Dan Marino knows Bill Cowher. The Hall of Fame quarterback has logged serious face time with "The Chin" on their CBS pregame show, guffawing at each other's jokes and occasionally having a better time than the viewer.
Marino enjoys spending time with Cowher, it's clear, but he'd be even happier if the former Steelers coach stepped aside to take over in Miami, where Tony Sparano was fired Monday.
"I would love to see him be the Dolphins' coach or if he wanted to coach again because that would be great for the NFL, but I don't think his mind-set is that he wants to coach again," Marino told the team's official website.
"And he may change that over time now, but my feeling is that, you know, he's a pretty straightforward ... guy that tells the -- kind of -- the truth most of the time, I would say -- or no, all the time -- and he said on TV that he doesn't have any plans of coming back, and I believe him."
The Miami Herald agreed with Marino's position, citing an NFL source to report that within league circles, it's well-known that Cowher's not considering the Dolphins job.
Neither is LSU coach Les Miles, according to Michael Bonnette, the school's sports information director.
Miles has been considered by some as a potential candidate, but Bonnette told The Times-Picayune: "He wanted everyone to know that he is not interested in the Miami job. He said he is full steam ahead for the national championship and not interested in any other job."
Assuming everyone's telling the truth (and not "kind of"), count these two out of the Dolphins' search.