Agonizing over the business he chose.(NFL)(National Football League, Dave Wannstedt)

On the wall of Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt's office is an autographed photo of Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather: Part II. Beneath the photo is a caption with a line from the movie: "This is the business we chose."

I laughed when I saw that picture last week. The line, which was referring to the business of organized crime, fits the business of football, too. As Wannstedt knows only too well.

It seems as though Wannstedt has been on the hot seat since he arrived in Miami as Jimmy Johnson's hand-picked successor after the 1999 season. His first two teams made the playoffs, but his last two missed despite going 9-7 in 2002 and 10-6 last year. Though he seemed to be clinging to his job by a thread, he went into last offseason thinking that with some tinkering, this team could go deep in the playoffs.

Some of the tinkering appeared to be inspired, such as the acquisition of wide receiver David Boston and the hiring of assistant Jerry Sullivan, who had coached Boston when he led the league in receiving with Arizona. But much more went wrong, though it wasn't all Wannstedt's fault, or even the organization's. It started with the loss of offensive coordinator Norv Turner to the Raiders, continued with a poorly conceived trade for quarterback A.J. Feeley and ...