He worries over retaining agency of his story.
“‘I never believed for a second I was being bullied,’ Martin says now.
“He wants the world to forget the only thing it remembers about him.
“‘It’s a story,’ he says, “that I’ve been trying to fix for 10 years.'”
So, if it never happened, how did it the situation become such a huge scandal?
According to Martin, because of his mom:
“When Martin left the Dolphins’ facility on Oct. 28, 2013, reporters started asking questions. At some point after his departure, Martin said during the 2024 call, his mother told a reporter that he was being bullied in Miami, that she ‘said the word ‘bullying.'”
“‘I had a situation with my teammates that I wasn’t super happy about,’ he said. ‘But my mother had her own read on the situation.'”
“The word took on a life of its own. The situation went viral.”
Philbin was interviewed for the story, but refused to speak ill of either player involved. “I consider those kind of sacred in the coaching profession with a player,” he told Olivieri of the conversations he had with Martin following the report. “So I’m going to kind of leave it at that.”
Fortunately, Philbin has been able to continue working in the NFL. Unfortunately, a lie seems to have cost him a chance at another head coaching job.
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