Like it or not, Stephen Ross is the boss. He payed a handsome fee for the Miami Dolphins in 2008 and he found a way to make the team seem more like they played in Hollywood with orange carpets and celebrity minority owners, but without the “Showtime” feel on the field.
Of course, he’s been saddled with current GM Jeff Ireland and heavy media coverage hovering over his headquarters in Davie, Florida like the chopper he owns to avoid traffic.
As Dolfans, we feel slighted, we feel like the sky is falling constantly with a “woe is me” attitude, and we feel the stigma of what it means to be a Dolfan rooting for a team that has had 3 coaches fail to get the Dolphins over the hump that is the AFC East. (Sparano’s first season had a 4-2 record versus the AFC East, but the only season where the playoffs was achievable.)
In 2005, Nick Saban in his press conference talked about being relentless and he put the AFC East on notice. Seasons of 8-8 and 6-10 did the Dolphins no favors and before he had a chance to improve the team in his image, he left.
As Dolfans we were scratching our collective heads as to why the Alabama job was better than an NFL job. We soon found out when Saban bolted for nearest exit and took his fridge full of Little Debbie Cakes with him.
In 2007, Randy Mueller and Cam Cameron, the equivalent of Jeff Bridges and Jim Carey in the Dumb and Dumber film took the stage by resting their hopes on a quarterback on journey man quarterback Trent Green that would carry the team to new heights only to see a record number of teammates on IR. Cameron and Mueller were gone at season end. Not even a sole win and gaining the #1 pick could save them.
In 2008, the Miami Dolphins hired Bill Parcells to right the ship, to bring back respectability, to get big and strong guys that wanted to play in Miami and that strived to be Bill’s guys. Not even Bill Parcells could hire a football coach that had head coaching experience. He brought in Tony Sparano. Sparano did not finish with a bang and the dynamic offense that was promised was status quo from previous years after a slow 0-7 start in 2011.
It is now 2012 and the season had some real ups and downs and as fans we all had qualms about whether or not the Dolphins should tank the season for a number one pick in the draft or win games for their embattled coach Tony Sparano. I can admit I found myself quitting on the team in the 4th quarter and then cheering like heck when the Dolphins played well together to win 6 games.
As Dolfans we have to realize that the task of getting the right coach is the responsibility of our principal owner in Stephen Ross. Mr. Ross has that task of finding the best coach for this team. He has the task of winning over the fans, but he wants people to enjoy the product on the field. He wants to sell tickets. The Miami Dolphins are Stephen Ross’ team. Not any coach that will be in Miami. Purely Stephen Ross’ team.
We cannot come to grips why the Miami Dolphins franchise is not one of those pearls in the ocean of NFL teams. Why the Miami Dolphins are no longer “dolphin safe” and do not come with a guarantee because they are poached constantly by all other football teams in the division. Playing versus Belicheck and Brady is not a comforting feeling for any coach and the uprising of the Jets and quite possibly the Bills has left the Dolphins looking up instead of down to the competition.
Whether we like it or not, Mr. Ross is the boss. He is the owner. It is his money. Can we choose to not buy into his product?
Sure we can. As can we get rid of the Sunday Ticket if we live outside of Florida or we can stop buying Miami Dolphins jerseys and hats.
At this point, we are Dolfans, we must stand strong and even though we might not support what the owner does, believe that he is giving it his best shot so we don’t have to be eliminated from the playoffs every October.
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