Patrick Dwyer is a long term friend of mine who I actually wen to school with, although neither of us knew that at the time. What brought us together was our love of the great Miami Dolphins and whilst for Patrick Dwyer Merrill Lynch may be a great passion of his, away from his job as a financial advisor he is a 100% invested Dolphins fan. Patrick often jokes about loving his job because he is in control, and loving football even more because he isn’t! Patrick and I have been having a lengthy debate of late about our favorite ever Dolphins and we have finally settled on our top 5, check them out and see if you agree with our picks.

1 – Dan Marino

We’ll kick things off with our number one choice and a pick which shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone. Marino was Mr. Miami Dolphins thanks to his 240 games played, more than any other Dolphin, and he was also crowned NFL MVP in 1984. During his career he completed 4,697 passes and threw for 61,361 yards. So good was Marino in fact that in ’99 when he retired, he held every worthwhile passing record in the game.

2 – Jason Taylor

Second place almost picks itself as well with Jason Taylor and his illustrious career with the Dolphins. Taylor began life as a right defensive end but later in his career he would move to outside linebacker, proof of the versatility of the player. Taylor’s statistics make for great reading and in 184 games for Miami he has recorded 124 sacks, 471 tackles and 222 assists, to name just a few. Taylor was awarded the 2006 best defensive player award and he was responsible for keeping the Dolphins afloat in the early 2000s.

3 – Zach Thomas

Many forget just how much of a beast Zach Thomas was on the football field and he managed to find his way into 7 Pro-Bowls between 1999 and 2006. Zach was known for single-handedly destroying the opposition offense and racked up 1,041 tackles, 598 assists and a sack average of 19.5. This one was close to call but Zach just won out the battle for third spot.

4 – Bob Griese

Bob Griese was a wonderful QB, even more so after he worked out how to play in those glasses! In 151 games for Miami Griese completed 1,926 passes and threw for 25,092 yards and 192 TDs. Griese made the Pro Bowl on 8 occasions and he was very much the best Dolphin we had during the 70s.

5 – Larry Little

It was no surprise when Little was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and he makes up the final member of this list. Little was a right guard who is often considered as the best to ever play the position and from 1971-75 he was an All-Pro in each of those years. Little may not have achieved as much in a Dolphins jersey as he may have liked but much of that was down to the team, rather than his contribution.

What do you think of mine and Patrick’s list? Any changes you’d make? Let us know in the comments.