I bought a backpack

 

Kudos. I used to be anti Ross and now I am pro Ross.

 

I think that both Ross and Tannenbaum are starting to figure things out. I absolutely think that Ross wants to win, is willing to give the resources to do so, and it committed to changing the culture in Miami. I think his unwavering support of RT through the peaks and valleys has shown his forward thinking.

I do think that Tannenbaum deserves more credit than he gets. I think we can all agree that he has made some misses in recent history - most notably signing Greg Jennings over Michael Crabtree (there may have been some Philbin influence in this one). I think everyone on this board can think of a guy or two that we think Miami should sign before the season starts.

But I offer this counter, has our roster gotten better every year since his arrival? I think that is an obvious, yes. Can you see an obvious direction that this roster is moving toward? Yes. How have our draft classes looked? I would say pretty darn goon. And when you compare him to Jeff Ireland, it only makes him look better. Has he made good free agent moves? Although we may not have gotten everyone that we wanted and we have had some misses, I think we have definitely improved since the days of Mike Wallace, Danelle Elerbee, and Phillip Wheeler. Furthermore, I would say that NONE of Ireland's mistakes were as costly both in terms of dollars and setting the franchise back than those players.

Between the two of them, they brought in Gase which really looks like a fantastic hire at this point. The only cloud hanging over Miami is the growth of Ryan Tannehill. I have watched him grow every year as a passer, and as long as the growth continues, Miami's future is bright.

 

This is going to be a "tricky" thread. For the past several seasons, Ross has been called just about every name in the book by despondent fans but with last year's success, credit has to be given to Ross for rebuilding from the top down.

I was never a Ross basher but then again, I was never a Ross cheerleader either. Look at it like this, the Miami Dolphins were founded by Joe Robbie (an attorney) and Danny Kaye (an entertainer). Ask yourself this, what in the HELL does an attorney or an entertainer know about football? The answer is SQUAT, and it took several years before Robbie learned the game and was able to get all of the pieces in place before the Dolphins became the franchise that is did in the 70's.

Same concept here with Ross. Even though he purchased an already established football team, once you become the boss an organization/entity, you are the one in charge and have to learn the ropes before you can effectively lead. Ross had Huizenga era personnel in the front office and by proxy, was forced to submit to their knowledge of football because well...no one knows football like a real estate mogul, right? Well it took time, trial and error to start getting the personnel in to make the Dolphins as successful as it was last season and if it continues and the Dolphins once again become perennial play-off contenders, he'll be compared to the Rooneys and Krafts of the NFL and if not?

Being the eternal optimist that I am, I'm hopeful Ross just had to go through the learning curve that he had and we're on that road to success.

 

You nailed it. Ross was a clown a couple years back. winning changes minds

 

Ever think he's lucky to have us?

 

Ross was a complete noob when he first took over the Phins. He has slowly improved every year.
Glad that he owns the Miami Dolphins!

 

While yes, that point holds true that winning changes minds, that's not what it's about with Stephen Ross IMO.

His first couple of years were... questionable. No doubt. They made some odd moves. I think he jumped into this deal thinking this would be easy. I think if you listen to anyone around NFL owners talk, they say it just takes some time for these billionaires who think they can do anything and everything to figure it all out. Ross has started to figure it out. That happened, well before last years good season IMO.

He started getting committed to his coach. Even though he was wrong in sticking by Philbin because he clearly wasn't getting the job done, he realized he couldn't be seen as that trigger happy owner like in Cleveland. You've got to stick by them to try and get some consistency, and a base to evaluate on. He did that, then moved on.

The hiring of Garfinkle, IMO is the key to the turnaround of the franchise and Ross' tenure as owner. Things were going bad for him on his own. He goes and gets a guy with experience running sports teams. Now, I think he was criticized a bit for this move as well because Garfinkle's experience was from the baseball world, but who's laughing now? Ross is. Garfinkle has brought sense and stability to the business side and marketing side in his time here. That's what Ross tried to do in his own way, and he recognized it wasn't working, and went out and got what he thought were the right people to put into place.

Then there's his move with the stadium renovations. Securing another Super Bowl for Miami, that they wouldn't have seen if it wasn't for him IMO. His willingness to pay, and do whatever it takes. Then there's the business and leadership camps for the Dolphins players. The RISE initiative. The hiring of Tannenbaum. Letting his football people, now make the football decisions has gotten us to this winning season last year. It's not my mind changing because we got to the playoffs last year, and it's likely not that for others either. It's the fact that if you look at what he's done since taking over, he's steadily improved, corrected his mistakes, made the right moves for the organization. This happened prior to the wins this season.

So, it's incredibly shortsighted IMO to say minds are changing about him because we had a good season last year... Things are changing because he's realized his own early failures, changed course, got the right people in place and is allowing them to do their jobs running the football operations, and creating a football team. These are the things that got us to that winning season, he's not getting praise because we won, it's because he's learned to become an NFL owner, he's put the right people in places to allow the success to grow.

 

https://www.thephinsider.com/2017/7...-forbes-value-2017-dallas-cowboys-real-madrid
the proof is in the pudding

 

For me the problem was the parade of B celebrities and stunts like the orange carpet. Just write the checks and stay out of the way until you know better. At least things are looking better lately and I think it is true that his heart was always in the right place.

 

You are a real fart smeller! Err... Smart Fella. Preach brah!

 

ARE YOU IN MY BRAIN? HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?

 

I'm just that damn good. :lol:

 

Produce a winning football franchise and I'm a fan, I don't trust him yet.

 

He did that last year.. and he seems to have hired a promising coach in Gase. Things are looking up, but I do agree one good season isn't good enough. Winning must be sustained.

 

As I have referenced a few times recently, 09 was looking promising, Sparano was riding a high wave, I'm just wary because there is an eery similarity in both seasons, a very weak schedule, winning games by the skin of our teeth and then being outclassed by real playoff competition.

When we're relevant again, I'll be a big Ross fan.

 

This stuff never really bothered me. If anything, it is more of a marketing play. I seriously doubt Gloria Estefan is involved in determining the fate of Ryan Tannehill. I see absolutely nothing wrong with a business man trying to expand his base. I really do not like going to London as much as we do, but I understand that making the Dolphins an international team with a large fanbase could pay dividends in the long term.

 

I agree with you here. I don't really care about the minority celebrity owners. They're irrelevant really, it just gave some "star power" to the franchise likely as an attempt to create some extra local buzz around events, and have them as "brand ambassadors" so to speak. Similar to the Toronto Raptors with Drake. I'm not sure he's an owner in any capacity, but his involvement has helped spark interest in the team. Can't stand the guy, or his "music" but it's true, he's has a positive effect. Now, I'm not sure sure that the folks Ross brought in initially have had the same impact, I know I've seen them featured at events and such, I'm just not sure people care about the "celebrity status" of the individuals he brought in. I could be wrong though, I'm not in Miami.

 

He held on to Ireland too long, his decisions with Philbin left me scratching my head. However, its a business and mistakes are always going to be made. He seems to be learning the environment, and he hasn't done anything that makes me cringe, at least not nationally, since I don't live in Florida I might not get the full picture.

The team is moving in the right direction and at the very least, he doesn't appear to be doing anything that would hinder/slow that growth. That's about all I ask of a owner. So he's cool in my book.