La Canfora: Dolphins exploring Harbaugh, Sparano not assured return [plus updates]

Man do I have great news for you!

You may win the ****ing LOTTO this week! or not.

 

what are the rquirements for a journalism degree again? 7 bucks and a bag of chips?

 

Sorry, I already have the $330,000,000 + winning ticket in my pocket.

 

They gave you a bag of chips too?

/Schefter

 

And Omar. My god. They gave the man a degree.

 

I disagree and think they are doing the right thing.
Thing is that if you have an avg. player you look to upgrade him but you don't cut him until you have a player you think is better to man the spot.

I think the same thing is going on here.
They don't think Sparano is inept but they don't think he's a top coach either.
They want to take the chance on upgrading the spot but only if someone better is available and willing.

In essence if this is true they believe Sparano can do a mediocre job and will be reserved to keep with that if they can't get what they see as an upgrade.

 

If tony comes back now, it will be disaster, or no better than 8-8

 

Thanks Carnac The Magnificent.

Glad Tom Coughlin didn't have that attitude or the population of Perfectville would be 2.

 

There's a gigantic difference between utilizing this technique with a fringe roster player as opposed to a head coach.

That comparison is invalid on so many different levels.

 

Some guy Ryan being interviewed (on radio) was just quoted saying Harbaugh is definitely going to the NFL.

 

New rumor on Twitter is that Harbaugh wants to go to an NFC team in part to avoid coaching against his brother, which is ****ing ******ed if true. Don't wanna coach against your brother?

EDIT: Irony? SF plays Baltimore next year. Dolphins don't.

 

If that is the reason, just stay out of the NFL all together.

 

More chum in the water, some Michigan website (TheWolverine.com) is saying Harbaugh is going to San Francisco. Just throwing it out there.

 

You must be mistaken, my wife is on the way to buy the winning ticket right now.

 

So what if that NFC team he chooses, has to play Baltimore in the SuperBowl one year... is he just going to retire? Like, come on. WTF is that crap.

 

Ok, Ill listen.
Tell me all those thousands of invalid levels.

While you're coming up with those so many levles I'll tell you why it's not.

Flat out reality is that a team desiring a coaching change is hostage to what is available in a Head Coaching market.
If you're smart you damn sure would look to see who you think is better than your current coach and whether they have interest or not. Just lopping off Sparanos head dosen't fill the position. Do you really just fire him to bring in another coach you have no passion to bring in and end up with an equally mediocre if not worse situation than you have now? Not to mention that the team will suffer more because they will have to learn the new system of this coach you're not excited about?

If Ross is putting feelers out to specific coaches he'd want to come in on the down low while keeping Sparano in a "review period" he's handling this situation the absolute best way possible.

 

I think that is optimistic, I think he is 2-5 and they fire him mid-season next year. Dorrell as Interim HC and then go after the next "big thing" after the 2011 season.

 

I think one of the differences is, that process for the player is not played out in the public eye. That is what makes this hard on Tony, and rather embarassing for him.

 

I don't disagree that it's going be hard on him.

That is life at the top however and everyone goes into it knowing that.
Just sayin.
In the end it has to be what is best for this Franchise and Ross is doing the right thing based on that angle.

 

I was at that game.

 

Interesting, arguably the 49ers are a better situation as they just added talent to the Oline, have a good running back and 2 good downfield targets in Davis and Crabtree.

 

But, then again if he had done some things better and no it isn't completely his fault, then in all likelihood he wouldn't be facing this situation. There's an old saying "make yourself so valuable, that they can't fathom a day without you." (at least down here anyways)

 

exactly right Con. It's how I go about every work day and it hold true. It's also about keeping your eyes open to what's going on around you and being dynamic enough to make sure you're getting everything you can out of your team, not just doing things "your way" or keeping blinders on with respect to your teammates (see Dan Henning)

 

The only embarrassed person I feel sorry for is Stephen Ross.

 

Dolphins reportedly interested in Harbaugh and Cowher

I know there are already tons of similar thread and posts, but this appears to be a relatively new story I saw on ESPN this morning wherein they are reporting the Dolphins are interested in both candidates.

Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5990527

 

Man we are going to look so stupid if we go into next season with Sparano as our coach.

 

We will have to be very stupid to go into next season with Sparano as our coach.

 

this thread brings very good news there is hope for Miami & Ross is not an idiot

 

Wow a team that actually cares about adding offensive talent. Wish my team did that (sarcasm)

 

Conu I gotcha, and agree but this is not the way I would have done it. There has to be a reason Ross is allowing this to happen. Maybe they had a shouting match on Monday in their meeting, and Ross said to himself, "screw him I'll **** him over to show that little pissant who he is dealing with". Because other than that there is no reason to let this guy dangle in the wind. Its very mean spirited.

 

Yeah if this is all true, Mr Ross looks like he has made a decision to change HC's. If it doesn't happen now, we look really badly run.

 

well yeah that too

 

Yep it looks like there will be a change if this latest is true. You just can't bring back Sparano now. Ross will look like a real dolt.

 

Again, fringe roster player versus the leader of the team. The situations couldn't be more different. If you honestly believe that they're even remotely similar, I don't know what to tell you.

Well, if reports are true that Ross is insisting Nolan stay on board as a defensive coordinator, I'm not sure how you could end up much worse off. I mean, the reality of the situation is that the Dolphins offense this year was historically bad (by Dolphin standards). I suppose you could end up with a Chilly situation (no pun intended) like what Minnesota experienced this year but based on pure on-the-field production, it would be difficult to end up much worse off.

Also, passion? Excitement? Please, are you implying the Dolphins are somehow passionate and excited about the prospect of Sparano returning to coach the team? Well then, that certainly explains why they're conducting a coaching search behind the scenes to find his replacement. That reeks of passion and excitement.

They either believe in Sparano or they don't, its really quite simple. If they don't (it certainly appears that way, doesn't it?) then they need to cut bait.

I'd agree if the organization was approaching it this way, but they're not. There has been nothing 'down low' about this process, especially considering multiple media outlets have reported that Sparano is a "fall-back" option. If Harbaugh and/or Cowher don't land in Miami, what happens then? Do you expect fans and players to sign-off on Sparano being their guy? Of course not.

What happens is the entire organization becomes a punchline once again -- and rightfully so.

 

The home game seats were 20,000 empty towards the end of the year. If he doesn't bring in some new people, those numbers will increase. Ross is a businessman first. He will look at his bottom line and make the change to fill those seats.

 

They were still paid for, people just didn't show up.

 

When they pay for them and don't show up, they quickly move to just not paying for them.

Not to mention the losses on parking and concession...

 

The parking and concession, yes. But most of those people have had those seats for years and will never give them up. If they didn't in 2007, they won't now. This fanbase, like others, is quick to get on the ledge but rarely if ever do they jump.