FanPost

The Question of Stephen Ross

Over the last 24 hours, Stephen Ross has been all over South Florida news. And for very questionable reasons.


Reports surfaced over the last few days that Stephen Ross was unhappy with the selection of Minkah Fitzpatrick and, instead, wanted the Dolphins to trade down to acquire more draft capital. There was also a report, per Armando Salguero, that Stephen Ross also wanted to "save money" on the first round pick, which he adequately dismissed. This has led to a discussion as to what Ross actually said and, of course, his role as owner of the Miami Dolphins.


For years, I have listened to people complaining about Ross and his direction for the team. Many people close to me have been upset with his coaching decisions, his willingness to spend big on "star power" and his hiring of Mike Tannenbaum (yes, that one is very specific).


And it’s hard to argue against those complainers. Ross’s hiring of Joe Philbin, while applauded by many when it first occurred, was not his best move. Keeping him for 3 and a half years was also a questionable strategy, especially after he failed to bring Miami to the playoffs over the span of his time here.


Ross also had a tendency to spend big on flashy free agents like Ndamukong Suh. These contracts ended up hurting the team and complicated our cap situation.


And many people were upset about Mike Tannenbaum, present company included. His time with the Jets did not result in any championships and many would argue that he actually set the Jets back a few years with his decisions.


All of these moments would make many believe that Ross doesn’t have what it takes to be a successful NFL owner. And that is where I disagree completely.


Ross has made his fair share of mistakes. But, he never crippled the Franchise the way that many thought he had. Yes, some of his mistakes hurt. But, he was not alone in his decision making. Every decision that he makes he has made in the best interest of the Dolphin fan.


He hired Joe Philbin with the hope that he would be the next great head coach of this team. Everyone was high on Philbin, who came out of a Green Bay system that produced an extremely high powered, and successful, offense. It isn’t the owner’s fault that Philbin didn’t make the right personnel decisions or put together a game plan that was weak and predicated on the simplicity of "Go" and "Go, Go."


Many would argue that Ross kept Philbin on too long. But, in the NFL teams need time to take shape. It is unrealistic to expect a first year head coach to immediately become Bill Belichick or have the success of Sean McVay in his first year. We all want it, but that is very rarely how it works.


His decision to bring in Suh was also one that had all the right intentions, but didn’t pan out. Many thought that the Suh signing would be the missing piece to a defense that needed sack help. Many thought he would be the next coming of Reggie White and help us run stuff our way to a super bowl. It didn’t happen. Again, Ross is not Suh. Perhaps Ross could have divided his cap space differently and brought in more players for the price of Suh. But Ross wants the fans to be happy and the Suh signing attracted people to watch and see what he would do.


Even the Tannenbaum decision was one that was made with the best interest of the team in mind. I didn’t like it, and I still don’t. But, I can’t fault him for bringing in a guy who wants to win and wants to build a quality franchise. He brought us to the playoffs and, I think, has built a pretty solid team.


There is a lot of "unknown" in the NFL. Nobody can really predict anything perfectly all of the time and that includes the decision makers. Even though many of his decisions didn’t pan out the way he would have liked, Ross is a good NFL owner. He spent a ton of his own money on rebuilding the stadium to enhance the fan experience (and the awning at training camp is the greatest gift of all). He has tried to consistently make the best decisions to produce a winning football team and the man wants to win. So, yes, Ross isn’t perfect. But we cannot fault his effort. This team is better than people in the media (who, once again, apparently hate us) say and that is in part to the decisions that Ross has made over the last few years. And, as an added plus, the stadium is much better now.

Fins Up!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.