If Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross truly wants to change the culture of his franchise and reset the path toward consistent winning, he may need to move on from Mike McDaniel.
Ross likes McDaniel, as has been made clear, but a recent rumor that has percolated over the holidays could derail his decision to keep the coach. In fact, it could upend the entire organization in a way that could turn the franchise into a real competitor.
According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, John Harbaugh may become available. If he does, Ross needs to fly to Baltimore with a bag of money in his hand.
John Harbaugh could be coaching his last games for the Ravens, and the Miami Dolphins should be first in line to hire him
Ross was outbid and made to look like a fool by the Rams when he desperately tried to court Jeff Fisher a decade ago. He was left giving Tony Sparano more money after his trip to California to sign Jim Harbaugh to Miami failed. Peyton Manning? Yep, left to stand outside the church while he joined the Broncos. And then, of course, there is Sean Payton.
The older Harbaugh is different, though. He has no ties to another team right now, and he isn't someone who was expected to become available. If he is fired or "mutually parts ways" with the Ravens, he will immediately become the top head coach candidate around the league.
Miami may have the draft capital to entice him, but the salary cap situation is such that it will take a boatload of money to bring him to South Florida. Ross has plenty of it to spare.
Harbaugh would immediately change the attitude, culture, physicality, and discipline of the Dolphins. He could literally rewrite the entire franchise history and pave the way for Ross to get his elusive Super Bowl trophy.
There are no guarantees in life, as we all know, and Harbaugh could just as easily burn out in Miami, but his name and his resume speak for themselves, and the Dolphins haven't had anything close to him since Jimmy Johnson coached the team.
If Harbaugh becomes available and Ross doesn't pursue him, it would be one of the biggest mistakes in Dolphins history, ranking right up there with Wayne Huizenga opting to sell them to the New York real estate mogul.