
The proposal suggests that moving the Dolphins to the AFC South would create more geographically appropriate divisions, improving rivalries and travel logistics.
If the Dolphins move to the AFC South, the Indianapolis Colts would shift to the AFC North, and the Baltimore Ravens would relocate to the AFC East.
Divisional realignment could enhance regional rivalries, reduce travel costs for teams, and create more competitive matchups based on geographical proximity.
The NFL typically reviews divisional alignments during significant league changes, such as expansions or major shifts in team locations, but realignment is not frequently undertaken.
A proposal suggests the Miami Dolphins should be realigned to the AFC South for better geographical consistency, with the Indianapolis Colts moving to the AFC North and the Baltimore Ravens to the AFC East. This idea aims to enhance divisional matchups in the NFL.
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 26: A Dolphins helmet in the bench area during the Sunday afternoon NFL game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins on October 26, 2025 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
This past week, I posted a question-of-the-day post inspired by an answer to another post by Melfins.
Would you petition the league to be moved into the AFC South. This move would ensure teams are in their proper geographical division. The Indianapolis Colts would move to the AFC North, and the Baltimore Ravens move to the East.
In the question of the day post, I asked:
As a Miami Dolphins fan, would you support realignment to a division that makes better sense regionally, or would you be more in favor of leaving things as they are, and why? If you are in favor of a realignment involving our Dolphins, would you want it to be to the AFC South, or do you have a different/better idea for realignment?
Below are some of your thougths and answers on the subject-
Luvs2drnk says to hold that idea until the league decides to expand again.
As much as we might want realignment, itâs only going to happen once the league expands again. Possibly with the inclusion of some international teams as the league keeps expanding international games to gauge the interest of permanent teams. Thatâs exactly what happened in 2002, and our dumb owner decided to keep our rivalries with the AFC East over playing in more favorable conditions against the AFC South. Most of our rivalries are pretty much dead. Bills have owned us for the past 6 years, and we owned them for the 10 years prior to that. Pats owned us for 20 years, and even though weâve had their number for the past 5 years, theyâre likely to own us for the foreseeable future. As for the Jets, nobody cares about the Jets. Time for some new rivalries.
cyberflea says itâs going to kill rivalries. His realignments are solid, but I donât see the Cowboys accepting this without a massive fight.
All alignment is going to do is ruin rivalries. This scenario makes the most sense to me without changing divisions. The AFC having the most changes, Baltimore, Indianapolis and Miami. The NFC would just be Carolina and Dallas switching divisions.
American Football Conference
**AFC East:**Baltimore, Buffalo, New England, NY Jets
**AFC North:**Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh
**AFC South:**Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Tennessee
**AFC West:**Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles,
National Football Conference
**NFC East:**Carolina, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington
NFC North:Â Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota
NFC South:Â Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, Tampa Bay
NFC West:Â Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle
MiamiItaliano has the idea to just swap a few teams around.
Ravens to the East, Colts to the North, Dolphins to the South
PA phinphan would better realign the entire league to feature more regional rivalries.
Realign the whole league to make more sense. Think about all the possibilities for âbackyardâ rivalries.
NE: Jets, Giants, Bills, Patriots
Atlantic: Commanders, Ravens, Eagles, Panthers
SE: Falcons, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Dolphins
North: Packers, Vikings, Lions, Bears
South: Cowboys, Texans, Titans, Saints
Central: Steelers, Bengals, Browns, Colts
West: Seahawks, 49ers, Chargers, Rams
[insert name]: Cardinals, Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos
OR
NE: Jets, Giants, Bills, Patriots
Mid-Atlantic: Commanders, Ravens, Eagles, Steelers
SE: Panthers, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Dolphins
North: Packers, Vikings, Chiefs, Bears
South: Falcons, Texans, Titans, Saints
Central: Lions, Bengals, Browns, Colts
West: Seahawks, 49ers, Chargers, Rams
[insert name]: Cardinals, Cowboys, Raiders, Broncos
I have no idea what the conferences would be. The divisions could have better names. Regardless, if the NFL is all about making money, this would save on travel costs.
Mostlyish believes that the new rivalries created by realignment would be a positive thing.
Rivalry games started because of the divisions. If you switch them up wouldnât that create new Rivalries. New story, more entertaining, football. Isnât it time to add freshness to a game. Your not changing rules just different games. I say more reason to do then not. But im just a dolphins fan standing infront of the world asking to be loved. Lmao
DalFinsFan wants to minimize rivalrie disruptions.
If you are going to realign moving Miamuh, keep the Ravens in the AFCN and move the Colts to the AFCE to minimize the rivalry disruption.
Finboy says taking Miami out of the AFC East would just flat out suck.
If they realign miami to the south would suck i think the bills and pats are 4 very rivaled games for decades itâs like separating the bears and packers
darrel.owen is the practical type.
I totally support the re-alignment. I hate that we travel more than anyone else in the division because of the distance of our rivals. Put us into a division with teams that are near us.
davidson11 believes that the most southerly team should, of course, be in the south.
Dolphins in South makes much more sense.
Molly Polly II believes that the NFL needs to do more to make things more affordable for us, the fans that drive the entire sport.
lolâŠrealignment Fins to AFC south would be huge IMO, most likely thatâs potentially 3 or more games in much nicer winter temps! NahhhâŠI wanna kick Bills azzz in Buffalo in December! đ€Ș
At this point who cares, NFL needs to really focus on its fanbase, such as cutting costsâŠ.its flippin ridiculous what it costs anymore to enjoy football regardless if in attendance or watching on television!
Bill Hazlett says that if you want this kind of change you need to get the true power brokers behind the move.
If you want re-alignment, get the money behind the move. The streaming services and gambling controls the NFL.
BCBugsy128 just wants to move a few teams to be more geographically correct.
Yes, I would. Donât need to do much though. Not Indy but Baltimore should go East, we go South, Indy to the North. But Iâm a student of geography, and thatâs probably just me.
I was actually surpised at how many fans would be in favor of realingment, specifically to the AFC South. Who knows if this will ever happen. Luvs2drnk is most likely correct, and any discussion of realignment will never even begin until the team adds more franchises. As always, thank you to each of you who takes the time to join in on our nightly discussions.
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