Could Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross hit the reset button after 2018?

As the Miami Dolphins continue to struggle the questions begin to surface in the fan and media circles about whether or not Stephen Ross will start over.

The Miami Dolphins are 3-2 at the moment, and in a first place tie with the New England Patriots atop of the AFC East. It sure doesn’t feel that way, however. After Miami was embarrassed by the Patriots in week 4 at Gillette Stadium, they were in prime position to get back on track with a big road win in Cincinnati. The Dolphins blew a 17-0 second half lead, however, and it’s these types of letdowns that really have to be getting to owner Stephen Ross.

Ross has been the owner of the Dolphins since 2008 when he bought half of the franchise from Wayne Huizenga. That season Ross witnessed one of Miami’s best seasons this century after the team finished the year with an 11-5 record, and a division title. Even though the Dolphins were no match for the Ravens in the opening wild card round of the playoffs, it was a phenomenal turnaround from the year before when they went 1-15, and showed a lot of promise for the franchise going forward.

A year later, Ross became the strong majority owner of the team when he bought an additional 45% from Huizenga. The Dolphins, however, never did build on that promise from the 2008 squad, and Ross has only witnessed his team finish with a winning record one time since then. Since Ross has been the owner, Miami has a combined record of 79-86, that includes the first five weeks of this season.

Now, Ross has never really been a football guy, and hasn’t actually claimed to be one. There was reportedly an instance in his first year as owner where he pounded the table a bit for management to draft a fellow Michigan alum to no avail, but he has overall stayed out of the football operations department. That was until this past year’s draft when he questioned his management team before their selection as to whether or not Minkah Fitzpatrick was the right pick.

The story was blown well out of proportion. After all, he is the owner, and has every right to ask questions. We all know that Fitzpatrick was a terrific selection, and that he could go down as one of Miami’s best first round selections if he continues to play at a high level. You had to look at the situation, however, from Ross’ perspective at the time.

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The uncertainty was aimed more to his front office than Fitzpatrick’s play ability. He has seen the other teams, like the Eagles, build strategically in free agency and trades, that have also hit on numerous draft selections. One glaring difference that other teams have done to build their success is drafting a quarterback. In April, Ross watched four quarterbacks come off the board before his team picked without even an attempt to move up from the Dolphins.

Since his tenure as owner, Ross has rarely seen his team take quarterbacks at any point in drafts. Just a couple of months after becoming part-owner in 2008, the Dolphins took Chad Henne from Ross’ alumni at Michigan in the second round. The hope was that Henne would turn out to be similar to another guy who was drafted out of Michigan, but we all know how that turned out. Miami had the first overall pick that year, and could’ve taken Matt Ryan, but instead they drafted tackle Jake Long, another Michigan player. Long became a Pro Bowl offensive lineman, but when he became a free agent in 2013, he decided to sign a long-term deal with the then St. Louis Rams.

The one year that the Dolphins should’ve stayed away from taking a quarterback was 2009, but they again took one in the second round. This time it was Pat White out of West Virginia, and to this day, fans are still wondering why we made this pick. White was waived prior to the 2010 season.

Despite the clear misses in Henne and White, you had to at least admire the Dolphins front office during that time period for taking chances on guys. With the signing of Chad Pennington in 2008 there was at least a quarterback competition in Miami. Since then, all of the focus has been turned to one guy – Ryan Tannehill.

In 2012, the Dolphins drafted Tannehill with their first round selection. It was the first time since they drafted Dan Marino that they took a quarterback in the first round. That same off-season, Miami had signed former Jaguars QB David Garrard to a one-year deal, and he was assumed to be the starter for 2012 to give Tannehill time to develop. Garrard had knee surgery, however, that August, and the Dolphins decided to cut him just three weeks later, giving Tannehill the starting position.

Now in his seventh season, Tannehill has never had any competition. Matt Moore was his backup for his first six seasons, and Adam Gase has never called for a quarterback to be taken since he became head coach in 2016. Please refrain from bringing up Brandon Doughty in the comments section.

After Tannehill tore his ACL in 2017 during training camp, Gase convinced Ross enough to spend an additional $10 million to bring in Jay Cutler. The move signified that the Dolphins had no faith in Moore for a full season, and after Miami finished the year 6-10, you have to know that Ross was none too pleased with the outcome.

Quarterback is not the only position that determines a winner, but it is the key position, and the team of coach Gase, Mike Tannenbaum, and Chris Grier, have done next to nothing to address it. Signing Brock Osweiler in the off-season, and bringing back David Fales, proves they have not learned their lesson. As it stands, Miami could still get into the playoffs with a healthy Tannehill, but if he gets hurt again, they don’t stand a chance.

In regards to other positions, the truth is that Tannenbaum and Grier have not done very well in addressing other areas of weakness. Arguably, the most important position behind quarterback is offensive line. It feels like the offensive line of the Dolphins has struggled since Bush was president. Yes, they signed Pro Bowler Josh Sitton this past off-season, and made a minimal trade to get a starting center in Daniel Kilgore. Both were good moves, but now both are lost for the season due to injuries, and Miami considerably lacks depth across the board.

Grier gets praised for his draft classes, and he deserves some of it. He’s hit on some very good players, particularly on the defensive side, like Fitzpatrick and Xavien Howard. However, he deserves just as much criticism, if not more, for the misses as well. Him and Tannenbaum are to blame for the awful trade in the 2016 class when they moved back up into the third round to take WR Leonte Carroo. Wide receiver was not even a position of need for the Dolphins, and Carroo did absolutely nothing for two seasons. He’s currently sitting on the Dolphins practice squad, but it’s only a matter of time before he is gone.

It looked like Grier hit a home run with his class in 2017, but did he? We’re still waiting on Charles Harris to show that he was worthy of a first round selection, and with all of the injuries to the Dolphins defensive line, he better do it quick. Cornerback Cordrea Tankersley had a very promising rookie season, but no player on the roster has had a bigger setback than him. He can’t even beat out undrafted Torry McTyer for playing time right now.

Grier appeared to get a steal in the fifth round with Isaac Asiata, but even after all of Miami’s injuries on the offensive line this year, Asiata still remains on the practice squad. Besides Laremy Tunsil falling into his lap in 2016, Asiata is the only other offensive lineman that Grier has drafted.

To be fair to Grier, and this class, however, these players have only played for less than a year and a half, and are still into their developing stages. Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor have proven to be great picks at their respective positions, and we cannot yet evaluate the 2018 class except that Fitzpatrick is a stud.

Between Gase, Tannenbaum, and Grier, my belief is that Grier’s job is the safest, but I’m not convinced that any of them are. Since Ross has been owner, it’s been either the general manager has been replaced or the head coach, but not at the same time. Initially, Ross may be in the looking for a new general manager. Naturally, whoever he hires, that person may want to bring in a new head coach. Unlike in seasons past, Ross may grant them permission to do so.

Yes, both Gase and Grier were hired in their respective roles in 2016, but it’s been Tannenbaum operating as the lead general manager with Grier primarily involved in draft decisions. He was even viewed as one this past summer when he was ranked as one of the worst general managers in the league, according to Sporting News. After a decade as the owner, Ross may finally decide it’s time to pull the plug.