Stephen Ross - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins Have Ownership Succession Plan

April 7th, 2016 at 6:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross doesn’t plan on selling his franchise anytime soon, but he’ll turn 76 in May, and is looking ahead and making preparations for the future. According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, NFL owners recently approved a succession plan for the Dolphins, which will give New York businessman Bruce Beal Jr. the right to purchase the team in the event that Ross decides to sell — or passes away.

As La Canfora writes, the league typically doesn’t announce this sort of arrangement publicly, but they’re not uncommon. Sources tell La Canfora that Ross wanted to be proactive in coming up with a succession plan, and Beal is someone to whom he feels very close.

Beal was elevated to president of Ross’ Related Companies real estate firm when the Dolphins owner – and Related Companies founder – stepped aside as CEO in 2012. The two men have worked together for years, and one source describes the Dolphins’ new succession plan as something akin to “keeping the team in the family,” per La Canfora.

While the arrangement doesn’t ensure that Beal will gain control of the franchise when it becomes available, he’ll be in the driver’s seat to purchase it.

Ross has been willing to OK major personnel moves in recent years, signing Ndamukong Suh to a mega-deal in free agency in 2015, and approving a major trade involving Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, and a pair of first-round picks last month. The Dolphins, under Ross, also made another coaching change earlier this year, hiring Adam Gase to replace interim head coach Dan Campbell.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Gase, Giants, Eagles

January 9th, 2016 at 9:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before the Dolphins reached out to Adam Gase about their head coaching vacancy, owner Stephen Ross sought advice from around the NFL on possible solutions for the position. Gase’s name kept coming up during the process, which helped lead the Dolphins to pursue him. After spending time with Gase this week, Ross became sold on the 37-year-old, writes Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald.

The Dolphins hired Gase on Saturday, but the job was his to lose two days earlier, according to Beasley. Gase “wowed” Ross and his advisers during an informal interview Wednesday on Ross’ private jet, per Beasley. The Dolphins then had Gase participate in a marathon interview Thursday as a way to assess his leadership skills. They came away impressed enough to make Gase an integral member of their franchise going forward.

Now for the latest from the NFC East:

If Doug Marrone gets the Giants’ head coaching job, don’t expect him to retain offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, reports Tom Rock of Newsday. That would seem to be a less-than-ideal scenario for 35-year-old quarterback Eli Manning, who combined for 65 touchdown passes and nearly 9,000 yards under McAdoo the last two seasons.
Speaking of the Giants, they erred in keeping general manager Jerry Reese, opines the New York Daily News’ Gary Myers, who expects Reese to lose his job if the team misses the playoffs again next season. That means the next GM would have a second-year coach forced on him. Myers believes the Giants would’ve been better off letting Reese go and hiring a new GM to select Tom Coughlin‘s replacement.
At the outset of their coaching search, the Eagles pursued Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Sumlin is staying put, however, Rapoport adds.

Fallout From Dolphins’ Adam Gase Hiring

January 9th, 2016 at 2:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The lead conductor of the Dolphins’ coaching search, Mike Tannenbaum, initially preferred Doug Marrone before the franchise decided to offer its head-coaching job to Adam Gase, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets.

Marrone interviewed for the position, but the 37-year-old Gase became the “unanimous favorite,” according to Dolphins owner Stephen Ross (via SportsTalk 1040 The Team’s Jenna Laine, on Twitter).

“(Gase) has worked extremely hard his entire career and is very deserving of this opportunity. I wish he could stay with us in Chicago, but everyone has a journey and this is the next part of his,” Jay Cutler told media, including Larry Meyer of ChicagoBears.com. “His work with quarterbacks is well documented and I know firsthand how good he is.“

Here is some more news on Marrone, Gase and more from the Eastern divisions.

New Dolphins GM Chris Grier will have control over whom the team signs, but Gase will be in charge of determining the 53-man roster, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports (on Twitter). A fair amount of power will come for the new youngest head coach in the game. Fewer than 10 coaches currently possess that control, according to NFL.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter). Tannenbaum’s presence still looms, however, so the Fins could have a complex power structure this season.
As expected, Gase will call plays for the Dolphins this season, as he’s done for the Broncos (in 2013-14) and Bears in 2015, James Walker of ESPN.com tweets. Gase’s offenses ranked first, fourth and 21st over the past three seasons, with the injury-ravaged Bears being the only one of his units to fall out of the top five.
Beasley tweets the Dolphins, per Tannenbaum, considered 25 coaches for the position before settling on seven for interviews.
Peyton Manning also endorsed Gase (per Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk), focusing on the 37-year-old’s attention to detail. “He’s an extremely hard worker, a grinder,” Manning said. “He’s extremely bright on all things football, an excellent communicator and always eager to learn more. He asks a lot of questions and writes everything down. I’ve always been impressed with his work ethic and his eagerness to learn more.” Although he passed over the wunderkind offensive mind in favor of Gary Kubiak last offseason, John Elway also endorsed the Broncos’ former offensive coordinator from 2013-14. Gase, of course, guided Manning to the record-setting 55-touchdown pass campaign two seasons ago after serving as the Broncos’ quarterback coach in 2011, when the team orchestrated a midseason overhaul of its offense for Tim Tebow.
Gase could take Bears quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains to Miami with him, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports, or John Fox could promote him to Gase’s old position. The former Titans OC contributed to Gase’s play-calling this season. Both Cutler and John Fox hold Loggains in high regard, Campbell reports. Either way, this season will bring Cutler’s sixth offensive coordinator since he was traded to Chicago.
Loggains would create the least disruption for the Bears, the Tribune’s Brad Biggs tweets. But the Chicago reporter also notes Fox could pursue newly unemployed offensive bosses Ken Whisenhunt or Pat Shurmur (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

East Notes: Coughlin, Eagles, Fins, Jets, Hardy

January 3rd, 2016 at 6:44pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Beleaguered Giants head coach Tom Coughlin isn’t a lock to go quietly, according to Pro Football Talk. The site tweets that Coughlin’s resignation isn’t definite, which would obviously require the team to fire the longtime coach if it wants to get rid of him. It isn’t out of the question that Coughlin will end up back with Big Blue for a 13th season, as co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch could be at odds over his fate, per PFT.

Mara and Tisch will meet Monday to discuss Coughlin’s future, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Vacchiano adds (on Twitter) that neither Coughlin’s assistant coaches nor some members of his family know his fate.

More from the NFL’s two East divisions:

Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase will interview with the Eagles and Dolphins regarding their head coaching vacancies in the coming days, ESPN’s Dianna Marie Russini reports (Twitter link).
Speaking of the Dolphins, while they’re unlikely to promote interim head coach Dan Campbell to the full-time role, his players hope he gets the job. “I know, 100 percent, he has the support of the locker room,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said Sunday, ESPN’s James Walker writes. Owner Stephen Ross had kind words for Campbell after Miami’s 20-10 victory over New England, but he doesn’t exactly sound ready to promote the 39-year-old. “I guess in 2016, we are undefeated. It’s 2015 that I am disappointed in and the way this team,” Ross said. “But I really have to thank Dan Campbell for the great job I think he’s done in really elevating this team. I’m very pleased with that.”
Though Pro Bowl Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson suffered a broken leg Sunday in the team’s season-ending loss to Buffalo, he’ll make a full, normal recovery, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (on Twitter). As La Canfora notes, despite the injury, the free agent-to-be is in position to earn a big payday this offseason.
Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy, a pending free agent, wants to return to Dallas next season. “If the Cowboys offer me an opportunity to stay, I would love to stay here,” he said, per ESPN’s Jean-Jacques Taylor. Owner Jerry Jones seems open to re-signing Hardy. “He was an outstanding player and we may not have gotten his individual sack total up, but he made an impact across the board. He was a good player for us, and we’ll evaluate real close any good player.”

Latest On Dolphins’ Front Office

January 2nd, 2016 at 8:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Former general manager Dennis Hickey, whom the Dolphins parted with Saturday, had his role diminished in 2015 to that of a scouting director, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (Twitter link). With Hickey gone, there are sure to be more changes forthcoming to Miami’s front office, Jeff Darlington of NFL.com reports.

Those changes could involve executive vice president of football administration Dawn Aponte, though she has a fan in owner Stephen Ross. However, her specialties (namely the CBA and salary cap) might soon fall under the purview of executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, who is in position to become the franchise’s football czar. Despite that, Ross won’t let her go easily, Darlington writes.

Regardless of what happens with Aponte, the organization wants its all-time best player, Dan Marino, to take on a larger role. For his part, Marino – currently a special consultant to president and CEO Tom Garfinkel – is reluctant because of the commitment that would come with a higher ranking within the franchise. Nevertheless, the Dolphins do highly value the opinions of both Marino and vice chairman of the board Matt Higgins.

On the subject of the team’s coaching search, Breer tweets that Miami would be willing to let its next coach bring a personnel man with him. That goes hand in hand with Darlington’s notion that Tannenbaum would be open to decreasing some of his own power over the roster if it means hiring the right GM. If the Dolphins stay in house to hire their next GM, it’s likely to be director of college scouting Chris Grier. That would benefit Tannenbaum, who does not diligently scout players. Whether Grier or someone else becomes the GM, the Dolphins are cognizant that they need to put greater emphasis on scouting.

Of course, it remains to be seen whom the Dolphins will choose as their next GM and head coach. Two things are certain: Interim coach Dan Campbell won’t get promoted to the full-time role, per Darlington, and the team will enter its respective searches with Tannenbaum fully in control, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Taylor, Dolphins, Ball

December 16th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

The 2015 Jets are showing a lot of similarities to the 2011 Jets, and they’d better hope those similarities end soon, Manish Mehta of the Daily News writes. Four years ago, the Jets crushed the a pitiful Chiefs team to go 8-5. On Sunday, this year’s Jets team crushed the hapless Titans to improve to 8-5. In 2011, the Jets imploded in their last three games to finish 8-8, and that’s a fate that Gang Green must try and avoid.

“8-5… That’s all it is: 8-5,” linebacker David Harris said over the weekend. “We still have three games to go. So come see me January 4th.”

Here’s more from around the AFC East, including one more Jets note:

In addition to helping make the Jets competitive this season, Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s solid year has had the added benefit of allowing the team to be patient with rookie Bryce Petty, says Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Within the piece, Mehta also makes the case for why Fitzpatrick should get a multiyear extension offer from the Jets.
While New York beat writers are calling for Fitzpatrick to be extended, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com says the Bills don’t need to rush a new deal for quarterback Tyrod Taylor. In Rodak’s view, Taylor is well on his way to proving he can be a long-term solution at QB in Buffalo, but the Bills should be 100% sure before they invest big money in him.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes it’s time for Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to either move to Miami or sell the franchise.
Although running back Montee Ball earned a spot on the Patriots‘ practice squad, he isn’t in top shape, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. According to Werder, Ball – who weighed about 205 pounds when he was drafted by the Broncos – was up to 240 when he worked out for the Packers earlier this season, and is now in the 230s.
Earlier today, we heard that the Patriots are bringing in free agent running back Steven Jackson for a look.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Latest On Dolphins’ Coaching Staff

October 3rd, 2015 at 8:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

On Friday, we heard the Dolphins were considering coaching changes if the season didn’t begin to turn quickly, and more of that’s emerged from Miami media hours before 2015’s first London game.

A blowout loss in London will force Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to consider firing Joe Philbin, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports. The fact that multiple division rivals will, in this scenario, have routed the Dolphins in consecutive weeks won’t doom Philbin as much as the looming bye week that teams forced to play in the London game receive the following Sunday.

With that expanded window to reshape matters, it’s paramount for the fourth-year coach to have the Fins ready, and for the team to avoid a listless performance should a bad start again occur as it did in the 41-14 loss to the Bills, Salguero writes.

The Raiders executed this schedule-based maneuver after the Dolphins’ 38-14 win last season in London.

A lack of a presumptive in-house successor could prevent Ross from making such a move, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk offers, in assigning much of the blame for the Dolphins’ 1-2 start on Bill Lazor and Kevin Coyle as Philbin. The Raiders went to ex-Dolphins coach Tony Sparano after firing Dennis Allen last season.

As for Coyle, players are cloaking themselves as anonymous sources in venting frustration about the defense, according to Barry Jackson of the Herald. Topics like using practice time on inconsequential issues and a vanilla defensive scheme are causing the gripes about Coyle, a 59-year-old first-time NFL coordinator, Jackson writes.

The Dolphins rank 26th defensively with 391.0 yards ceded per game, with quarterbacks’ passer ratings against a thus-far-woeful secondary soaring. Although Walt Aikens and Reshad Jones have enabled QBs to post ratings in excess of 130, Bobby McCain‘s 232 yards yielded are the fourth-most in the league, Jackson offers.

So, a lot could be on the line for a Week 4 neutral-site game that will occur before many football fans are awake.

Best Fits For Rex Ryan

December 6th, 2014 at 8:28pm CST by Rob DiRe

Rex Ryan is as good as doomed as Jets‘ head coach as far as the New York media is concerned, and reports of his tenure ending have been numerous during the team’s 2-10 start to the season.

The Jets might already have their focus elsewhere in their coaching search, but Ryan will not have a hard time finding new employment himself. If the Falcons head coaching position becomes available, Ryan could find a perfect landing spot in Atlanta, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

First of all, this would be contingent on Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank deciding to fire head coach Mike Smith at the end of the season. The team has been tremendously disappointing at 5-7, but could still win the NFC South. It is uncertain of whether that would save his job, and Mehta writes that it wouldn’t, but the general mood surrounding Smith is that the team and fan base is unhappy with the job he has done this season.

Falcons’ general manager Thomas Dimitroff actually interviewed Ryan for the job back in 2008 before eventually hiring Smith. Mehta writes that sources say Ryan was the leading candidate prior to Dimitroff being hired as general manager.

“Arthur wants a tougher team,” according to one of Mehta’s sources. “He wants guys that have an edge to them.”

Ryan could have a myriad of options, and Mehta believes that Dolphins‘ owner Stephen Ross loves Ryan, and could consider making a change should the Dolphins miss the playoffs again this year (via Twitter).

Mehta writes that Ryan would consider any head coaching vacancies, but would elect to take a big money TV deal over becoming a defensive coordinator (via Twitter).

A poll here on Pro Football Rumors from October 18th asked our readers where Ryan would be employed in 2015. The Falcons and Dolphins head coaching jobs received about 9% and 4%. Of course, the readers gave Ryan a 13% chance of staying with the Jets, which would be an unlikely number if the vote was taken again today. Still, almost 39% of the votes went to Ryan being on television in 2015, and according to Mehta, that seems like a real possibility.

Dolphins’ Internal Strife Continues

September 28th, 2014 at 8:38am CST by Rory Parks

Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin was at the source of some mild team controversy earlier this week, when he was asked about the job security of starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill but gave an ambivalent response. Philbin later expressed regret that his noncommittal approach to the question created a distraction for the club, which has fallen to 1-2 after a promising opening week win against the Patriots.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, however, a deeper and more troubling internal struggle may be brewing in Miami. La Canfora writes that Dolphins players have expressed concerns with Philbin and his coordinators, and the relationship between Philbin and team executive Dawn Aponte has become frayed. Aponte hired former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum as a team consultant, but since Tannenbaum’s primary job is as an agent representing coaches–like Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who will likely be on the list of top head coaching candidates after the season–it is fair to wonder how much longer Philbin will be roaming the Dolphins’ sidelines.

La Canfora adds that owner Stephen Ross has not, as he promised after the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin debacle, taken a more active role in the guidance of his team, but he is said to be covertly trying to lay the foundation to trade for current 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh. Between those rumors and Philbin’s apparent wish to play backup signal-caller Matt Moore–which has displeased the front office, who have committed to Tannehill–the Dolphins may soon be in for a second front office overhaul in as many years.

L.A. Team “Certainly Within Five Years”

May 31st, 2014 at 1:55pm CST by Rob DiRe

Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross spoke about the possibility of Los Angeles getting an NFL franchise.

The idea of bringing the NFL to Los Angeles was reinvigorated after the Clippers were sold to Steve Ballmer for a reported sum of $2 billion. The NFL franchises should certainly be worth more than an NBA franchise in a similar market.

Ross sees it happening, definitively stating that it would occur, “Certainly within five years,” according to Kevin Clark of the Wall Street Journal (via Twitter). Ross also mentioned that the team Los Angeles inevitably will get will not be an expansion team, but a current franchise relocated to the city.

Ross clarified that the team moving would not be his Dolphins, but that a team would definitely be moving, reports Clark (via Twitter).