Too often in the NFL, good isn't good enough. Steve Mariucci took the talent he inherited from George Seifert in San Francisco to the playoffs twice, overcame salary cap hell and made two more postseason runs. Mariucci is now in Detroit.

The coaching graveyard is filled with Super Bowl ring envy by impatient owners, which brings us to the Dave Wannstedt. He's on the verge of becoming the next Tony Dungy, a coach good enough to put the Dolphins in playoff contention every year, but, for whatever reason, can't break through and make the Super Bowl.

Players in Tampa Bay grumbled in 2002 when the Glazer family went behind Dungy's back after four playoff berths in five seasons to first interview Bill Parcells and eventually trade for Jon Gruden. The grumbling stopped when Gruden whipped them into a Super Bowl team. Dungy, who turned years of losing into winning in Tampa Bay, moved on to Indianapolis where he made the Colts a playoff team in his first year and is aiming for that elusive Super Bowl title.

	Wannstedt is 31-17 in the regular season, but has not met the high expectations in Miami.

Wannstedt knows that the pressure is on him this year. Though he is signed through 2004, Wannstedt has been around long enough to know that he needs to get to a conference championship to stick around. The premise is inherently unfair, but it's reality.

For one, a string of late-season injuries generally doesn't lend itself to a Super Bowl run. In addition, a friendly schedule also helps.

Since around 1997, the Super Bowl winner has had among the league's easier schedules and didn't have to have winning records against winning teams during the regular season. In 1999, the Rams lost to the only team (Tennessee) they played in the regular season that finished above .500. This is significant because teams usually experience emotional and physical fatigue and injuries from constantly playing in big games.

That's where Wannstedt has it tough. The Dolphins are in the tough AFC East, which usually has three or four playoff contenders. It's hard for the winner of this division to be higher than a third seed in the playoffs. Third-seeded teams play in the wild-card round, which is tough because it forces the team to win three games to go to the Super Bowl. Two of those games are usually on the road.

On paper, the Dolphins are a Super Bowl team very much like the Bucs were heading into Dungy's final season in Tampa. Wannstedt upgraded the league's third best defense by adding veterans such as Junior Seau, Jeff Zgonina, Sammy Knight and Terrell Buckley. Close friend Norv Turner is in his second year as offensive coordinator and few draw better game plans and make better offensive adjustments during the game.

He has one of the league's best offensive line coaches, Tony Wise, trying to strike a balance between veteran and younger blockers. He's got a great coaching staff. It's pretty much Jimmy Johnson's coaching staff in Dallas without Jimmy, and the former Dolphins coach is just a call and a boat trip away from coming over to give advise.

It's the best of all worlds and it's the worst of all worlds for Wannstedt. The Dolphins are like the Bucs, a franchise that is among the league's elite and has more staying power past this year. But can Wannstedt put everything together to get to the elusive championship game that can prevent this paper tiger from giving him his walking papers?

"I know we got the talent," middle linebacker Zach Thomas said. "Now, let's make the thing click. We can be really good."

Wannstedt does have the benefit of a supportive owner in Wayne Huizenga, who doesn't meddle in the football decisions and only comes around long enough to ask if there is anything he can do to help. Huizenga isn't a football man, and in this case, it's a good thing. He knows people. When Johnson wore down and wanted to retire from coaching, Huizenga brainstormed and asked Johnson if he wanted to take vacation breaks during camp and during the season to recharge his batteries.

That's a great owner. He wasn't being flippant, just supportive of people he likes running his operations. And he clearly likes Wannstedt and wants him to win. But business people are business people, and Huizenga knows the fragile nature of sports. Dolphins fans want a Super Bowl, and while the stands are relatively full now, you have to wonder if they will be next year if the Dolphins don't at least advance to a conference title game.

This puts Huizenga in a bind. He doesn't favor hiring coaches who wear Super Bowl rings. Seeing Johnson struggle with the mental anguish of trying to put everything in place for a one Super Bowl run following his days in Dallas was enough. His inner sense tells him it's better to hire the next coach who could take the team to the Super Bowl.

		(Dave) Wannstedt knows that the pressure is on him this year. Though he is signed through 2004, Wannstedt has been around long enough to know that he needs to get to a conference championship to stick around. The premise is adherently unfair, but it's reality.

That's why Wannstedt was such a good fit. He had head coaching experience from his days in Chicago, and he was hungry. Hungry coaches spend the extra hours in preparation. Hungry coaches have the extra motivation. Hungry coaches win, and that's exactly what Wannstedt has done in being 31-17 in three seasons as the Dolphins head coach.

It can be argued that Wannstedt has even exceeded expectations for his ability to manipulate the front office decisions. He brought in Rick Spielman to be his personnel director, and Spielman is one of the sharpest young evaluators in the game. The two work together with no egos, and the results -- if you look closely -- are pretty amazing.

By no accident, the Dolphins keep getting better every year. An already good defense has gone from sixth to fifth to third in NFL rankings under Wannstedt. The offense has gone from 26th to 21st to 15th.

Both have made bold moves. For years, Dolphins fans said the Dolphins can't win without a running attack. Wannstedt and Spielman traded for Ricky Williams, who rushed for a league-best 1,863 last year and looks trimmer and more explosive this year.

Fans wondered about Wannstedt's offensive game plans: In came Turner. Fans wondered whether Jay Fiedler could be a Super Bowl quarterback, but in case he can't, the Dolphins brought in Brian Griese as a backup.

The thing that is impressive about Wannstedt is that he keeps trying to tweak a very good team to get it over the top knowing that the squad is good enough to head into every December with a great chance of making the playoffs. As a coach, Wannstedt is adept at problem solving.

His answer to the team's tendency to fade in December was bringing in playmaking veterans who are leaders. Maybe Seau can force a big fumble and get a big sack that turns around a December road game. Knight annually makes more big defensive players -- forced fumbles or interceptions -- than most NFL safeties. Zgonina was team captain for the Rams coming off a season in which they went to the Super Bowl.

While Wannstedt may not be as charismatic as Jimmy Johnson, he's a grinder and he's flexible. He's watched Johnson produce winner after winner working his players harder than other teams, and he's followed the same practice schedule until this year.

This summer, Wannstedt limited the hitting, trying to eliminate the excuse for players that their legs and bodies were tired during the stretch run. But there is only so much a coach can do. The Dolphins have the league's leading rusher (Williams), top pass-rusher (defensive end Jason Taylor) and tackler (Thomas). Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison arguably are the league's best cornerback combo.

They've already had two 11-win seasons under Wannstedt. On paper, it works. To keep everything going, the Dolphins need to add a new chapter -- advancing to the conference championship game or beyond.

How crazy is life as an NFL coach? The Dungys and Wannstedts would win Coach of the Year honors if they produced similar results in places like Cincinnati, Detroit, San Diego, Arizona and Seattle. However, an 11-5 season and second-round playoff elimination may not be good enough to keep Wannstedt around in Miami.

The Dolphins need a great season.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.