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Hyde: Ross certain to pursue Harbaugh, Gamble again

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Itsdahumidity, Dec 16, 2014.

  1. Sethdaddy8

    Sethdaddy8 Well-Known Member

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    NJ
    X2.
     
  2. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    This is exactly right. Steve Ross wants Harbaugh at one place or the other.
     
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  3. Sethdaddy8

    Sethdaddy8 Well-Known Member

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    NJ
    Well, after granting hundreds of Millions to Michigan, all to get his name on the side of a building, I am not sure what else Ross "owes" Michigan.

    Guess who he is accountable to? Guess who he "owes"? Us, the season ticket holders, the fans. If he serves up Harbaugh to the Wolverines, in spite of his business...he will lose what little morale he has left in this fanbase. They will be giving tickets away for this failed hobby of his, free at Publix with your purchase of king crab legs.
     
  4. Serpico Jones

    Serpico Jones Well-Known Member

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    The question I have is what happens if Ross strikes out again on Harbaugh? Then what?
     
  5. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    This isn't a question of "owes". And he had his name on the business school before he gave $200 million to the athletics department last year. He basically feels ownership of both teams and he wants good things for both of them.

    Your perspective as a Dolphins fan certainly isn't his as an owner/benefactor.
     
  6. Sethdaddy8

    Sethdaddy8 Well-Known Member

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    There has to be a priority in his head. Some sort of preference. I think the reality of losing a fanbase and ticket sales, and general profitability for a team you both own and love, is the only negative impact that can occur here. If he fails yet again, to make a splash, the franchise is in trouble. What happens if Harbaugh doesn't goto Michigan. That "life" will go on much more seamlessly. Students goto games, alumni do their thing. Life goes on, with little backlash effecting Ross personally.

    Then again, perhaps the decision is truly up to Harbaugh, so long as it is one or the other. If he prefers the pro's Miami it is. I'd be surprised if Harbaugh preferred to go back to the college game, all things truly being equal. If he does prefer college, then the last thing we want is another zealous owner talking a coach into something he doesn't want. So yes, win-win. Perhaps Ross already knows where Harbaugh is leaning, and is simply monopolizing the market.
     
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  7. heylookatme

    heylookatme Well-Known Member

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    As I said, think about it from his perspective. The University of Michigan has been part of Steve's life for fifty years. When he dies, his name will still be on the University of Michigan School of Business. There will be a bust of him on the campus. Maybe even a statue. He will have his portrait hanging up on a wall in a dusty old room where people speak in hushed tones. Steven Ross, one of the greatest alumni in the history of the school, a philanthropist who gave so much back to the university. A Michigan man. He has achieved a form of immortality there that many people aspire to in their lives. Quite frankly, I'm jealous of him.

    When Ross dies and someone else takes over the Dolphins, only us diehard fans will be left to remember him, for good or for ill. Even Joe Robbie, a figure far more beloved by Dolfans than most sports owners, is pretty much an afterthought these days. The stadium he built gets a different corporate sponsorship every four years. Heck, even Nick Saban has more of a legacy, with that stupid practice bubble having been unofficially named after him.

    I find it really hard to believe that Ross could even hope to have the same kind of emotional investment with the Dolphins that he has with the University of Michigan. And I certainly don't blame him. In his shoes, I'm confident I'd feel exactly the same way.
     
  8. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I think he is trying to corner the market specifically because he does not know which way Harbaugh will go. He could not secure him in 2011 and he will not have forgotten that. He walked out of the meeting believing Harbaugh had used him to get a better offer out of Stanford and so he told Harbaugh he should stay at Stanford. But then Harbaugh chose San Fran. Ross knows he's hard to predict. He just wants him one way or another, IMO.
     
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  9. Sethdaddy8

    Sethdaddy8 Well-Known Member

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    True and good points. I do think he loves both though. And so, maybe it can be about, not "who loves me more", but "can they both love me". I have to think a huge problem is being held in a foolish light, and having a fanbase have disdain toward him. Ross knows he has not been a successful or well liked owner thus far. These are things that probably dig at his feelings and ego, if he truly cares about the team. These are negativities he will never get from the Michigan family. This could compel him in a direction, maybe not. Like I said, maybe the match is set, and it's up to Harbaugh...in which case, it is out of his control. I would hope he'd put up even money and let Jim choose, rather than low-ball him a Dolphin offer, and forcing him towards Michigan.
     
  10. heylookatme

    heylookatme Well-Known Member

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    I actually think this is a good situation for us. Ross would surely be happy getting Jim to either destination, so now I think we can be confident that Jim Harbaugh chooses the Dolphins, he wants to be here. That's good. I like knowing that.
     
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  11. 3Pmi

    3Pmi IT Specialist Staff Member Administrator

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    As a Michigan native, I can tell you from first hand experience that the current state of the Michigan program is being understated here. You make a joke about Dolphins tickets being given away free with King Crab legs, but that actually happened this year with Michigan tickets... only for two bottles of Coke, which are decidedly cheaper than crab legs:
    http://www.sbnation.com/2014/9/22/6831037/michigan-will-give-you-2-free-tickets-for-2-cokes

    I'm biased as a Dolphins fan who isn't obsessively into college ball so I don't like it, but I can absolutely understand how a guy like Ross with a 40-50 year relationship with the school could be OK with Harbaugh heading there over Miami. I really can. $3.00 for tickets to see a team that is every bit, if not more, of a historic powerhouse in the college ranks as we are in the NFL.
     
  12. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    if harbaugh doesn't come here it might not have anything to do with the owner.
     
  13. Samphin

    Samphin Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει

    The Niners probably the most talented roster on both sides of the ball and are awful. Harbaugh rubs people the wrong way. Very intense, holds grudges and punitively punishes people that don't bow at his feet.

    That being said, he can be a very good motivator and coach when his head is right.
     
  14. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Colin Kaepernick is holding the team back. He reads defenses about as well as RGIII. They also play in one of, if not the toughest division in football.
     
  15. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    I totally agree.
     
  16. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    I think Harbaugh (b/c of his wife) will either go to Michigan or stay in NoCal with the Raiders.
     
  17. Brasfin

    Brasfin Well-Known Member

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    As much as his wife might influence him, he needs to choose what's best for him from a career standpoint as well. With the roster that we have right now, Harbaugh can probably make it to the playoffs as early as next season. The Raiders are a little farther off, IMO. There's also the differences in the division...the AFC West is a tough division right now with the Broncos, Chargers and Chiefs, and honestly the AFC East seems to be like the easier path to the playoffs.

    Another good point going for us is that Ross will do everything in his power to get Harbaugh a good GM, maybe Gamble, whom Harbaugh seems to like. I think Miami is the best option for Harbaugh, career-wise, if he chooses to stay in the NFL.
     
  18. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    His wife IMO has never been the issue that people think she has been.
     
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  19. DolphinGreg

    DolphinGreg Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Firstly, I want to thank you for putting this together. While I have big reservations, you have made me feel better about Harbaugh. While I think Harbaugh is a wonderful (if not ideal) college coach, I don't have the same confidence in projecting his long term NFL prospects. While some people will never comprehend the notion, I think Harbaugh going to Michigan would be amazing for both parties while Harbaugh going to Miami would be more questionable.

    I can't debate that Harbaugh did an amazing job at San Diego and Stanford. If I were Michigan, I would be throwing cash at Harbaugh because I don't think there are any questions about his ability to raise up a college program. In my eyes, he's on the level of a Nick Saban. But that's a conversation about college football. Recruiting, player development, and overall management in high-profile college gigs are very different than drafting, free agency and team building in the NFL where the HC is only part of the equation. At Michigan, Harbaugh can be "the guy" and he can replicate exactly what he did at San Diego and at Stanford. He can be the owner, the GM and the head coach all at the same time and most importantly, he's not going to be asked to make a Josh Johnson or Colin Kaepernick into an NFL-caliber QB. I think he's perfect for Michigan just like he'd be perfect for almost any college job. I would go so far as to say his mentality is perfect for Michigan and that he'd be an instant success there.

    I'm not going to argue for the sake of arguing because you clearly have a very strong opinion of how things went in SF under Harbaugh so we are just going to disagree. While Harbaugh's college record is not debatable, I think his NFL resume really is. Using just one example, you are stretching the truth when you say Alex Smith was a bust before Harbaugh.

    A) Smith was drafted by Mike Nolan, a defensive coach who since leaving the 49ers has been with 3 different NFL franchises.

    B) Smith had 3 OCs in his first 3 seasons, a clear recipe for instability and poor development.

    C) After Nolan came another defensive mind, Mike Singletary, who was a disaster of a HC--one of the worst in recent memory throughout the entire NFL.

    If you look at those facts and blame Smith's poor development on his being a "bust" you simply aren't being realistic and that argument isn't going to win favor with a lot of people. Jim Harbaugh was the first decent thing Alex Smith ever had and as you point out, Smith rebounded with that and has continued at more or less that same level under a second quality coach in Andy Reid.

    Clearly, Alex Smith was not a bust. Limited upside? Yes. A bust? Heck no.

    You similarly downplay Kaepernick's developmental crisis as being "a few bad games." It's been a complete failure with Kaepernick and we're seeing him finally crash and burn because he doesn't have the tools to play NFL football. That's not just my opinion. He's not properly reading defenses, he can't see the whole field and he's not getting off his 1st progression. He was great for a couple years while the team was able to play around his flaws and use his mobility. Now we're seeing the flaws and he's evidence that you can't achieve long-term stability using a QB like that.

    He's way behind even someone like Ryan Tannehill who is supposedly inexperienced. The history of Kaepernick will clearly show that he's not an NFL-caliber QB.


    Again, you have made me feel better about Harbaugh as a candidate and I thank you for that. I appreciate your post and your point of view. I certainly hope you don't hate me. I'm just trying to stay objective. I think Harbaugh would be perfect for Michigan, but I'm still not sure if Harbaugh would do enough for Tannehill's development that we take such a huge risk in going after him. The evidence does not support the idea that turnover at HC and OC is in any way good for a QB unless what they have is Mike Singletary.

    I think what Tannehill needs is "next-level" development. I see that Harbaugh can take unproven or college prospects and them decent (Alex Smith) or NFL-ready prospects (Andrew Luck), but I'm not sure that Harbaugh really knows what he's doing when it comes to building up an advanced QB and helping someone who's already playing at a decent level become something really special.
     
  20. LBsFinest

    LBsFinest Banned

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    I'm sorry, is he supposed to get this from Philbin?
     
  21. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    Maybe - but most of what I've read has the Harbaugh camp interested in the Raiders before the Dolphins. But, they may be wrong. However, the Dolphins have been used as leverage in the past and I can see him doing it again.

    Personally if he goes elsewhere next year (which I think needs to happen because the well is poisoned in SF) I'd guess it's a 70% chance he'd be in Oakland over Miami - just based on what I think Harbaugh wants from what so many have said.
     

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