Gus Malzahn opinion as to where the league is going.

All Ross has to do is give him full control. While it probably won't work out, money and control will get almost any person.

 

I agree that if Ross gave him total control, that would certainly make the job too appealing to ignore. I just don't have faith in Ross when it comes to doing what it takes to hire the best individuals for the job.

That was proved by keeping Ireland far too long and in the hiring of Philbin and Hickey. Both individuals who really had little or no chance of ever being hired for their present positions with any other teams in the NFL.

If you want to hire the best, you have to be willing to do whatever is necessary to get the person to sign on the dotted line. So far Ross has been unwilling to do what is necessary and he appears quite willing to settle for a mediocre team. Instead of giving up the control it takes to hire the top individuals in the NFL for the most important jobs of head coach and GM.

 

Steve Ross loves Harbaugh enough (remember the shared Michigan roots) that I'm pretty sure Ross would give him carte blanche, especially in a situation where Ross' own hand-picked guy (Philbin) just failed and they're looking to replace. I think a part of Steve Ross still considers Harbaugh to be his hand-picked guy and Philbin just the guy he had to get because he couldn't get the guy he really wanted.

And from Harbaugh's standpoint it's not nearly as unattractive as you make out, I don't think. He'd be extremely well paid in a state with no state taxes. His owner (a fellow Michigan man) adores him. He'd have full control to set up the organization he wants. He's in an attractive destination city. He's got friends in Florida, including his best friend in the world (Willie Taggart). The Dolphins do indeed have a great franchise history and the fans are eagerly awaiting a savior that can bring that back to them. The stadium is getting an attractive facelift. There's no more "Big 3" to distract the city away from football.

Harbaugh was truly on the verge of going to Miami before he went to the 49ers. It was NOT out of the question. Far from it. It was going to happen. Ross made some rookie mistakes that turned Harbaugh off. If they begin another dalliance, A) don't expect Ross to make the same rookie mistakes, and B) don't assume that all the reasons Harbaugh had to be so close to joining Miami the first time have all melted away.

 

Put it this way. If the San Francisco 49ers and Jim Harbaugh get to a well-publicized impasse in contract negotiations to the point where they decide to part ways, and the 49ers begin negotiating with teams for a trade...Las Vegas will handicap the Dolphins as the clear favorite to get him, and well they should.

 

Problem is that now Harbaugh is a well established NFL head coach, and cemented himself as one of the top 3 coaches in the league.

The first time around he was a lot more of a question mark having never been even a coordinator in the NFL before.

Point being: If Harbaugh is available, it'll be a lot more than just 2 teams after him. You just know Jerry Jones will be in the mix as well as many other teams even with competent coaches looking to upgrade. But hey, I'm keeping my fingers crossed

 

I really don't see how you come to the conclusion that Harbaugh was ever close to coming to Miami. Just because Ross might have offered him the job doesn't mean that he wanted to come to Miami and coach the Dolphins. In fact I think it is more likely he used the interview for the Dolphin job as leverage to get the 49er's to offer him the job.

I think at the time Harbaugh and his wife were much more interested in remaining in Northern California than moving to South Florida. The 49er's job at the time was a much better situation than the Dolphins job. They had far more talent on their roster and a much better GM to acquire talent in the future.

Unless Harbaugh is just totally fed up with his present situation with the 49er's and can't work out a solution, I really don't see him wanting leave one of the most talented rosters in the NFL and move across the country for what is a very mediocre roster.

I hope you are right and that Ross will do whatever it takes to hire Harbaugh if the opportunity presents itself again. I just don't have the same belief in Ross doing the right things next time that you do. You seem to think Ross would give him total control to set up the organization, but nothing Ross has done as the owner of the Dolphins leads me to believe he is willing to give anyone that type of control over the organization.

I think when 2015 arrives, Philbin will still be the HC after once again leading the Dolphins to another mediocre season in 2014. If that is not the case, Ross will once again end up hiring a no name coach, no one else has an interest in hiring, but this new HC will agree to take the job because Ross will require him to work with Hickey as the teams GM. This demand to keep Hickey will turn off any quality head coaching candidate and we will once again be left with another Sparano or Philbin as the HC in 2015.

I would love to be shown by Ross that I am totally 100% wrong about him as an NFL owner. I just haven't been impressed with him since he took over the ownership of the team in 2009. It is completely up to him to show that he has learned from past mistakes. Unfortunately his hiring of Hickey as the GM, when he wasn't on any other teams radar after nearly 20 years in the NFL, only shows that Ross still doesn't have a clue as an NFL owner.

 

If the entire argument in the post you've written above hinges on your disagreeing with me that Harbaugh was close to joining the Dolphins, then we have nothing further to discuss.

I have my sources. They've proven themselves time and time and time again. You can believe what you want.

 

I think Las Vegas also had the Dolphins as the clear favorite to sign Manning after he was cut from the Colts. Yet when the time came, Manning had so little interest in the offer from the Dolphins, he wouldn't even meet with the ownership in South Florida, even though he owned a home in the area. I think the chances of Harbaugh actually signing on as the Dolphins HC is about the same as Manning's. I just think that if Harbaugh goes on the open market, even for a trade, there will be many teams bidding for his services.

I think it is far more likely he will end up with the Giants, Cowboys, or another high profile team which might be looking to hire a new HC after the 2014 season is complete. The Dolphins are no longer seen as a job which would entice the quality candidates to have much interest in. That is the fault of the owner and no one else. I just don't think Ross is respected as an owner by the top tier coaching and GM candidates around the league. Until he shows that he deserves this respect or he sells the team, I just don't see this organization being anything but mediocre under his ownership.

 

Basically I am suppose to believe you because you have some unknown sources who told you something. I just find it interesting that there were no reports at the time in the locale media which backs up your sources. In fact the reports in the media at the time was that Harbaugh wasn't interested in the job because Ross demanded that Ireland be kept on as the GM.

I also remember many reports that Harbuagh and his wife preferred to remain in California and that he was waiting for an offer from the 49ers.

Perhaps your sources read into the fact that Harbaugh accepted the interview with Ross as a sign that he was interested in the job. While that may or may not be the case. I just don't think he ever intended to be the HC of the Dolphins as long as he had the opportunity to get the 49er's job.

I think now that he has proven he is one of the top coaches in the NFL and can demand just about anything he wants in regards to control if he leaves the 49ers. The chances of him coming to Miami and being their next HC is even less than it was when he was the HC at Stanford and had never been an NFL head coach.

 

PhinFan1968 opinion as to where this thread is going.

 

yea I'll believe this when I see it. he's been here for 6 years and still botched the GM search, his most important hire to date. Ross is the most naive and ignorant owner in this league.

 

I've seen the discussion, it isn't just CK's sources, and I believe it to be true too.

 

I told you, you can believe what you want to believe. There were two separate sources kind enough to let myself and some others in on what they knew, and they were locked in. Your speculation as to what they knew and how is off-base. That's all I'm at liberty to say, out of respect for those that shared. Trust me, or don't. It's your choice.

And no, the speculation "at the time" was not that Harbaugh wasn't interested because Ross wanted to keep Ireland. That came out afterward via Michael Lombardi, who is a close friend of Harbaugh's.

At the time, and you can find quotes from Steve Ross to this effect, the speculation was that Harbaugh was using the interest of BOTH the Dolphins and 49ers in order to get a better offer out of Stanford. There are quotes from Steve Ross to exactly that effect. He said he walked away feeling like they were being used to get a better offer out of Stanford and at the conclusion of the meeting he told Harbaugh that he ought to return to Stanford. But Harbaugh went to the 49ers because he really was ready to make the jump. The meetings with the Dolphins just did not go well. I actually know SOME details of why that is (aside from Lombardi's public revelation that Ireland's presence had a lot to do with it), though again I am not free to say more. I'll just say that Steve Ross made rookie mistakes.

As for whether Vegas handicapped Miami as the favorites for Peyton Manning, I honestly can't recall that being the case. I know a lot of people talked about him possibly going to Miami, including especially a lot of people in Miami, but there was a lot of talk about a bunch of different destinations. Miami was merely at the forefront of the news cycle because they were the most obvious about their interest.

 

It's the other way around. San Fran tried to trade Jim Harbaugh to Cleveland but he nixed the deal. San Fran isn't renewing his contract. There are no negotiations that I'm aware of atm and he's heading into his last season after a super bowl appearance and a controversial NFC championship game. The writing is on the wall.





As far as Dallas is concerned, I think people are kidding themselves if they think Jerry Jones is heading down the road of another Jimmy Johnson/Bill Parcells hire. Despite all the success they've brought him, Jerry Jones has been nothing but ungrateful. Both men turned garbage into gold. I know some people might **** on Parcells, but he took over a bad team and made them relevant and playoff contenders. Every year since he left, that team has slowly declined.

Jerry Jones has to be the star and run the show. It's Jerry's way or the highway. Does that sound like an organization Harbaugh wants to be a part of, even if Jerry had a revelation of sorts? No way. I don't know Malzahn enough to say if he would be interested beyond his own fandom. If he's willing to get his balls chopped off, maybe it'll be a good fit.

 

Earlier you stated that you had sources which told you that Harbaugh was close to signing on to become the Dolphins head coach. Your statement above seems to totally contradict your earlier statement.

You now state that Ross felt that Harbaugh only used the meeting with the Dolphins to get a better contract offer from Stanford. You also state that the meeting with the Dolphins did not go well and Ross told Harbaugh that he should stay at Stanford.

If the meeting didn't go well and Ross felt that the Dolphins were only being used by Harbaugh for a better contract with Stanford. This in no way equates to Harbaugh being close to signing on with the Dolphins. What is does mean is that Ross never had a chance in signing Harbaugh from the beginning and that Harbaugh only used the meeting with the Dolphins in an attempt to entice the 49er's to give him an offer.

The fact Ross left by telling Harbaugh to remain at Stanford, only confirms how clueless he is as an NFL owner.

I admit that I don't have any inside sources feeding me information. I can only go by what happened,which is Harbaugh did not sign with the Dolphins and he did in fact leave Stanford to sign with the 49er's. This is what most of the reports at the time stated he would do and that is what he ended up doing.

I would love to see Harbaugh as the Dolphins HC next year. I just don't think he would be willing to take over the Dolphins because of the way the front office is run. I think he will instead want to join an organization where he has total control over all football operations and he would want to bring in a GM he wants to work with. Ross has never showed that he is willing to give up this much control to one person in the organization and I doubt if he would do it, even for Harbaugh.

The Dolphin organization also is not viewed as a top tier organization any longer and therefore it is unlikely any top tier head coaching candidate or GM candidate would have much interest in working for Ross. I think Harbaugh will have plenty of interest from higher profile teams after the 2014 season and therefore I just don't see him being the Dolphins head coach in 2015.

 

It does not contradict. I'm not sure what would give you that impression.

Prior to that meeting yes he was very serious about going to the Miami Dolphins. Very serious. I'm not at liberty to explain the details of how serious. But let's just say preparations were being made for a move to Miami before that meeting happened.

That's fair. Personally I just have a theory that after taking on criticism left-and-right about how he runs the Dolphins, and simultaneously suffering through a long period of non-success, he will be ready to cede a large amount of control to Jim Harbaugh.

The reason I believe he would be willing to do so is because Harbaugh was HIS CHOICE. That was the guy that was floating out there that he noticed, he liked, and that he went after...even doing so against the advice of others. It was all him and nobody else. When he went through the hiring process that ended with hiring Joe Philbin, he had Carl Peterson and Jeff Ireland putting together the candidates and they really got it down to two candidates before Ross made the decision of one or the other. He's not going to want to admit that he made a bad choice with Joe Philbin. He's going to want to believe that he was dealt a bad hand by Ireland and Peterson, and that HIS guy all along was Jim Harbaugh.

He's even talked about this. You can find the quotes. He's talked about his inexperience as an owner and the mistakes he's made, and he still defends his chasing after Jim Harbaugh and points out that he's become one hell of a coach and his instincts were right on to chase him.

The reason he hasn't ceded control to anyone is he considers it to be part of the "fun" of being an owner to make choices about your football team that end up paying dividends. I believe he'd be willing to cede control to Harbaugh because he'll derive satisfaction in knowing that he made the right choice with him from the start and even though it didn't work out initially, it did work out in the end. He'll let Harbaugh steer the ship because that's his guy, and he's a Super Bowl quality coach.

 

While I am no fan of Ross as an NFL owner. I will gladly give him credit for taking a shot at Harbaugh in the first place.

I just don't understand how it was that according to your sources, Harbaugh was ready to sign with the Dolphins, and yet once he met with Ross, Ross came away from the meeting with the impression Harbaugh was only using the interview with the Dolphins as a way to get a better contract with Stanford. It appears from that explanation that Ross completely messed up any chance to sign Harbaugh when he might have had the chance.

You say it wasn't because Ross informed Harbaugh that he had to accept Ireland as the teams GM. I just find this hard to believe, because I don't think any top tier coach wanted to work with Ireland. I think Ross would have had a better chance if he had not included keeping Ireland as part of the deal in Harbaugh signing with the Dolphins. There is a reason the Dolphins ended up with a very below average HC in Philbin and not a quality HC. That reason is spelled IRELAND.

Of course I ALWAYS thought that if Harbaugh was offered a head coaching job with the 49er's, he would take that over an offer from the Dolphins, which he did.

If Huizenga or Robbie were the owner today, I would give the Dolphins a better than even chance of signing Harbaugh if he leaves the 49er's. I just don't have any faith in Ross as an NFL owner and I just don't see him being able to entice Harbaugh to take the job. I hope your right and I'm wrong, but after six years of this ownership, it is hard to feel positive about the direction of this organization under Ross.

 

I think you keep reading things into what I've said that I didn't actually say. There's a lot of free interpretation going on when you relay back to me your understanding of what I'm saying. I choose my words carefully.

 

What makes it so difficult is your keep referring to your sources giving you information which you state you can't repeat. So it is difficult to to know exactly what you are trying to say in regards to what happened during the meeting between Harbaugh and Ross.

You state you know more than you can repeat, because you don't want to out your sources. While I respect this, it certainly makes it hard to understand how the Dolphins went from almost signing Harbaugh, to leaving the meeting with the perception that he was merely using the interview with the Dolphins to get more money from Stanford.

Obviously this appears clear to you because you have your sources. It just doesn't come across as logical on here because so much of what you know from these sources can't be acknowledged. Therefore you leave me with nothing, except to try and figure out what might have happened at the meeting. This obviously leads to the free interpretation you refer to.

As I stated, I do understand why you don't want to repeat everything you heard from these sources. It just makes it harder to understand why Harbaugh is not the coach of the Dolphins today.

 

The problem here is I never said "the Dolphins were close to signing Harbaugh".

Go back and re-read the wording of what I said, and keep in mind how carefully I'm forced to choose my words because I am not allowed to reveal too much.

Harbaugh was serious about going to Miami. He was leaning in that direction. I won't say how I know that. Something during those meetings screwed that up. I actually know some of the things that may have screwed it up. Some other things that may have screwed it up are already in the public sphere.

Things you've relayed back to me that I didn't actually say include "the Dolphins were close to signing Harbaugh", "You say it wasn't because Ross informed Harbaugh that he had to accept Ireland as the teams GM", etc.

Rather than just keeping on repeating the same things I'm just going to say that I tend to choose my words carefully so if you re-read what I've written with that in mind you might get back on track.

 

Now it is becoming a word game. You stated that he was on the verge of signing with the Dolphins and he was leaning in that direction. To me this is a way of stating that Harbaugh was CLOSE to signing with the Dolphins and then something happened to change the chances of him signing with the Dolphins.

I don't see any difference in someone being on the VERGE of doing something as opposed to this person being close to doing something. In fact one of the definitions of verge is, "the limit or point beyond which something begins to occur". The definition of close is, "near or almost". So basically these two words are interchangeable when it comes to defining an act which almost took place but didn't.

Just because you didn't use the word, "close" to define what transpired doesn't mean you didn't infer this when you stated Harbaugh was on the verge of coming to the Dolphins.

My position has always been that Harbaugh wanted to be the coach of the 49er's and he used the meeting with the Dolphins to help him get the job with the 49er's. I also don't think he or any other top tier coaching candidate had any interest in working with Ireland. Since I don't have access to inside sources, I don't have any idea what took place when in the meeting with Ross and Harbaugh. I just continue to believe that Harbaugh NEVER had any intention of taking the job with the Dolphins and he would have returned to Stanford if he had not gotten the 49er's job, IMO. Obviously Ross felt the same way because as you stated, he told Harbaugh he should remain at Stanford once their meeting ended.

 

Never mind.