Marino, Johnson Rift Grows

There was more to Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson’s startling admission on Monday that he actually considered benching future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino during last week’s 16-10 win over Indianapolis.

Johnson has been telling close associates for several weeks that he has grown frustrated with Marino’s diminished production, both last year and in the just-concluded preseason. This, despite his admission before taking the Dolphins job in January 1996, that the presence of Marino was one of the most important factors in his decision.

Several factors are at work in the increasingly frayed relationship between the two:

Marino quietly has bristled at Johnson’s decision to go with a more ball-controlled, running back-oriented offense. Under former coach Don Shula, Marino was clearly the focal point of the offense.

Johnson needs to know soon if Marino has enough left at age 35 to be effective enough to continue as the quarterback once the team achieves a championship-caliber level of play.

The presence of backup Craig Erickson is the other major element. Erickson was recruited by Johnson to the University of Miami, where he won a national championship. Johnson continues to have confidence in Erickson’s abilities; in fact, had the Buccaneers not traded Erickson to the Colts two years ago, Johnson would have considered Tampa’s coaching offer more seriously.

There’s been speculation that Johnson eventually will trade Marino, but sources have said no trade talks are under way, and that the possibility of future discussions are remote.