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It may not actually be a position a player for the Miami Dolphins wants, but the team has formed the 2013 version of their "leadership council." Started last year after Karlos Dansby, Jake Long, and Reggie Bush approached head coach Joe Philbin with concerns following the release of wide receiver Chad Johnson, the council replaces the traditional "captain" selection, which Coach Philbin does not use.
The only issue with being on the council is, every player that was on it last year is no longer with the team. The Dolphins released Dansby in March and did not renew the contracts of either Long or Bush. Add in the fourth member of the council, wide receiver Davone Bess, who the team traded during the Draft, and it was a clean sweep.
This year, the Dolphins have named quarterback Ryan Tannehill, center Mike Pouncey, guard Richie Incognito, defensive end Cameron Wake, defensive tackle Paul Soliai, and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe on the council. Five of the six players are veterans with the team, while Ellerbe is a newcomer, joining the team in free agency this year after winning the Super Bowl last season with the Baltimore Ravens. Incognito and Soliai are both entering the final year of their contracts, but these six seem to have a more solid feeling than the previous council.
"It’s a tremendous honor," Wake told South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Omar Kelly of the selection. "I've gone from nothing to a captain of the Miami Dolphins. "It has been a long road from where I was. For guys who are your peers, who have been around you every day, to pick you is a tremendous honor. I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team win, and convey all the downstairs opinions upstairs."
The Dolphins players voted on the six new council members. Philbin typically picks game day captains each week based on practice and previous game results, so the council members will be the permanent link between the coaching staff and the players.
"Hopefully we can get up there and tell Coach our views, and we'll hear his," Pouncey told Kelly. "We're there to address stuff we're picky about, for them to hear our side, how we feel about things, and we'll know how the coaches see things."
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