MIAMI — Few people ever really want to hear the truth about themselves.

And they certainly don’t want to hear it coming from an ex, whether that be a spouse or an employee.

That’s why DeShon Elliott’s viewpoint of his former team, which he shared during an episode of the “Punch Line Podcast with Marlon Humphrey” discussing the Dolphins culture he witnessed during the 2023 season cut this franchise deep.

“Exactly who was soft?” Dolphins cornerback Nik Needham tweeted Wednesday when the podcast surfaces. “Asking for a friend.”

Elliott’s words were so hurtful the Dolphins opening song of Thursday’s practice was Drake’s “Feel No Ways,” which is about a bitter breakup, which is seemingly what the Dolphins had with Elliott, who was never offered a contract as a free agent.

Never mind that Jordan Poyer and Siran Neal, two former Buffalo Bills players who joined the Dolphins this offseason, shared the exact same sentiment as Elliott before the season, basically calling past Dolphins teams “soft,” and labeling Miami as a franchise that folds when adversity hits.

Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey lectured the team during training camp about the need to establish a bully temperament, which is clearly a work in progress.

Ignore the fact that Miami’s own fan base openly complains about the team wilting year after year when the heat — in games, not temperature — gets turned up during this 24 year drought of not having a playoff win.

How dare a former player, who happens to play in the toughest division in football (AFC North), for one of the toughest franchises in sports (the Pittsburgh Steelers) hit Miami with that stray while talking about how physical this Sunday’s Ravens vs. Steelers game will get?

The problem is, Miami can’t even dispute what Elliott said based on how the team has performed this season.

For the third straight season Miami can’t deliver on third-short, and fourth-and-short situations.

That’s a toughness issue.

Let’s exclude the four game stretch where the Dolphins were forced to play without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa because of the concussion he suffered in Week 2, and we’ve got one fourth-quarter victory (Jacksonville), an embarrassing meltdown at home to the Bills in Week 2, and three fourth-quarter collapses (Indianapolis, Arizona and Buffalo) by the defense.

I know I said let’s excuse the Colts loss, which Tyler “Snoop” Huntley started, but I’ll ask the jury for mercy in exchange for not bringing up the defensive collapse against New England, which luckily didn’t cost Miami the win because Patriots receiver Ja’Lynn Polk's foot was an inch out of bounds when he caught what was initially ruled a game-winning touchdown the defense had allowed, before it was overturned.

So that’s four instances where the 3-6 Dolphins have wilted when their best was required this season.

Last I checked, that’s what soft teams do.

Turn those wilting moments into victories and Miami would reverse the team’s record, going from 3-6 to 6-3 (factoring in the Patriots win).

Delivering in moments that require clutch performances is what differentiates winners from losers, and it’s clear what batch of teams the Dolphins franchise has fallen into the past two decades.

“You could just tell the Miami culture is the reason why Miami will never be good,” Elliott continued on the podcast. “Miami will never be a good football team. I don’t care. They will never be good because of the Miami culture. I think they have great players. The culture is not going to be there. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s true.”

I’m not going to argue that the Dolphins have a culture problem. It is true, and this franchise has labored unsuccessfully to change it through four different regimes, and six different coaches since 2007.

Or that they don’t have soft persona. They do.

Or that Mike McDaniel’s players need to become mentally and physically tougher. They do.

But Elliott blaming the Dolphins’ issues on South Florida’s environment is where the line gets crossed.

Miami’s very similar to New York and Los Angeles community and culture wise, and the Rams won a Super Bowl in 2022. The Giants won four, the most recent of which was 2012.

While I’ve known current and former Dolphins executives who openly admit they prefer the Dolphins draft and sign married players, and shouldn’t add easily distracted athletes to South Florida because of the bountiful, yet challenging dating environment, that’s not unique to other NFL teams.

Is Tootsies Cabaret down-the-street proximity to Hard Rock Stadium and the team’s practice facility a problem?

Maybe, and it’s not because of the phenomenal wings, or back rubs the strip club offers. But let’s not act like Miami’s the only city with strip clubs, or that players are skipping practices for lap dances.

Every city has unique challenges.

That’s no different than saying the Steelers have a gambling problem because of the proximity of the Rivers casinos to the Steelers facility, which is separated by a river.

“I know the guys in that locker room. I know the passion and the physicality and tenacity they play with. The fact that [Elliott] feels that way, God bless him. We have the opportunity to get rid of that softness [narrative],” said Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, who played and coached for the Baltimore Ravens. “We have an opportunity every Sunday to change that [narrative].”

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