Breaking: Ray Farmer declines 2nd interview with Miami, staying with Cleveland

Considering we were 8-6, with Buffalo (and a 3rd string QB) and a bad Jets team left on the schedule?

10-6.

 

It is starting to appear obvious that the Miami Dolphins are not Steve Ross' priority. We are in the middle of a major GM debacle with the senior bowl on the horizon and Ross is in China / India on "BUSINESS"? What is this guy thinking? This team will never be right as long as Steve Ross owns it. He has no heart for this team, to him its just another business venture. This is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Ireland was hired as GM - had no NFL experience at the position
Jim Turner was hired as O line coach - had no NFL experience at the position
Joe Philbin was hired as Head Coach - had no NFL experience at the position

Shall I go on?

Ross' idea of the Miami Dolphins seems to be a training ground for the rest of the NFL. Hardly what the fans have in mind. Ross should sell the Miami Dolphins and buy something that he can actually run, like a Popsicle stand. He turned the classiest NFL franchise into a laughing stock. Whoever he hires as GM I am sure it will be someone with no experience.

 

You're missing out. Ish is delicious (I'm vietnamese and it's called chung lon). But I don't eat the chicken/duck inside. Just the yolk and the juice. Yummy!

 

I was only aware of the Filipinos eating it. They're the ones who call it balut. I have eaten deep fried grasshoppers in Thailand, love Korean kimchi, but am afraid I have to draw the line at chong lon or balut. I've seen Filipinos eating the entire thing, though I think the juice is sucked out first.

 

this is why so many of us have called for a clean slate....everyone out !

 

I am more convinced than ever that the real problem with this organization is Ross and this team won't move forward until he finally sells the team to someone who has an idea how to run an NFL organization.

He lives in New York and his priorities just don't seem to be getting the best individuals to run this organization. He needs to get rid of Aponte and bring in a person at the top of the football operation who knows what it takes to build a quality football team. Instead it appears Aponte and Philbin are the power couple and getting someone with the knowledge needed to turn this organization into a consistent winner isn't going to happen.

Gaine will probably get the job because he is willing to accept the structure that is now in place with the Dolphins. No highly thought of GM candidate appears willing to work for an owner which seems so out of touch with how to run a successful NFL football team. So we will probably end up with Ireland lite, and the Dolphins will remain the same mediocre team it has been for over a decade.

Ross is the problem and certainly not the solution. Perhaps when the Dolphins finish with another losing record in 2014, others who support this present owner, front office, and coaching staff will finally realize how inept this organization has become under the ownership of Ross. I thought when he finally got rid of Ireland, Ross was finally seeing that major changes were needed to reverse the years of mediocrity. Now I have just lost any confidence in his abilities as an NFL owner.

Fortunately I will be moving to Hawaii next Monday and therefore I won't have to sit in Sun Life Stadium any longer and suffer through the frustrations of watching a team that is owned by one of the worst owners in the history of the NFL. I will remain a Dolphin fan, but my biggest hope is that I will come on to this site in the near future and read that Ross has sold the team. That will be the day that I will feel better about the future of this organization. Hopefully that day is not far off.

I've enjoyed interacting with the fans on here over the past few years. We haven't always agreed, but that is what forums like this are for. Hopefully once we get settled in Hawaii, I will be able to get back on this forum and find out the latest news on the Dolphins. I certainly don't expect to get much Dolphin news in Maui. Aloha to all of you for now and I hope I am 100% wrong in my assessment of the Dolphins going forward under the ownership of Ross.

 

No lie, I seriously did a face palm reading this, how do you get a candidates name wrong?? **** me this is terrible

 

A lot of people get their start when they have no experience. Actually, everyone.

And so many haven't.

 

That's fine, but if the Dolphins had him in mind the whole time why waste their time and everyone else in going through this process? He just makes them look like baboons.

 

I just think public perception is so big for a franchise. I think ownership is too. I didn't realize that until lately.

People talk as if the Brownsm are so wretched. They have 5 All-Pro's on that roster. They have plenty of talent (more than us) to shoot up the standings next year. However, they have an owner that's in the middle of losing everything and possible jail time. So he allows his "football people" to muddy it up.

I think Ross cares about the Dolphins. I really do. My issue is that he clearly lacks confidence in making decisions. Rumors that he likes the last person he interviews. His deliberate nature. The Tony Sparano debacle. The Jeff Ireland debacle. The Carl Peterson debacle.

I don't prefer a football czar, but I think it's time he does it. He needs someone to just take the reigns and make decisions. If that person is Carl Peterson or Micky Mouse, I don't care. He just needs to completely remove himself from the equation.

 

11-5

 

Not with this offense obviously. There isn't enough talent on offense.

 

There's that damn perception again

 

You forgot about at the time winless Tampa Bay 11-5

 

Wow. No way. Even if Sherman calls perfect plays, and trust me I wanted him gone, we are probably a ten win team at best. That still doesn't make our roster flaws excusable. Teams wi always have holes but when entire units are a hole....that isn't okay.

 

so you think we should have lost to Tampa, buffalo and the Jets?

 

Wouldn't Hiring a football Czar be Ross admitting failure?

 

Farmer probably just wanted to stay with the Browns because of the new coach and staff, etc, which they have in Cleveland. It's a good opportunity for him since he is there and if they succeed, he will have more and better opportunities in the future.

 

Oh, so you mean it's true Mr. Farmer and other candidates really questioned the structure here in Miami? You mean it's been confirmed? Hey, has anybody seen Fin D?

 

He wasn't the only one....I was one who laid that at the feet of the media. But...when your anointed favorite for the job, wont even come for a second interview, its not on the media. Its on Ross. And I have to say I was wrong.

I wouldn't have that much of an issue..if say Ross decided not to hire some of these guys, because he say like Gaine. As long as we are the ones making the decision not to hire. But when two of your supposed finalists decide ..Nah..thanks but no thanks, that tells me something stinks.

 

WOW so when Ross said he would leave no stoned un-turned and that he was going to hire someone with expert talent evaluation skills, and with a credible history of proven winning he was referring to Brian Gaine?? WOW ROSS WOW!

If he hires this Ireland Lackey to be the GM were doomed. He has ZERO experience. He will just be a puppet. I think were screwed as a franchise. Dawn Aponte is now the #1 target for Phins fans. She holds to much power. No GM with experience is going to want this position with what Farmer stated about the power structure. Just WOW. Ross never learns. Every transaction he makes blows up in his face. I really don't think the Dolphins are a priority to him I don't. Hes got much bigger stakes in other ventures which is sad. This is an investment to him, not a love for the game.

I dont see a way out of this either until we change owners at some point in the future. Yes we will get better be contenders but I don't think we have the organization to put all the pieces together at the same time and win anything meaningful.

 

Yeah, I think what it boils down to is there is nothing wrong with questioning the validity of one article/report or media personality. But when EVERYONE is reporting the same thing along with a growing number of sources ignoring that is putting blinders on. There was smoke. And here is the fire.

The sad thing now is - Brian Gaine might be the best man left for the job. But Ross won't hire him because that would appear to be settling. This Dawson dude will most likely get the job (if he doesn't turn Ross down too) as some face saving measure and we just have to hope he knows what the **** he's doing.

 

Can Aponte overule a free agent decision by the GM by saying it's not in the budget, or that she disagrees with the demands and won't negotiate a contract?

If that's the case, then the GM doesn't have autonomy over the roster and that Aponte is the de facto GM.

Very few GMs would want to operate under that structure

 

According to the Dolphins, yes. She is the chief contract negotiator, and in charge of the budget.

I agree that most GMs will not want to operate under that structure. But, is that good or bad? Do you want a GM that has the ability to put his own interests before the long-term financial interests of the organization?

The bottom line is that the GM position for Miami is pretty unique. It will require a person that is willing to be a "team player". That will eliminate a lot of high-profile candidates, but at the same time you're keeping one of the more highly regarded executives in a prominent role.

 

Good question.

 

They should give me a call. I'll do it.

 

That structure might work just fine, if you had either a team president who was the ultimate auhtoirty in the building every day, or an owner who acts in that same capacity.

We have neither.

Let's say the GM and Aponte disagree on a free agent. Who does the GM state his case to for why signing the free agent is in the best interest of the club?

And how does Aponte know what is or isn't a fair price, or a good deal for the long term ehalth of the organization?

This is the problem with not having one person ultimately responsible for the vision and philosophy of the franchise.

 

It's bad. When you've scared away most qualified applicants with your organizational structure in a job where there are only 32 positions and few openings in any given year it's a problem. I'm pretty sure Stephen Ross isn't paving some groundbreaking new organizational structure here that's going to be the grand new way of doing things in football.

 

The other problem with Aponte is that she is seemingly not held responsible for wins and losses, so if she nixes signing a player who will help you win, then what do you do?

You're the guy on the chopping block if you lose games.

Forget that she's a woman, and forget what her authority is. I would not take this job unless I was sure that there was going to be shared accountability. If we lose, Aponte gets fired too.

 

The GM and Aponte are serving two different functions. The GM makes his evaluation, gives his evaluation to Aponte, and she negotiates the contract based on that evaluation. The coaches also provide their evaluations when applicable (presumably retaining FAs). The problem is that GMs want to spend money in the near-term while sacrificing the long-term, and Aponte will not allow that. Could you imagine if Jeff Ireland had the chance to spend an extra $20MM last offseason? That would easily have made the Dolphins a playoff team. But it would have been bad for their financial outlook in the next 2-4 years.

Any type of czar or president is most likely going to get rid of Aponte and the GM and just hire people they know. Those people they know are going to do whatever the czar wants, whether good for the franchise long-term or not. Ross has made a lot of mistakes, and the results have been average thus far, but to his credit one thing he has avoided is letting someone come in and take advantage of him. We have seen first-hand how JJ, Saban, and Parcells basically used the Dolphins for an eight-figure payday in return for giving their friends jobs.

 

I don't think that is an issue. The issue is, she holds the purse and effectively holds power over roster. One way to resolve the conflict is to draw the line on salaries she can veto, for example at $8+ per year. The larger problem is, Deion Sanders is not hired as GM.

 

We have seen first hand what the most sought after football people will do to this organization. JJ, Saban, Parcells...they were all worse than the current situation in Miami. Their teams not only didn't win, but they were a hell of a lot more expensive.

 

Well this way isn't going to result in wins.

If Ross is afraid to spend the money necessary then he should just sell the damn team.

 

I guess I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. Sure the most sought after applicants don't work out. That's certainly true. Does that mean it's still ok to create an organizational structure that most qualified applicants don't want to be a part of?

Do you think it's a good thing that Miami is going to have to settle with one of it's biggest hires in years? You want to be able to hire the best person after the interview process. After this interview process, the applicants are saying, "Thanks but no thanks." There's no spin you can put on that IMO to paint it in a positive light.

I won't say it's doom and gloom. I'm of the impression that if a somewhat competent GM comes in and just does an average job of putting a line around Tannehill and giving him some weapons this team can be successful. Maybe that guy is Brian Gaines. Maybe it's Dawson. I won't pretend to know. But as fans, I think we are kidding ourselves if we keep trying to pretend there's nothing wrong with the ownership and organizational structure of this football team.

 

I don't agree that the Dolphins aren't acquiring the most qualified applicants. Dawn Aponte is one of the most qualified executives in the league.

 

Honest question, how is the current team structure significantly different that if we had a Football Czar in the building, which many advocate?

 

JJ was NOT worse than the current situation. He was HC for 4 seasons. Had a 56.2% regular season W-L pct which was higher than his regular season 55% W-L pct in Dallas, and went to the playoffs 3 times. He also left the roster well stocked with talent for Dave Wannstedt.

 

Id kill to have Jimmy back.

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