Miami Dolphins Stephen Ross has to want this game at least a little more after trying to land Sean Payton
By Brian Miller
If we rewind the clock a couple of years, Stephen Ross was embroiled in another off-field drama that he really didn't need to go through as owner of the Miami Dolphins.
The tampering events that led to an NFL investigation stripped the Dolphins of a draft pick in round one and another in round three. While Tom Brady was the main target of the Bruce Beal led attempt to land a top QB, Sean Payton was also involved.
As memory serves us, Ross tried and failed to get Sean Payton to Miami. The Dolphins never asked for permission to talk with Payton who had retired from the Saints. When all that came out, it wasn't a good look for a franchise turning yet another page.
In the end, it all worked out for Ross. He got a coach that his fan base absolutely loves, a QB that has shown much more ability than he did under the former coach, and has watched Chris Grier put winning pieces on the field.
One of those pieces, cost the Miami Dolphins a draft pick as well. Bradley Chubb.
While Ross failed to lure Payton to the Dolphins, the draft pick Miami sent to Denver was then turned over to the Saints in a trade for Payton. In one way, the Dolphins helped get Payton to the Broncos.
Between the tampering and the trade, Sean Payton will line up on the other side of the field Sunday and while in the end, Ross may have gotten the better deal with Mike McDaniel, getting the opportunity to put Payton's Broncos down 0-3 while going 3-0 for the 2nd straight year might just give the owner a little bigger smile.