Time for Taylor, Dolphins to go separate ways

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Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, now 34 and nearing the end of a terrific NFL career, wants one last chance to chase the championship that has eluded him.That's not going to happen in Miami.Not next season.Not even with Bill Parcells now calling the shots for the Dolphins, who are as far away from winning big as any team since the 1-15 New York Jets he inherited from Rich Kotite in 1997.So Parcells ought to let Taylor go. Get something. Anything.Then thank him for all the fine work he did in South Florida across the past 11 years and wish him well somewhere else.Because Taylor doesn't want to be in Miami anymore -- not with so little time left to play, not with the Dolphins needing to rebuild.And because Parcells doesn't really want Taylor to stay.Parcells is all about the Dolphins' future, about where they're going and how he plans to get them there.Taylor is all about the Dolphins' past, where they've been and how they've failed to win the way they were supposed to.And while it would be wonderful if Taylor could be one of the fortunate few who get to spend their entire careers with the same teams, the marriage no longer works.The player and the team no longer share the same long-term goals.So the Dolphins and Taylor -- their best player -- need to go their separate ways.Before things get uglier than they already are.But breaking up is often hard to do, even when the parties are estranged, even when both sides know it's over.Nobody wants to be the bad guy.That's why Taylor insisted on Sunday he hasn't demanded or requested a trade.That's why Parcells continues to say nothing, leaving all the public words to his coach, Tony Sparano.And, according to Taylor, Parcells isn't speaking to him, either.Not that anyone can blame the Dolphins' boss: Taylor chose to spend the offseason dancing on some silly television show in Los Angeles, rather than stay in South Florida and, in the wake of the worst showing in franchise history, work out with his teammates.Clearly, Taylor isn't a "Parcells guy," the same way Terrell Owens wasn't a "Parcells guy" in Dallas.So why not get rid of him? There were reports of a trade offer from the Jacksonville Jaguars before the NFL Draft in April. Maybe it wasn't exactly what Parcells wanted. Maybe it wasn't fair market value for a player of Taylor's caliber.But it was something.It was something Parcells probably should've taken -- unless, of course, he believes he can get something better this summer.That could happen.Especially if some projected playoff contender finds itself one havoc-wreaking pass rusher from a shot at the Super Bowl.But there's no point in Taylor, who said he expects this season to be his last, finishing up with the Dolphins, a team that appears to be years from sniffing the playoffs.Taylor knows that.He knows he'll be long gone when the Dolphins are ready to win again.Surely, Parcells does, too.So why pretend? Why pretend the team has no intention of dumping Taylor when keeping him makes no sense at all? Why not make a clean break and let everyone feel good about starting anew, rather than drag out a messy divorce that could fill the team's training camp with unnecessary bitterness and tension? Maybe, given the circumstances, this can't be a win-win situation for everyone. But it doesn't need to be lose-lose, either.The Dolphins have been through enough of those. (Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)