Quote:DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- Jay Fiedler, who has played for two years in the shadow of Dan Marino's legacy, now must endure comparisons with another likely Hall of Famer: Troy Aikman.


The Miami Dolphins' offseason commenced with a quarterback controversy Monday, thanks to broadcast reports that Aikman might come out of retirement and join the team.

Coach Dave Wannstedt said he wants Fiedler back and denied that the Dolphins have talked to Aikman. But Wannstedt, who was defensive coordinator in Dallas during Aikman's prime, declined to say whether Miami would be interested in him if he wants to play next season.

Aikman, 35, led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in a 12 seasons before retiring last April. Ten concussions and problems with his back contributed to his decision, and on Jan. 6 he said it was ``extremely doubtful'' he would play next season.

Fiedler, 30, can opt out of the final year of his contract, but Miami can keep him by matching any offer. He said his preference is to remain with the Dolphins, and he shrugged off the possibility that they'll sign Aikman.

``If they go in that direction, then my opportunities will lie somewhere else,'' Fiedler said. ``Certainly they're going to look into every opportunity. That's the nature of the business. They've never told me they didn't have faith in me and that they were automatically trying to replace me.''

Wannstedt denied that there have been discussions between the Dolphins and Aikman, who spent this season as a television analyst for Fox.

``I promise you that is not true,'' Wannstedt said. ``There's nothing to it.''

Aikman's agent, Leigh Steinberg, said Monday he's not heard from the Dolphins -- but he would listen if they called.

``Troy has said if a really intriguing offer come's along, he'd certainly consider it,'' Steinberg said. ``It really is a function of whether the right team and the right situation come along.''

Wannstedt was asked if Feidler would be the starter if returns,

``Yeah. Definitely. Sure,'' Wannstedt said.

Would the Dolphins have any interest in Aikman if he does come out of retirement?

``It's a hypothetical question,'' Wannstedt said. ``Troy is retired. I wouldn't even comment on that.''

Lending impetus to the speculation: Aikman's offensive coordinator in Dallas, Norv Turner, is a leading candidate to succeed Chan Gailey as the Dolphins' offensive coordinator. Gailey has been hired as head coach at Georgia Tech.

The close relationship between Turner and Aikman has led to speculation that where the coach goes, the quarterback might follow. Steinberg said playing for Turner would be ``a consideration, but not the only consideration.''

The idea of Aikman in aqua is sure to keep phone lines buzzing on South Florida sports radio shows. But it's unclear why the Dolphins would gamble on the fragile, immobile veteran -- the sort of quarterback they had in Marino's final seasons.

Fiedler showed improvement during his second NFL season as a starter. In the final seven regular season games he threw 11 touchdown passes with just four interceptions, one of the league's best ratios.

``Jay made progress as the year went on,'' Wannstedt said. ``The second half of the season, he obviously got a lot better. If you run the ball, it's going to take some pressure off the quarterback, and we struggled with that all year. He had as much pressure on him as you could put on a quarterback in a lot of games.''

Given that description of the job, one wonders why Aikman would want it.

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