"No one should ever doubt Joe Philbin's toughness.

Not after he showed up at Lambeau Field last Sunday.

Not after this longtime assistant went to work for a Packers playoff game just days after burying his 21-year-old son, who drowned in an icy Wisconsin river.

Philbin's readiness, however, for the job the Dolphins handed him Friday?

That's an open question.

His ability to lead this wandering franchise back to the postseason it once took for granted?

Same deal.

Even at age 50.

Even with more than a quarter century of coaching experience, the past nine with the Packers.

See, there's an immense difference between quietly putting together the offensive game plan for a Super Bowl winner, as Philbin did a year ago, and setting the big-picture tone as a head coach must.

How does he keep a locker room together during a losing streak?

How does he parry the inevitable second-guesses that come from being put in front of the media, day after day?"